Eighteen firms have signed up so far for a campaign this summer to push Financial Planning into the public spotlight.

Close Brothers Asset Management in Bristol and Jane Smith Financial Planning in Buckinghamshire are among those set to take part in Financial Planning Week is set to return this summer, the CISI has revealed.

The national initiative, which will start on 6 June, aims to highlight the importance and practice of Financial Planning to consumers.

The IFP ran the campaign for seven years before the merger with the CISI late last year.

Financial Planning firms will again be offering free consultation surgeries, online question and answer sessions, and speaking to schools across the country about the merits of the Financial Planning profession.

Rebecca Taylor, CFP^TM Chartered FCSI, CISI board director and managing director of Aurea Financial Planning, said: “Our aim is to help the UK public draw up their own, personal, financial master plan, incorporating all of life’s milestones, whether that be preparing for retirement, buying a home, being newly-wed, or starting a business. This is something everyone can benefit from, not just the wealthy.”

She said: “The CISI and the Financial Planning community are very much focused on promoting the value of Financial Planning. People are starting to understand what financial planning is all about and are asking for an overall plan, not just for someone to have a look at their investments.”

The initiative is designed to show that financial planning and money management “is not just reserved for the wealthy and is a practice everyone can benefit from”, Ms Taylor added.

One of the aims of the event is to highlight the fact that the financial planning process is a very relationship-based process, with the primary aim being to help people organise their finances to achieve specific life goals.

The CISI urged all Financial Planning firms to get behind the initiative to “demonstrate to the nation that flexibility and freedom to a fuller life can be ever closer through true Financial Planning”.

The full list firms which pledged to take part (as of 28 April) are:

• BRB Wealth Management Ltd - Staffordshire
• Santorini Financial Planning Ltd - Loughborough
• Aspin Analysis limited - London
• Cosgrove Brown Financial Planning ltd - Swansea
• John Roddick & Son - Annan, Dumfries and Galloway
• Close Brothers - Edinburgh
• Close Brothers Asset Management - Bristol
• Ashlea Financial Planning – Cheltenham
• Jane Smith Financial Planning Limited - Buckinghamshire
• Addidi Wealth - London
• Matrix Capital Limited - Shropshire
• Smart Financial - Altrincham
• Equanimity IFA - London
• Lubbock Fine Wealth Management – London
• FPS London - London
• Future Asset Management - Bridgend Wales
• Expert Wealth Management - Witney
• Claritas Wealth Management - Stockport

More than twice as many firms ran free Financial Planning surgeries during the last Financial Planning Week, which took place in November 2014, compared to the previous year. The IFP reported at the time that over 75 firms opened their doors to provide sessions.

The campaign that year also attracted thousands of consumers to search for planning surgeries on the IFP’s Wayfinder website as well as using the Ask a Planner tool.

A Buckinghamshire-based Financial Planning firm reported eight potential new clients were lined up as a result of its first Financial Planning Week surgeries after the November 2014 campaign.

Jane Smith Financial Planning in Olney ran free surgeries for the public for the first time, with the firm's director Nicola Watts CFPTM Chartered MCSI telling sister website Financial Planner Online at the time: "We have been very pleased with the interest from potential new clients.”

Elizabeth Holt, managing director of Holt PR, which has worked in the past with the IFP to promote the campaign, has previously spoken to sister website Financial Planner Online of the benefits for planners speaking to the media during this period.

She said: “Financial Planning Week can provide the ideal springboard for an ongoing relationship with local media – so as many firms and individuals as possible should seize the opportunity.

“The power of PR should not be underestimated. Your current and potential clients should be shown that your firm is an active campaigner on financial education issues and that you and your colleagues are recognised spokespeople for the financial services sector.”

Firms wishing register interest in participating in Financial Planning Week can visit cisi.org/fpw2016