This initiative between an IFA network and the Institute of Financial Planning (IFP) will endorse the transition to a higher level of adviser professionalism and the qualifications benefit to both the IFA community and their clients.
Ian Cooke, chairman of Best Practice Chartered Financial Planners, commented: "I am delighted that we are able to work in partnership with the Institute of Financial Planning and deliver a sponsorship package that will be of real use to our members. Our commitment is to fund the cost of the CFP training programme together with accommodation and the cost of the certification assessment. The drive to raise the qualifications benchmark is well publicised and it is now time for IFAs to take action. Our support for the Certified Financial Planner licence is indicative of our understanding of the market changes and the need for every adviser to achieve high standards of qualifications in order to compete in the changing marketplace.
“To enable individuals and businesses to continue to offer attractive market propositions, their background qualifications and resulting ability to demonstrate high professional standards will be an absolute fundamental. Attracting consumers to your firm leading up to and beyond the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) will be ever more competitive but crucially the profitability will be more dependent on higher net worth to fit with a fee based structure. To adapt to this new model, IFA firms will need to develop better professional connections and for this to be successful, financial planners will need to distinguish themselves from their peers with more comprehensive training and by the qualifications they hold.”
