Qualifications

In today’s complex financial planning environment clients expect their adviser to be qualified and to show a commitment to continuing professional development (CPD).

Professional financial planners will have financial planning qualifications awarded by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). The Personal Finance Society (PFS) is part of the CII and is the professional body for financial advisers.

The minimum qualification for financial advisers is the Certificate in Financial Planning (or its predecessor, the Financial Planning Certificate). Advisers with this qualification are awarded the designation ‘Cert PFS’.

However, this qualification is the bare minimum that advisers need. Many areas of financial advice are highly complex and demand a higher level of knowledge. More specialist professional qualifications cover complex areas such as pension advice, retirement income advice, tax planning advice, trust advice and investment advice and wealth management advice.

Advisers seeking higher level qualifications will usually follow the syllabus of the Diploma in Financial Planning, run by the CII.

Advisers with higher-level qualifications may be awarded the designation of ‘Dip PFS’ which means Member by Diploma. This is as an OFQUAL(Office of the Qualifications & Examinations Regulator) level 4 accredited qualification. It is considered equivalent to a certificate of higher education, an NVQ or a diploma in occupational education.

The next step is the Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning, also offered by the CII. Success at this level can be considered to be an OFQUAL level 6 qualification and is equivalent to degree level. Advisers achieving this level of qualification may use the designation ‘APFS’ which means Associate of the Personal Finance Society.

Advisers with this level of qualification can apply for the coveted Chartered Financial Planner title.

Further specialist qualifications may lead to Fellowship level and the designation ‘FPFS’ which means Fellow of the Personal Finance Society.

Our IFAs are qualified at least to Diploma level and Dominic Spalding is a Fellow of The Personal Finance Society, designation FPFS, having completed the Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning, and is a Chartered Financial Planner. Jonathan is progressing towards Chartered status.

September 2009

Expert Financial Solutions Ltd chartered financial planners and independent financial advisers IFA financial planners based in Witney, Oxford, Oxfordshire. We provide independent financial advice, pension advice, investment advice, retirement advice, annuity advice, SIPP advice pension drawdown advice, pension transfer advice, wealth management and pensions on divorce advice in Oxford, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire and Berkshire, Abingdon, Banbury, Bampton, Bicester, Burford, Chipping Norton, Cheltenham, Cirencester, the Cotswolds, Henley on Thames, Kidlington, Lechlade, Oxford, Wantage, Witney and Woodstock. Pension specialists, retirement planning specialists, pension transfer specialists, pension annuities, specialist pension advisers, investment advisers, and inheritance tax IHT mitigation and trust investment. Chartered Financial Planner. Oxfordshire's only Resolution qualified and Resolution accredited IFA for pensions on divorce and financial neutral for collaborative divorce.