The Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment is to relaunch its Certified Financial Planner designation with a new pathway which will move the qualification up from Level 6 to Level 7.

The professional body says the qualification will be the highest available to UK Financial Planners.

The pathway to the designation will be radically overhauled to pave the way for the revamped and higher qualification. Some critics have said the previous pathway was too complicated and not user-friendly.

The CFP qualification is a global licence overseen by the FPSB from Denver, USA. There are more than 180,000 holders around the world and just over 900 in the UK.

The CFP designation is a rival to the PFS’s Chartered Financial Planner qualification although many planners hold both designations.

The CISI says the study pathway to CFP certification will be restructured to raise CISI’s Diploma in Financial Planning from Level 6 to Level 7 on the National Qualifications Framework. It says this will reflect the inclusion of specialist knowledge. 

These changes will make CISI’s Level 7 Diploma in Advanced Financial Planning the highest level Financial Planning professional qualification in the UK, says the CISI.

The CFP designation is an annually renewable licence with the CISI in the UK.

Candidates looking to complete the new study pathway to CFP certification will need to meet entry requirements for the new CISI Level 6 Certificate in Advanced Financial Planning examination, which will be followed by a financial plan assessment at Level 7.

The new CISI Level 6 Certificate in Advanced Financial Planning will require 200 study hours, a recommended reading list and a narrative exam with sittings twice a year in March and September. 

Entry requirements for the new CISI Level 6 Certificate in Advanced Financial Planning require that the candidate must hold an RDR-compliant qualification for FCA Activities 4 and 6 (retail/packaged products).

The syllabus for the new CISI Level 6 Certificate in Advanced Financial Planning will be available this month, with the workbook due in May. 

The first exam sitting will be in September 2019 and then in March and September annually. The Level 6 exam will be a three-hour written examination in three sections.

The CISI is offering an increased number of new courses to support candidates. Details are on the CISI website.

In addition, a new two-day course, the Principles and Practice of Financial Planning, will be starting this month. 

Candidates currently studying for CFP certification will be unaffected by the changes.

Jacqueline Lockie CFP Chartered FCSI, CISI Head of Financial Planning said: “We have worked hard, with the support of FPSB Ltd, the CISI Financial Planning Forum Committee, other CFP professionals and specialists, to restructure the UK study pathway to CFP certification to equip Financial Planners with the skills, abilities and knowledge to build robust financial plans to help clients meet their financial and lifestyle objectives.”

Noel Maye, CEO of Financial Planning Standards Board, welcomed the improvements.

He said: “CISI has made great progress putting in place the training and development components of a world-class Financial Planning certification programme in the UK.  FPSB looks forward to continuing to work with CISI to grow substantially the number of CFP professionals so that consumers in the UK will have increased access to competent, ethical Financial Planners, who put their clients’ interests first.”