The Personal Finance Society (PFS) is celebrating its 10th birthday.
Formed in 2005 by the merger of the Society of Financial Advisers and the Life Insurance Association, the PFS has grown to become the largest professional body for financial advisers and associated roles, with a current membership in excess of 35,000 individuals.
The Society began the drive for higher professional standards by introducing a new Chartered Financial Planner status in that first year. Since then, more than 4,500 advisers have achieved chartered status, with thousands more on the journey. In addition, over 20,000 members also hold a level 4 diploma qualification.
Inaugural president Brian Steeples said: “Prior to the Personal Finance Society there were a number of different bodies, each with a slightly different agenda, which was not helpful for our profession.
“Government bodies, consumer groups and the media were receiving mixed messages on important issues affecting our sector and it was obvious that it would be much better served by a single vision and a unified approach.”
Now into its 11th year, the PFS continues to evolve to support the advice profession with a programme of business relevant CPD, a suite of member services and good practice guidance available.
Current president David Thomas said: “One benefit of having a large membership that reflects the views and interests of our market is that there are thousands of members delivering good practice every day. The more we can do to facilitate that, the better it will be for members and the sector on the whole.”
Chief executive, Keith Richards, added: “It is essential that our profession continues to evolve and for the Personal Finance Society to drive awareness of the step-change in professional standards. Our consumer initiatives and recent work aimed at uniting the sector and enhancing consumer trust is an important first step and provides the foundations from which to build further.
“Our change of approach and developing relationship with a more engaging regulator also delivered tangible results during 2014 and it is encouraging to see the positive impact of this change beginning to take effect on the sector as a whole.
“Whilst important in terms of engaging the wider sector in the pursuit of high professional standards, it introduces a challenge in satisfying the different segments of a broad church membership.
“In future therefore, as well as continuing to enhance the overall support and resources we deliver, we shall be building tailored programmes for our paraplanner and compliance members as well as the introduction of a new Financial Planning Academy to serve our growing chartered community.”