Financial Marketing

Yesterday, I undertook my third annual assessment for ISO22222 Personal Financial Planning. This is the British Standards for Personal Financial Planning and assessed by Standards International. I would like to thank Standards International for their support and guidance for yesterday and the past three years we have been working together. You have allowed our IFA business to grow.

The assessment went well and I look forward to the results in due course.  So, why am I blogging about this? The reason is that, in my opinion, this is one of the most important qualifications that can be achieved in the financial advice industry.

Sure, everyone can read an exam text book to understand the technical issues of pensions, investments, ISAs and annuities as examples, and having undertaken most of the financial advice exams available, I should know. The difference with the ISO22222 Personal Financial Planning assessment is that they look at the nitty gritty of what has actually been delivered, at the coal face if you like, to the clients you have seen and helped over the last year’s period.  So the assessment is about what has been delivered, what the client receives, the structured format that they receive it, allowing full two way communication and not what you can remember from your text book studies.

The improvements that have been made to service over the last 3 years can be attributable in part to the processes that they recommend and implement to ensure that our clients, the most important individuals in any financial planning process, are served in an ethical, profession and timely fashion to make sure that their expectations are met and exceeded when planning their finances for their futures.

Thank you again to Alison, Michelle and the team at Standards International and I look forward to continuing the process in future years.