Since welcoming our financial planning members to the CISI at the end of 2015, we have been struck by the dynamism and passion of our new members, learning a great deal from listening to your views – as channelled via our branch network and our very active IFP Professional Forum. We value the feedback we have been receiving and we are constantly striving to enhance our processes, and develop that feedback into speedy and constructive actions.
As part of this, our new Financial Planning Editorial Panel is now in operation and I had the pleasure of chairing the April inaugural meeting alongside Panel Chairman, Janet Walford OBE, an IFP Professional Forum committee member. The Panel members reflect the CISI paraplanning and financial planning community, with the objective being to guide and support the development of financial planning content. This will ensure that the CISI continues to provide news and insight to meet the development needs of financial planning and paraplanning members.
Creating awareness of the CFP
TM designation and boosting the promotion of financial planning and paraplanning as a career is a top marketing priority for us. This was reflected in our recent advertising campaign which ran for four weeks on billboards across key London rail stations and in trade publications. The theme of 'It’s not just what you know, it’s how you keep in the know' communicated our new financial planning pathway, announcing our new level 4 Financial Planning and Advice qualification to achieving the CFP
TM certification. We highlighted how gaining the
Certificate in Paraplanning is only the beginning, and that Accredited Paraplanner
professionals know how much more it takes to stand out. This demonstrates that our financial planning and paraplanning community represents the pinnacle in professionalism. We are delighted to announce Steve Webb, the ex-Pensions Minister, is giving the opening keynote address on 3 October at our
Financial Planning Annual Conference at Celtic Manor, Newport. Keep an eye out for the finalised agenda, which will be published shortly. Since my last letter, 1,574 financial planning members out of 2,000 have completed our IntegrityMatters test. I urge the remainder to close the gap now and show your dedication to professionalism.
Finally, we are looking forward to hosting Financial Planning Week, 6 June to 10 June. Thank you to everyone who has already signed up to support it. If you have not done so, there is still time and I encourage you to become a part of the campaign and join the CISI and your colleagues in promoting to consumers the importance of financial planning for their future.