The move will see significant changes to Chartered Financial Planning Firm status and the requirements for the designation.

There will be more promotion of the status to the public, a change to the business model criteria, a simpler applications process, a new focus on public trust and an extension of the ‘core values’ to diversity and inclusion at firms.

The changes coincide with previously announced tougher corporate Chartered entry requirements for firms from January 2020 when at least 50 per cent of advisers at Chartered Financial Planning firms must hold the Chartered Financial Planner title, a doubling of the current 25 per cent requirement.

The CII says the proposition has been re-designed following consultation with the profession, consumers and public bodies. There are currently 904 firms worldwide holding a CII Corporate Chartered title.

The changes are built around a commitment to professional competence from both the CII and Chartered firms. The Chartered Ethos combines shared commitments to “nurturing knowledge, client centricity and serving society,” says the CII, and these are at the forefront of the changes.

The CII will focus on the these 5 priorities:

1. Enhancing value: The CII will promote Chartered status to the public through an advertising campaign and provide a toolkit to help firms promote Chartered status.

2. Changing business models: The CII is making the criteria “more reflective” of the broad range of modern business models across the profession, so that all employer types can be included.  The CII is also launching a new Chartered title to reflect the growth of the Managing General Agent (MGA) sector.

3. Applications and renewals: The CII is simplifying the application process, reducing the number of documents and will move both the application and renewal process from paper to email.

4. Effective oversight: The CII says it is changing the oversight arrangements to reduce “unnecessary bureaucracy” and to increase focus on public trust.  This will primarily be an annual review used by the CII to audit information and verify compliance. 

5. Social impact: The CII will expand its criteria around ‘core values and business practices’ to encompass diversity and inclusion.

The new criteria will go live on 1 July.

Sian Fisher, chief executive of the CII, said: “We are living and working in a constantly changing world and the role of the insurance and Financial Planning profession is increasingly important to help safeguard the lives and livelihoods of our society. It is my ambition that Chartered status achieves parity of esteem with other chartered professions and this refreshed proposition will help us get there.”

There are more details of the changes on the CII website here: https://www.cii.co.uk/membership/join-us/chartered/corporate-chartered/

The CII has 127,000 members worldwide.