I attended the launch in central London this week of the Personal Finance Society’s £1m drive to find new blood for the profession and tackle the worrying long-term decline in new entrants. It was a sobering morning.

First, praise must go to the PFS, which has had a rollercoaster ride over the last few years, for identifying the problem and suggesting positive solutions.

Engaging with other organisations, such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, social mobility charity UpReach, UCAS and Coventry University - which has its own Financial Planning degree - also deserves praise.

The PFS Pathways to the Profession campaign plans a swathe of training initiatives to encourage more people to consider a career in Financial Planning. One of these ideas is a new pathway to support 500 new entrants to join the profession. These new joiners will receive free PFS membership to get them started.

You can read more about the initiatives here - PFS Pathways to the Profession - and read PFS President Carla Brown’s impassioned plea for others to join the campaign here in an excluive column for Financial Planning Today.

So what’s the problem and why is action needed?

Some of the issues are complicated and include lack of understanding about careers in Financial Planning and financial services more generally. Young graduates, as a rule, do not wake up one morning and shout “Eureka, I must become a Financial Planner.” Explaining to the wider world that there are some excellent, well-paid careers in Financial Planning is one of the key aims of the campaign.

It’s not all gloom. Once people have joined the profession most say they enjoy it immensely and see worthwhile careers. The number of Chartered Financial Planners is growing and more are moving up the qualification ladder. At the middle and senior end there is no lack of good people pursuing rewarding careers.

The problem lies at the lower end, where the new blood joins. As Carla Brown warned, numbers here are shrinking. Fewer people are taking entry level qualifications. In fact the number has more or less halved in recent years and that’s a dangerous sign.

As she says, the profession, which has seen static numbers for many years, will simply shrink if nothing is done.

The PFS wants your help in doing more to spread the word about careers in the profession so, in many ways, it’s up to you.

• Our latest issue of Financial Planning Today magazine is out now and includes the fascinating results of our Annual Financial Planning Reader Survey. You can read the results here: Financial Planning Today magazine https://bit.ly/3EX7Asd. Now is a good time to subscribe to the magazine to receive every issue and upgrade to receive the rather nice print edition.

Kevin O’Donnell is editor of Financial Planning Today and a journalist with 40 years of experience. This topical comment on the Financial Planning news appears most weeks, usually on Fridays but occasionally other days.  Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Follow @FPT_Kevin 

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