We are of the view that professional Financial Planners should be highly qualified in line with the requirements of other professions such as law and accountancy. Some Financial Planners contend that experience is the key, but we feel we owe it to you, our clients, to have as much knowledge and expertise as possible, in addition to many years’ experience. With this combination, we can truly deliver a first-class service.
The minimum qualification held by authorised Financial Planners is the Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning (DipPFS), at QCA level 4 in the National Qualifications Framework. These planners can refer to themselves as ‘fully qualified’ as they are indeed qualified for their role. However, as with all things, there is a lot to be learned by becoming a master of your role.
Chartered status is a widely renowned mark of professional competency. Within our profession the Chartered Financial Planner accolade is awarded to those who have attained both the Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning (QCA level 6), have at least five years’ experience, and uphold our professional body’s Code of Ethics.
Every one of our advisory team at Eldon is a Chartered Financial Planner.
Director Gemma Siddle is at QCA level 7 being a Chartered Financial Planner, a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society (FPFS), a Chartered Wealth Manager, and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments (CISI). Gemma was an individual national award winner for paraplanning in 2012.
In addition, Gemma holds the internationally recognised Certified Financial Planner licence (CFPTM). She was also a national award winner within the Financial Planning arm of what is now CISI in 2013 and won the flagship award the “Chartered Financial Planner of the Year” from the Personal Finance Society in 2019.
Adam Kinsley, James Hunt and Beth Cowell are also Chartered Financial Planners and are continuing their development toward becoming Fellows of the Personal Finance Society.
Our technical support team has the same ethos of using a combination of expertise and experience to deliver the best possible outcomes for our clients, with Senior Paraplanner Natasha Noble also holding Chartered status and the rest of the paraplanning team all on their journey towards this too.
We are very proud that Eldon was in the first cohort to be awarded Corporate Chartered Financial Planner status by the Chartered Insurance Institute, a designation now being achieved by a growing number of financial planning firms.
Eldon Financial Planning was awarded our professional body’s national “Chartered Financial Planning Firm of the Year” in 2011 and again in 2018. This evidences our commitment to being at the forefront of our profession and leading the way in providing great client outcomes. Click to go to the Chartered Financial Planner website.
We are proud to have been recognised over the years for the work that we do and the way that we run our business. Our trophy cabinet is looking good!