I was not looking for a new role. I was happy at Robur Wealth Management and had been juggling homeschooling and work. I had great relationships with my clients, which I truly valued and enjoyed, and which had changed with the medium of communication over the year, resulting mostly in more regular chats, often ending in discussions around Ocado online shopping slots.
My boss had been amazing, and yet when the call came, I knew instantly I wanted the job.
So now here I am at CISI 65 days in …
Big plans
And it’s a privilege. The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification is the financial planners’ qualification, and its loyal followers appreciate that ‘light bulb moment’ when they discover how it improves their approach to financial planning. Not only does the the CFP™ certification have a legacy of the original esteemed iconic financial planners behind it, but it also now boasts a pipeline of fresh candidates experiencing the process. There is a genuine love of the CFP certification from those within the community and a real buzz around its growing momentum.
And the community has welcomed me, recognising that I am here to grow the CFP certification and enhance our offering to our accredited firms. A number of financial planners have contacted me to offer helpful friendly advice and to connect me with people they think I should be speaking to. I have a fantastic committee to support and guide me. I am grateful for the support.
Our growth strategy is focused on partnerships, for example building our relationship with NextGen Planners. My CISI priorities include greater firm engagement, increasing our learning pathways and working closely with our training providers.
As all financial planners know, the best marketing is referrals. The more people who take the CFP examination, the more people there are to talk about it. Organic growth will come. There have been a couple of challenging years, but the revised CFP certification is now proving popular with established chartered financial planners who want more practical learning to develop holistic skills, and those for whom this is their first advanced paper. I just need to keep them talking – for the financial planning community I hope that’s not too tough a job!
I want to offer more access points into the profession. For example, we are exploring our own graduate scheme for our accredited firms, using our connections in the bigger ones to help us design something to support the smaller firms.
I want to create a programme where graduates in a regional office with just two or three established financial planners and paraplanners can have a community of young peers to train and socialise with. In addition, we need an elevated programme to encourage those who have been in the profession longer to keep raising their game.
A fresh start
I am also working on plans to increase our reach to the end consumer, so they do not just wait until retirement or a school fees bill to engage with a financial planner. Rather, they embrace financial wellbeing as part of a health strategy. I find it baffling that as a profession, there are huge leaps forward after Financial Planning Week but then it can fizzle off the consumers’ agenda. My aim is to keep financial planning front and centre.
Finally, I am looking at ways to provide tantalising ongoing learning, aiming to roll out a fresh programme and offer some small bespoke continuing professional development.
It’s very early days, and they are busy days, but despite not being able to have a physical coffee with some of our key firms and members, it’s enjoyable. My favourite phrase is from a CFP professional member, whom I don’t know well but for whom I already have a great respect – so I hope it continues to be true: “It’s a new dawn.”
The original version of this article was published in NMA magazine. Republished with permission.