In a country where financial anxiety is the norm and retirement security the exception, the difference between mere product sales and transformative financial advice has never been more critical. At Cornerstone Performance Solutions (CPS), we're not just training advisors—we're cultivating architects of financial wellbeing who stand at the intersection of client aspirations and complex financial landscapes. With precision, expertise and unwavering ethical commitment, they navigate the treacherous crossroads where life goals meet market realities, transforming uncertainty into opportunity and anxiety into confidence. This fundamental shift from transaction to trusted counsel doesn't just change careers—it changes lives.
A Crisis of Trust in Financial Services
South Africa's financial landscape reveals alarming statistics: only 6% of economically active South Africans are on track for a comfortable retirement according to recent ASISA studies (Association for Savings and Investments in South Africa, 2023), and more than half of South Africa's adult population remains financially illiterate. This creates a critical challenge. The traditional product-centered approach to financial advisory has created a trust deficit with severe consequences:
- For clients: Inappropriate products, unmet life goals, and financial anxiety
- For businesses: Rising client acquisition costs and significant advisor turnover that wildly dilutes ROI on employment
- For the economy: Underinsurance, inadequate retirement planning, and financial vulnerability – poverty and dependency on the state are increased and the stability of society is undermined
The cost is not just financial—when advisors leave, they take client relationships and institutional knowledge with them. But the human cost is even greater: millions of South Africans making crucial financial decisions without proper guidance, while allocating approximately 62% of their take-home pay toward servicing debt (National Credit Regulator, 2024).
"Today I got to understand the importance of FICA due diligence and ESG principles that should be understood by advisors. The case studies helped me learn a lot about ethical practices," shares a participant from our Long-Term Insurance Advisor programme.
The Path to Trusted Advisor: A Professional Mindset Journey
What truly differentiates exceptional financial advisors? Our 24 years of industry research revealed the answer isn't product knowledge alone—it's a fundamental mindset shift.
"A trusted advisor should be able to educate and empower their client to make informed, rational choices," explains Dr. Derek Shirley, CPS CEO. "This trust relationship becomes your greatest business asset."
Our programmes guide advisors through five transformative mindset shifts:
- Client-centered purpose: Moving from "What can I sell today?" to "What keeps my client awake at night?"
- Market fluency: Developing comprehensive knowledge of regulatory frameworks and market dynamics
- Strategic guidance: Learning to map specific solutions to individual client life goals within their financial means and with prudent diversification and sustainable rates of return
- Value creation: Creating sustainable outcomes that benefit all stakeholders
- Continuous growth: Embracing lifelong learning as essential to professional excellence
The results speak for themselves: "This programme has given me the confidence to become a trusted financial advisor. I now understand how to connect my clients' financial decisions to their long-term goals, rather than just focusing on products," shares a financial advisor currently completing our Long-Term Insurance Advisor (NQF 5) programme.
"I'd like to say it's a Client-Centric Approach: Prioritising clients' unique needs and goals, and ensuring they feel heard and understood. By creating highly personalised financial plans, I aim to build long-term relationships that go beyond transactional advice. My goal is to be seen as a trusted advisor who abides by the law and proper regulations, who's transparent, and has integrity," explains another student from our Long-Term Insurance Advisor programme.
Your Professional Development Pathway: Purposefully Designed Qualifications
Becoming a trusted advisor is a journey, not a destination. CPS has meticulously co-designed a qualifications framework that builds expertise progressively, with four key paths aligned to different advisory roles:
Insurance Claims Administrator (NQF 4)
The Payment Guardian
Claims moments are trust moments. Our qualification (SAQA ID: 99668, 131 credits) transforms claims processors into client advocates by developing:
- Technical accuracy: Processing claims with precision and compliance
- Client empathy: Managing emotionally charged situations with care
- Risk awareness: Identifying potential fraud while maintaining client dignity
Long-Term Insurance Advisor (NQF 5)
The Protection Specialist
This cornerstone qualification (SAQA ID: 105022, 180 credits) builds professionals who protect clients' financial futures by:
- Mastering risk assessment and product alignment
- Developing exceptional client communication
- Navigating complex compliance requirements with confidence
- Building ethical foundations for client relationships
Insurance Underwriter (NQF 5)
The Risk Navigator
Our underwriting programme (SAQA ID: 117329, 163 credits) creates professionals who balance protection and profitability by:
- Applying sophisticated risk models to complex client scenarios
- Interpreting legal frameworks with precision
- Developing nuanced risk assessment capabilities
- Contributing strategically to portfolio optimisation
Investment Advisor (NQF 6)
The Wealth Architect
Our flagship qualification (SAQA ID: 105021, 213 credits) produces elite professionals who:
- Navigate sophisticated investment landscapes with confidence
- Construct tailored portfolios aligned with client life goals
- Balance risk and opportunity across market cycles
- Maintain ethical standards while maximising client outcomes
"The insights that I got to learn about are the importance of honesty, admitting to mistakes and taking accountability," shares a Long-Term Insurance Advisor student, highlighting the ethical foundation that underpins all our qualifications.
The Mentorship Advantage: Support Every Step of the Way
What truly sets CPS apart is our commitment to guiding advisors throughout their professional journey. Our comprehensive mentorship approach includes:
Expert Faculty Guidance
Our facilitators bring decades of industry experience into every virtual classroom, creating learning environments where real-world challenges meet practical solutions.
"This group of participants is a pleasure to work with as they are committed to the programme and see this as a great opportunity to gain valuable experience and the qualifications necessary to be a competent professional financial advisor," notes one of our facilitators.
AI Coach Khanyisa
Our innovative AI coaching solution provides personalised support that's always-on, always informed, always patient, and always ready to assist. Khanyisa offers real-time guidance to help learners stay on track, provides instant feedback to boost confidence, suggests tailored practice tasks, and supports the immediate application of learning to daily work challenges—creating a continuous learning companion throughout the qualification journey.
Peer Learning Communities
We foster collaborative learning environments where advisors share challenges, solutions, and best practices—creating professional networks that last well beyond the qualification.
Workplace Application Support
Theory becomes practice through structured workplace tasks, with mentorship that bridges classroom learning and client interactions.
EISA Examination Excellence
Our dedicated exam preparation module and resources ensure advisors approach their External Integrated Summative Assessment with confidence and clarity.
"At the Check-Out on the second day, most participants stated that they found the two-day module stimulating and interesting and were looking forward to the remaining modules to expand their knowledge base. This module is highly impactful in terms of getting participants ready to write their final exam with confidence," reports a programme facilitator (CPS Facilitator Insights, 2025).
The AIccelerate Advantage: Technology Meets Human Development
Learning complex advisory skills shouldn't require sacrificing client time. Our innovative AIccelerate strategy blends next-generation technology with human guidance to maximise learning impact with minimal workplace disruption.
Khanyisa: Your AI Learning Companion
At the heart of our approach is Khanyisa, our AI-powered learning companion that:
- Provides personalised guidance tailored to each learner's unique challenges
- Delivers real-time feedback on practice scenarios between formal sessions
- Adapts to individual learning patterns and preferences
- Connects theoretical concepts to practical client interactions
Minimal Time Away, Maximum Impact
Our qualification design ensures advisors spend only 7.5 days away from clients across the entire 12-month qualification:
- Virtual facilitation: Expert-led sessions delivered in convenient, focused modules
- Workplace integration: Learning tasks that enhance rather than interrupt daily client work
- Digital accessibility: Content optimised for any device, available when and where needed
- Strategic scheduling: Programme pacing aligned with business cycles and priorities
Real-World Learning, Real Business Results
By connecting every concept to client outcomes, we ensure learning translates directly to business impact, with our programs designed to enhance client acquisition, retention, and advisor proficiency—leading to better business metrics and more stable advisory teams.
Our learner satisfaction reflects this impact—with the majority of participants in our recent Long-Term Insurance Advisor modules rating the programme as "Excellent," with 100% stating they would recommend it to colleagues (CPS Impact Evaluation, 2025).
From Classroom to Client Transformation: A Success Story
When a leading South African financial services provider faced persistent challenges with advisor performance, they turned to CPS for a solution:
The Challenge
- Inconsistent advisor quality and productivity
- Regulatory confidence gaps affecting client interactions
- High advisor turnover creating client relationship discontinuity
- Product-focused culture limiting cross-selling opportunities
The CPS Solution
We implemented our Long-Term Insurance Advisor qualification with a cohort of their advisors, with careful attention to workplace application and mentorship.
The Transformation
Within six months, the organisation experienced:
- Advisor confidence revolution: 100% of participants rated the programme as meeting or exceeding expectations
- Client relationship depth: Significant improvement in client retention metrics
- Expanded client solutions: Measured increase in cross-selling effectiveness
- Compliance assurance: Notable improvement in regulatory confidence scores
Most significantly, the organisation reported a fundamental shift from transaction-focused interactions to advice-centered client relationships.
"This programme isn't just about getting a qualification. It's about transforming how I approach financial advisory," shared one Long-Term Insurance Advisor student.
"Transparency was my key insight and how important ethical behaviour is when dealing with a client. Due diligence and implementing a Conduct Framework Policy into the business has changed everything about how I work," says another student from our Long-Term Insurance Advisor programme.
Your Journey to Advisory Excellence: Six Steps to Transformation
Ready to revolutionise your advisory team's impact? Our partnership approach begins with six strategic steps:
- Advisory Needs Assessment: We analyse your current advisor capabilities, regulatory challenges, and strategic objectives to establish a clear transformation baseline.
- Qualification Pathway Planning: Together, we design a development roadmap customised to your organisation's unique strategic goals and talent development needs.
- SETA Funding Workshop: Our funding specialists help you navigate available incentives and subsidies, often making the qualification investment cost-effective with positive ROI.
- AIccelerate Demo: Experience how our AI-enhanced learning approach accelerates advisor development while minimising time away from clients.
- Pilot Cohort Design: We craft a perfectly tailored programme for your initial advisor group, with clear metrics for measuring business impact.
- Programme Launch: Your advisor transformation journey begins with measurable results tracked from day one and visible improvements within 90 days.
Beyond Qualifications: A Financial Wellness Revolution
The impact of professionalised financial advice extends far beyond individual advisors or organisations. We're building a movement that addresses South Africa's critical socioeconomic challenges:
- Financial literacy: Extending quality advice to previously underserved communities
- Career opportunity: Creating sustainable advisory careers across demographics
- Retirement security: Improving long-term financial outcomes through better planning
- Debt reduction: Decreasing household financial stress through ethical guidance
In a country where the average consumer allocates about 62% of take-home pay towards servicing debt, trusted financial advisors don't just build businesses—they transform lives.
The Cornerstone Commitment
At CPS, we don't just deliver qualifications. We partner with you to build a sustainable culture of professional excellence and client-centered advice. Our commitment includes:
- Client and career relevance: We only include the most carefully curated high quality content, approaches and techniques - for success in the real world, not only the exam!
- High completion rates: Well above the industry average
- Examination excellence: Strong first-time pass rates on regulatory assessments
- Technology that enhances rather than replaces human connection
- Learning content continuously updated for regulatory and market changes
- Faculty with real-world advisory experience and academic credentials
Most importantly, we bring an unwavering belief that transformed advisors create transformed client outcomes—and that this transformation begins with professional education that balances technical excellence with ethical foundations.
Join the Professional Advisory Movement
With our scientifically-grounded learning approach, AI-enhanced learning methodology (RAMPed™), and proven business impact, we're redefining what it means to be a financial advisor in South Africa. More than 30,000 successful graduates can attest to the CPS difference (CPS Brand Credibility Report, 2025).
Are you ready to transform your advisory practice?
Cornerstone Performance Solutions. Leading in Occupational Education. Developing Trusted Financial Advisors.
For more information about our transformative financial advisory programmes, contact:
- Email: info@cps.co.za
- Tel: 011 789 1957
- www.cps.co.za
CPS is a Level 1 B-BBEE Contributor with 57% Black Ownership and 32% Black Women Ownership.
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