CPD

All CPD content

Guide to mental health protection

To understand the impact of mental health on people and firms in the UK.
To ascertain how to work with insurers to help cover individuals.
To be able to help clients with mental health conditions get cover.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

The FCA proposals for the FSCS are good news for consumers

To learn about changes to FSCS funding
To understand how advisers will benefit
To learn about FCA motivations over FSCS funding

How can you get more of your clients claims paid?

To understand what problems there might be with claims.
To ascertain how to work with insurance providers on behalf of clients.
To be able to explain to clients the importance of full and frank disclosure.

How to protect defined benefit schemes

To understand the issues with DB pension schemes.
To be able to explain what the White Paper means for schemes.
To ascertain how the White Paper reforms might be implemented.

Guide to Help to Buy

Learn what the Help to Buy equity loan scheme is and how it compares to the Help to Buy Isa.
Understand what the repayment options are and how mortgage advisers can help clients.
Consider whether the equity loan is a helpful way onto the property ladder or a ticking timebomb.

Advising on overseas pensions involves know-how and ethics

To understand the changes announced by the DWP in March
To grasp the difference between advising on Qrops and advising on a UK pension
To understand what the FCA has said about Qrops

The role of annuities in modern retirement planning

Learn how the annuity market has recovered since the pension freedoms announcement and what has been driving it.
Understand some of the key features of annuities that means they are an option for the modern retiree.
Grasp the role of the adviser in educating retirees about annuities.

Dividend dilemma: Where to find sustainable yields

Understand the prospective outlook for dividend payments around the globe
Consider which factors could influence this outlook
Consider the different regions and sectors that may offer dividends

Retirees ready to release the pounds

Understand the reasons behind the growth in equity release
Learn about how equity release can benefit clients
Gain an understanding of the relationship between equity release and pensions

Small fund standouts: The overlooked winners

Comprehend the reasons intermediaries back smaller funds
Learn what issues to consider when investing in such funds
Understand the trends that prevent some in the industry from focusing on these product

Japan: Land of the rising funds

Gain an insight into Japanese funds and trusts
Learn about the factor affecting performance
Be able to describe the headwinds facing the sector

How investment can help deal with the pension crisis

To understand what the current situation with pensions is globally.
To list the various changes in the pensions and investment industry.
To be able to discuss potential alternative arrangements for retirement.

Practical examples of multi-national pooling

To be able to show how multi-national pooling works in different circumstances.
To understand how the loss carry forward rules work.
To list various pros and cons of alternatives to multi-national pooling.

Inheritance Tax

Guide to getting tax planning done early

Understand how to stop clients from leaving tax planning too late.
Learn how to help clients make sense of Isas and how to tackle inheritance tax.
Consider some of the top tips for tax planning and how to implement them.

Critical Illness

How to boost uptake of critical illness cover

Learn about the likelihood of getting ill and the financial impact on households.
Grasp what are the main barriers preventing people from taking out critical illness cover.
Understand what the protection industry can do to help advisers talk to clients about critical illness.

Pension Freedom

Pension freedoms three years on: where are we now?

Understand what the pension freedoms set out to achieve when they launched.
Learn what issues emerged in the wake of the pension reforms and why.
Consider what the industry needs to do to tackle the biggest pensions issues.

How advisers can use investment trusts

Learn the main reservations advisers have about investment trusts.
Consider what the industry has done to help educate advisers about closed-ended funds.
Understand how advisers can overcome some or all of these reservations and use them in client portfolios.

Retirement Income

How to help your clients in drawdown

To understand why drawdown became popular.
To be able to explain the pros and cons of drawdown.
To ascertain which clients might benefit from drawdown.

Pension Freedom

Getting your head around changes to death benefits

To learn about the changes to death benefits rules
To learn about spousal bypass trusts
To understand the pitfalls when passing pensions to beneficiaries

Why platforms are at the heart of advisers' access to products

Understand the headwinds platforms face and how they are used by advisers.
Learn whether there is space for both platforms and robo advisers, and the impact of PSD2.
Grasp how platforms will navigate the current regulatory environment.

Retirement Income CPD Course

Guide to how the pension freedoms have changed the pensions landscape

Understand the background to the pension freedoms.
Learn the options available to clients and the most commonly asked questions about the freedoms.
Grasp whether government and industry can do anything to ease the transition to decumulation.

Retirement Income CPD Course

How workplace pensions fit into a client's financial plan

Learn what has changed in workplace pensions.
Understand how to get the accumulation strategy right and common questions about decumulation.
Consider how to help maximise overall pension savings.

Retirement Income CPD Course

How to create a long-term investment plan

Understand the difference between accumulation and decumulation.
Consider when in the accumulation stage, what sort of investment strategy does a client need.
Learn how the investment strategy should change when a client reaches decumulation.

Retirement Income CPD Course

Annuities versus drawdown

Consider whether pension freedoms have made annuities unpopular.
Grasp whether drawdown is the better option and its impact on financial security in retirement.
Understand whether hybrid products could better serve the retirement market.

Retirement Income CPD Course

Pensions pathways: managing the transition

Learn about the definition of retirement and the need to set up a retirement plan.
Why retirees need to make adjustments when planning to retire and how the workplace can help.
Understand how much choices in retirement can lead to more complexity and where the adviser comes in.

Data protection

Guide to GDPR implementation

Learn what GDPR is and the key areas for adviser firms to consider when implementing it.
Consider the main challenges firms face as they prepare for GDPR and how to get GDPR-ready.
Understand whether the cybersecurity threat is real and how it might affect financial planners.

Defined Benefit

Under which circumstances is a pension transfer warranted?

To get up to speed with the FCA's policy statement on DB transfers
To learn some of the key points now required on DB transfers
To learn about APTAs and TVCs

Understanding what makes a good advice process

Understand the use of the first meeting and what this means for advisers.
Learn about the five steps of the advice process.
Grasp why first meetings should not be the focus of client/adviser interactions.

Data protection

Five questions advisers should ask about GDPR

Understand what a GDPR ready advice firm will look like.
Learn how to handle data stored on paper and the type of software which will make a firm compliant with GDPR.
Comprehend the fines the ICO can hand out for data breaches.

Guide to adviser soft skills

Learn what soft skills are, why it is important for advisers to have them and how to use them in client interactions.
Consider whether there is enough available training on soft skills for new and experienced advisers.
Understand how to use social media in financial planning to engage with existing and potential clients.

How international clients can benefit from pooling

To understand what multi-pooling is and how it works.
To be able to explain the benefits for corporate clients' employee benefit schemes.
To learn about the loss carry pool.

From DC to DC: when should clients switch?

To understand what the regulator's view on switching is.
To be able to list the pros and cons of switching.
To ascertain the tax position of those switching.

Bringing fact finds into the 21st century

Learn about how the fact find process is evolving
Grasp how fact finding systems can help with regulatory requirements
Learn about technological developments in obtaining and maintaining client data

The Brexit effect: Planning through uncertainty

Gain an understanding of the impact of Brexit on advice firms
Learn about how advisers can reassure their clients
Learn about the potential impact on markets

Venture Capital Trusts

Guide to VCT investing

To understand the basics of VCT development over the past two decades.
To ascertain what sorts of clients might be interested in VCTs and why.
To list the various pros and cons of using VCTs for pensions.

Sipp survey: Success story continues but legal issues lurk

Gain an understanding of the current Sipp market
Grasp the challenges faced by providers
Be able to describe how the market is changing

How to protect the elderly from financial abuse

To understand what is financial abuse.
To be able to explain the importance of power of attorney.
To be able to list the benefits of writing a will.

Financial Ombudsman Service

Dealing with complaints before they are referred to the Fos

To remind oneself of the basic procedures for complaints handling
To remember the importance of the approach of complaints handler
To learn about the challenges of tricky clients

Investment Income CPD Course

How to use multi-asset portfolios for income generation

To understand why people are seeking income-generating portfolio.
To be able to explain what a safe withdrawal rate is.
To understand the tax and performance implications of focusing solely on income.

Investment Income CPD Course

Understanding current trends in income

To understand what is driving trends in the sovereign debt market.
To be able to explain differences in spreads between types of bonds.
To understand how managers are finding opportunities in fixed income and equity income.