To receive ‘Chartered’ status, individual financial planners undertake years of in-depth study to achieve the CII’s Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning, one of the highest level exams a Financial Planner can take. The qualification is designed to test knowledge, ability and ethical conduct in all areas of advice. As well as gaining this qualification, Chartered Financial Planners must also have five years of relevant industry experience and three years of Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

CPD is industry specific training, which must be undertaken for as long as a Chartered Financial Planner wishes to practice. This ensures their skills and knowledge are constantly honed and kept up to date, so their advice is always in line with best practice.

Finally, Chartered Financial Planners also must adhere to the Chartered Insurance Institute’s (CII’s) Code of Ethics and Conduct and hold valid membership of the Personal Finance Society.

More information on the institute is available on the CII website.

Our Marketing team were briefed to create an easy to navigate, simple to use website that would reflect our core values – they have truly delivered and we’re thrilled with the results.

Our site parallels our commitment to providing professional advice and personable service. We understand that speaking about your finances and planning for your financial future may be daunting, which is why we invite our clients to come in for a cup of tea and a chat in a relaxed and welcoming environment. We’ve tried to capture and reflect this theme across our new website.

At the Professional Financial Centre, we believe in working as a team which is why we have utilised some of the many talents of Helen White. Her unique images can be seen throughout the site and she will be a regular contributor to our blog, keeping us updated of her recent work.

We invite you to have a look around our site, provide feedback or pop in to chat with us over a cuppa.

Who are SOLLA?

SOLLA aims to assist consumers and their families in finding trusted accredited financial advisers who understand their needs. Founded in 2008 as a not for profit organisation, SOLLA was established to meet the need of consumers, advisers and those who provide financial products and services to the Later Life market. Its aim is to ensure that consumers are better informed about the financial issues of later life and can find an Accredited Adviser.

SOLLA is committed to:

• Promoting and raising awareness amongst consumers their families and professional advisers of financial issues in the Later Life
• Building relationships with both statutory and voluntary agencies, charities, housing and social care providers, financial services firms and those organisations who are interested in the financial well being of those in Later Life
• Raising the standards of practice of those engaged in advising in the older client market by promoting the highest levels of professionalism in financial advice
• Identifying and developing best practice by means of high quality training and the dissemination of latest information and know how
• Acting as a centre of technical excellence for Later Life Advisers
• To input into legislative and policy change and contribute to debates on policy

To find out more about SOLLA and the great work they do for the Later Life market, visit their website.

Our Services for Later Life clients

The range of services we offer to support the needs of our Later Life clients include:

• Equity release
• Tax planning
• Long term care
• Savings and investments
• Annuities

Please get in touch to find out more about our Later Life services and how we can provide advice specific to your individual sitation.

Often when we see a client for the first time and they talk through their situation and what they’re trying to achieve, they also voice their worries and concerns. These range from “will I have enough to retire on?” to “how will I protect my family should anything happen to me?” and “I’m confused about where I stand, I have numerous policies accumulated over the years” or simply “I’m worried about my financial future”.

Financial matters are often complex and confusing. To make matters worse, it’s an area filled with jargon and technical terms that sometimes even we struggle to articulate.

We believe in demystifying financial services and taking away the complexity. We empower our clients to make decisions that will make a positive impact on their life and their finances. We help them take ownership of their personalised financial plan, which we regularly review to ensure they remain on track.

Our clients aren’t looking to make a huge windfall. They want to protect what they’ve worked hard for, through honest and objective financial advice that will get them where they need to be. We take away their worry, so they can ‘sleep at night’ and rest assured their affairs are in safe hands – both today and the future.

If you want ‘sleepability’ when it comes to organising your financial affairs, please get in touch. Alternatively, some of these sleep-aids might come in handy!

I am delighted to announce that we have been awarded the prestigious Chartered Financial Planners designation by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII).

The CII is empowered by the Privy Council to award this status. The award is only made in exceptional cases, with under 300 firms nationwide who have received the designation to date.

Chartered status is the industry’s gold standard. It confirms that we have satisfied rigorous criteria relating to professional qualifications and ethical good practice.

Source: flickr Christopher Sabato

In addition, we are listed as an approved financial planning firm on the Law Society endorsed “SIFA Directory of Financial Advisers” which is again subject to stringent eligibility criteria.

With the Professional Financial Centre, you can rest assured knowing that you are dealing with proven professionals at the highest levels of service for both you and your clients.

Ewan is our resident technology expert (and husband of Kirsten), whose day job is in a management position with a major IT company. He ensures that all the systems in the office are up-to-date and working well, providing the best in productivity technology using the very latest software.

Source: flickr Darrren Hester

The Professional Financial Centre office uses a combination of locally-provided IT services, and market-leading “cloud” services, both of which mean the team has secure access to information from anywhere.

Outside of working hours, Ewan is a confirmed “petrol head”. He gets involved in various motoring and motor racing events throughout the year, as well as playing music and tinkering with all sorts of domestic technology.

Through the institute we are able to engage with a community of professionals, sharing ideas, experience and learnings, thereby increasing our personal potential and helping us to deliver a service which puts the interests of our clients first.

The IFP keeps us up-to-date with all relevant issues and provides an avenue for maintaining our knowledge, skills and professionalism – which we believe are a crucial part of being a Financial Planner.

We regularly attend their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) seminars and events as part of our commitment to ongoing learning.  

To find out more, visit the IFP website.

I suppose you could say that I’m a late starter as a full-time ‘professional’ artist. Although art has always been a part of my life, it was only in my mid-thirties that I discovered oil paints – a seminal moment – and from then on I was convinced that I had finally found my vocation.

Typically, the moments I strive to capture are those bursts of light that utterly transform the landscape, introducing new colour and radiance into the everyday views that we all take for granted. I use a combination of photography and personal recollection in order to recapture a moment on canvas.

As both painter and photographer, I spend at least an hour a day wandering the woodland and fields of Berkshire and the surrounding areas, gathering the material that later evolves into my oil paintings. 

My recent work reflects the autumn and winter seasons, encompassing them in all their glory. My portfolio including my portraiture and commission work as well as my contact details, can all be found on my website.

I will regularly post updates about my work on the Professional Financial Centre’s Blog, so keep checking back to catch my latest photographs and paintings.

She loves art, cooking, yoga and all things creative – especially when it comes to pushing the boundaries in financial services marketing!

Abbie has more than 13 years experience providing marketing, product, strategy, business development and consultancy to financial services firms based in Australia, the US and the UK.

She has a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), where she also lectured in marketing strategy and eBusiness, while providing marketing services to large organisations such as AMP and Henderson Global Investors.

Since arriving in the UK, Abbie has worked with large and small financial planning practices, helping them devise and implement strategies to build and grow their business. She has also supported and consulted to larger organisations such as Invesco Perpetual, SEI and JPMorgan.

Today, while continuing to support our business, Abbie regularly presents at industry events on marketing, Social Media, web strategy and working with professional partners.

“Providing access to financial advice enables solicitors to fulfil the key role of trusted adviser.”        Ian Muirhead, Solicitor and Director, SIFA Limited

SIFA was established in 1992 to encourage and support involvement by solicitors in financial services work. SIFA was a founder member of the Law Society’s Financial and Investment Business Working Party and is recognised by the FSA as the trade body for solicitor financial advisers. However, since 2001 SIFA has also accepted accountancy IFAs as members.

The Legal Services Act of 2007 has prompted a further extension of SIFA membership, and eligibility is now based on professional status, which in the case of financial advisers means qualifying to be classified as independent in the terms of  the FSA’s Retail Distribution Review. The Act ushers in a new era of professional advice in which the dividing lines between the legal, accounting and financial planning disciplines will be broken down and reconfigured business entities will emerge which are focused on identified client needs. SIFA’s revised objective, therefore, is to support and assist interaction between solicitors, accountants and financial advisers in whatever form this may take.

More information is available on the SIFA website.