• Holder & Combes
• Chartered Financial Planners
• London City, EC1A
• Tel +44 (0)207 101 2817

What is a Chartered Financial Planner?

Chartered Financial Planners are a type of Independent Financial Advisor (or IFA for short). IFAs are so called because they are not tied to financial products from a particular provider; instead they are 'independent' and can advise on and recommend financial products from the entire market.

Here in the UK, IFAs are strictly regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In practice this means that an IFA is a qualified professional who:

(a) has passed examinations set by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), and
(b) is obligated to keep their financial knowledge up to date and in line with the current best practice indefinitely, in a process called Continuing Professional Development or CPD.

Less than 5% of FCA regulated IFA firms in the City of London have achieved the professional standard of Chartered Financial Planners. Here's why:

First, individual plannners must have at least five years' relevant experience in the industry, as well as no less than three years' CPD.

Then, they must complete the CII’s Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning. This qualification, one of most demanding in the industry, aims to ensure that the IFA's knowledge, ability, ethics and conduct are all without question and meet the CII's extremely rigorous standards.

Last, Chartered Financial Planners must always hold valid membership of the Personal Finance Society, an achievement in its own right.

Ed's areas of expertise and financial qualifications.

What is a Certified Financial Planner?

A CFP can be seen as a personal trainer for your finances. Just like a trainer in a gym asks you to sets goals, keeps a record and assesses how your fitness plan is progressing, a CFP will perform a similar role for your money. You can expect a qualified CFP to do the following:

1. Work out what you are hoping to achieve from your finances e.g. buy a house, start a business or plan a dream retirement.
2. Understand what resources you have currently to meet your objectives e.g. existing income and capital.
3. Create a realistic plan to meet your objectives using some given assumptions e.g. tax, inflation, and growth.
4. Test, adjust and reshape the plan as your circumstances change.

The term Certified Financial Planner or CFP is applied to a financial adviser who has successfully completed and attained the award of CFPCM as dictated by the Institute of Financial Planning (IFP).

The CFP qualification is the only internationally recognized professional financial planning qualification in existence. There are over 900 CFP advisers in the UK and 139,000 worldwide. Look for the following charter mark to make sure the firm you deal with include experienced advisers that have attained this valuable qualification.

Nick's areas of expertise and financial qualifications.

The FCA aims to make identifying a financial advisor that you can trust to provide unbiased, independent advice as easy as possible. The additional qualifications that Ed Holder and Nick Combes have achieved, and the firm's resulting Chartered status, mean that our financial advice and planning are not only independent and professional, but in the top flight.

Find out more about our services: investments & funds, retirement planning and pension consolidation, insurance, mortgages, estate planning and wills, tax planning, and currency exchange.

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