From July 2017, at least a quarter of a Chartered firm’s advisers must hold Chartered status, rising to half of advisers by January 2020, the Chartered Insurance Institute has announced.
The institute has published a new set of standards for financial planners, following its review of the existing standards and eligibility criteria for corporate Chartered status in June last year.
In its initial phase, the CII undertook a series of one to one interviews with stakeholders from across financial services, as well as facilitating a series of focus groups with clients and small and medium enterprises.
This was followed by an open consultation with members, non-members and stakeholders who were invited to share their thoughts on what the standards and criteria that underpin the corporate Chartered status should look like.
As a result, firms will now have to meet criteria around conduct and culture, which requires “a commitment to behave ethically and to align themselves with the evolving regulatory conduct risk agenda and delivering positive customer outcomes”.
The CII also said that, in response to feedback, improvements have been made to the application and renewal process, which should reduce the administrative burden placed on firms
Steve Jenkins, director of financial services and insurance markets at the CII, said that Chartered is widely recognised by customers as the ‘gold standard’ and has been successful in encouraging firms to embrace the challenges of professionalism.
“The CII remains mindful of the importance of ensuring that any chartered scheme is able to withstand robust scrutiny from the public and against this background we have taken the opportunity to consult widely.
“I believe the changes we are announcing today support the CII’s mandate to ‘secure and justify the confidence of the public’ in financial planning. In addition they recognise the importance of maintaining the reputation of the Chartered brand amongst existing Chartered firms.”
ruth.gillbe@ft.com
