As the 31 May CPD deadline approaches, Moonstone Business School of Excellence (MBSE) says it is receiving an increasing number of queries from financial services providers and advisers who still need to complete their annual hours but are uncertain which courses will provide the most practical value.
Willem van der Westhuizen, business development manager at MBSE, says many FSPs know they need 18 hours, but do not necessarily know which course combinations best suit their businesses, their advisers, or their current regulatory priorities.
To simplify the process, MBSE has compiled several suggested 18-hour CPD combinations that clients can use as a guide based on their focus areas and operational needs.
Instead of building a CPD plan course-by-course, advisers and businesses can select a structured combination aligned to themes such as ethical conduct, communication, customer outcomes, regulatory awareness, the Protection of Personal Information Act, the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, and governance.
Van der Westhuizen says the combinations are intended to help advisers move beyond “tick-box” compliance towards CPD that delivers broader practical value.
Suggested 18-hour combinations
The suggested combinations are examples that advisers and FSPs can consider based on their current priorities and business focus areas.
Clients can either purchase individual courses separately through MBSE’s CPD platform or access them through the institution’s subscription package.
Option 1: Ethical conduct and regulatory awareness
This combination includes:
- Understanding FICA (5 CPD),
- The Ombud: Key Cases and Lessons (5 CPD),
- TCF Practical Measures Needed to Comply (5.5 CPD),
- Effective Communication Skills (1 CPD), and
- Ethical Foundations for Financial Advisors (1.5 CPD).
MBSE says this option places strong emphasis on ethical conduct, customer outcomes, governance, and regulatory compliance.
Option 2: Ethics and communication
This combination includes:
- Understanding FICA (5 CPD),
- The Ombud: Key Cases and Lessons (5 CPD),
- TCF Overview and Unpacking What it Means (2 CPD)
- Feedback with Impact (3.5 CPD),
- Effective Communication Skills (1 CPD), and
- Ethical Foundations for Financial Advisors (1.5 CPD).
The focus here is broader communication, adviser-client engagement, feedback culture, and customer interaction alongside regulatory awareness.
Option 3: POPIA and ethical risk management
This combination includes:
- Understanding FICA (5 CPD),
- The Ombud: Key Cases and Lessons (5 CPD),
- TCF Overview and Unpacking What it Means (2 CPD)
- Understanding POPIA (4 CPD),
- and How to Manage Conflict of Interest (2 CPD).
This option focuses more specifically on information governance, regulatory risk, ethical conduct, and conflict management.
Why the combinations focus heavily on ethics
Van der Westhuizen says technical product training needs often differ significantly across adviser groups depending on product category, experience, and role.
Ethical conduct, communication, governance and customer treatment, however, remain relevant across almost all financial services environments.
“Those are universal competencies,” he says. “Whether you advise on investments, insurance or employee benefits, the conduct expectations remain broadly the same.”
The combinations are therefore designed to strengthen professionalism, communication, customer outcomes and regulatory preparedness across broad adviser groups rather than focusing narrowly on product-specific technical training.
TCF and COFI are becoming increasingly important
Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) is expected to become even more important under the forthcoming Conduct of Financial Institutions (COFI) framework.
MBSE expects customer outcomes, governance, conduct and fair treatment to become increasingly central regulatory themes as the industry transitions towards a more conduct-focused environment.
Van der Westhuizen says advisers and businesses that strengthen these competencies early are likely to be better prepared for future regulatory expectations.
Ombud rulings offer practical lessons
The Ombud: Key Cases and Lessons forms part of all three suggested combinations.
The course has become increasingly relevant because it examines real Ombud rulings, complaints and case studies that illustrate where advisers and businesses often encounter problems.
It focuses on issues such as communication breakdowns, unsuitable advice, disclosure failures and conduct-related complaints.
Van der Westhuizen says practical case studies often resonate strongly because they demonstrate how relatively small process failures can eventually escalate into regulatory, reputational or financial consequences.
FICA and POPIA remain operational priorities
MBSE also continues to position FICA training as an important component of ongoing annual compliance management within accountable institutions.
Including FICA training within CPD programmes allows representatives to maintain annual FICA awareness while simultaneously completing verifiable CPD hours.
The POPIA-focused combination addresses information governance, data handling and conflict-of-interest management – areas MBSE says are becoming increasingly important as businesses manage growing regulatory and reputational risk.
Communication and client engagement still matter
Communication-related skills are becoming increasingly important in an environment where clients are under financial pressure and regulatory expectations around disclosure and customer outcomes continue to rise.
Courses such as Feedback with Impact and Effective Communication Skills are intended to strengthen adviser-client engagement, feedback culture and client communication processes.
Van der Westhuizen says many advisers underestimate how often complaints and conduct issues originate not from technical advice failures, but from communication breakdowns and poorly managed client expectations.
Flexible e-learning options
MBSE’s CPD courses stand out for their accessibility, offering flexible e-learning options that can be completed on a computer, tablet, or smartphone, anytime and anywhere.
Other features are:
- access to user-friendly, printable training material that is broken up into smaller units, supplemented with relevant multimedia content;
- access to MBSE’s helpdesk – queries are answered within three business days; and
- regular self-assessment to monitor progress.
Students can access and print their certificate once they have completed all the course activities and passed (at least 60%) the assessments.
Click here to sign up for an MBSE CPD course before time runs out.
