Tracy Vegro, CEO of the CISI professional body, has called on Financial Planners to get behind the organisation's upcoming financial education campaign.
She told delegates at the CISI’s annual Financial Planning Conference today that the professional body was working on a new financial education initiative to boost the pro bono work members do within schools.
A pilot initiative is currently seeing its financial education materials evaluated by education specialists for a January launch.
The initiative is part of the work being done by the CISI, the provider of the Certified Financial Planner qualification in the UK, in a drive to become the preeminent membership body for the financial advice profession. The drive will also see several new people join the senior CISI team in November.
Ms Vergo told delegates that financial advice was more important than ever in the UK due to political and economic change.
She said: “People need financial advice now more than ever in my lifetime. Advisers are more important to their clients than ever before.”
More than 350 Financial Planners and other financial experts are attending the two day conference near Windsor, one of the biggest events in the Financial Planning calendar.
The CISI’s Financial Planning Conference 2026 is spotlighting AI integration this year as well as how to attract and train new talent. Lifestyle Financial Planning will also feature.
The conference is at the De Vere Beaumont Estate near Windsor and runs today and tomorrow, 8 and 9 October. It is the biggest gathering of Certified Financial Planner professionals in the UK and the agenda has been developed in collaboration with the CISI Financial Planning Conference Committee.
Speakers include Rory Sutherland, vice chair of Ogilvy UK, storytelling expert Matthew Dicks from the USA, FPSB CEO Dante De Gori CFP, Founder and CEO of AI for Non-Techies, Heather Murray and Jamil Qureshi, a leading voice in performance psychology and TEDx speaker.
Topics being covered include behavioural science, storytelling frameworks to build trust and deepen client relationships, top AI tools and prompts for Financial Planners, global insights and driving performance.
The conference will also include breakout streams, workshops, networking opportunities and the annual CISI Financial Planning Awards ceremony, including the CFP Celebration, a Gala Dinner awards event honouring individual and firm excellence.
• Check back with Financial Planning Today today and tomorrow for further coverage.