The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) is delighted to announce that three new financial planning firms have achieved Accredited Financial Planning FirmTM status: Ashlea Financial Planning based in Cheltenham, boosst Limited based in Bedfordshire and The Fundamental Group based in Surrey.
This means that these three firms have joined an elite list of 72 Accredited Firms which have demonstrated their professionalism by meeting the highest standards of excellence in Financial Planning.
For a firm to become an Accredited Financial Planning FirmTM it must:
- evidence that it meets strict criteria in relation to the delivery of financial planning
- place clients at the heart of its business proposition and ensure they receive consistently excellent service
- re-confirm it meets the standards on an annual basis to retain its Accredited Financial Planning FirmTM status.
In addition, the firm’s individual or supervisor of team in charge of all FCA registered financial planners offering a financial planning service must be qualified as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professional or
- The majority of the financial planners in the company are CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professionals.
- Consumers can find the list of Accredited Firms in their area by accessing the CISI’s Wayfinder website and insert their post code.
Diane Weitz CFPTM Chartered MCSI, director of Ashlea Financial Planning, said: ‘With a commitment to financial planning and with two planners holding the CFP™ designation, becoming an Accredited Financial Planning Firm™ seemed a natural progression as we seek to establish our ongoing professionalism - especially since having won the David Norton Award in 2017.”
Jacqueline Lockie CFP™ Chartered FCSI, Head of Financial Planning at the CISI said: It is a pleasure to have Ashlea Financial Planning as an Accredited Financial Planning Firm™. The firm has shown its willingness to develop and grow over the years and its commitment to its clients and the profession is fantastic to see.”
Keith Butten CFPTM Chartered FCSI (right, with Josh Butten CFPTM APP Chartered
MCSI below), the director of boosst Limited, said: “The team were already running a successful financial planning business within the framework of MDG and when we agreed that it was time to part and build a new firm, we did so from a blank page, placing client outcomes and lifestyle cashflow planning at the forefront of every decision.
“We realised very early on that we were building something very special - however only external validation of that idea could turn it into a fact.
“With the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment being the professional body for financial planners such as ourselves, it seemed obvious that boosst should demonstrate our beliefs by becoming an Accredited Financial Planning FirmTM.
“We decided that the key Accreditations and Certifications that we wanted boosst to
achieve included the Accredited Financial Planning FirmTM as well as individual British Standards for both our Business and Compliance Frameworks. Whilst Accredited status provides consumer confidence, the complimentary British Standards give us great confidence internally - as our business processes have been externally stress tested to rigorous criteria. In our opinion, this combination of Accreditations and Certifications represent the ‘Gold Standard’ in UK Financial Planning today.
“The journey we undertook saw us develop boosst with the benefit of being able to work with the best, to build what the boosst team believe to be the perfect financial planning business. So far, client feedback would indicate that our clients agree, which is hugely rewarding and has culminated in the Institute accepting our application providing further validation of the work we have undertaken. We are very pleased to have achieved Accreditation with the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), which we consider to be the home of UK Financial Planning.”
“The planners at boosst continue to demonstrate their longstanding commitment to a clearly defined financial planning service to their clients. It is a real pleasure to have them on board as an Accredited Financial Planning Firm™ supporting the CISI and wider profession,” said Jacqueline Lockie CFP™ Chartered FCSI, the Head of Financial Planning at the CISI.
Craig Chapman CFPTM Chartered MCSI, the founder and managing director of The
Fundamental Group, said: “We are thrilled to become the latest Accredited Financial Planning Firm™ with the CISI and to join a very select group of the UK’s top financial planning firms. Achieving accreditation powerfully reinforces our internal belief of the value of true financial planning and the long-term tangible benefits to our clients. Becoming a CISI Accredited Financial Planning Firm™ demonstrates our company’s commitment to the highest ethical, professional and practice standards in Financial Planning.”
Welcoming Craig and The Fundamental Group, Jacqueline Lockie CFP™ Chartered FCSI, Head of Financial Planning at the CISI said: “Craig Chapman is a real advocate of cashflow based financial planning for all his clients. He supports the CISI in various ways already and it is a pleasure to have his new firm approved as an Accredited Financial Planning Firm™. The firm’s inclusion adds further to the number of firms and growing recognition of the status and gives a clear message demonstrating the high level of service all our Accredited Financial Planning Firms™ offer to their clients.”
If a financial planning firm wishes to apply to become a CISI Accredited Financial Planning FirmTM please contact financial.planning@cisi.org