The CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Society of the UK has become the fourth organisation to join The Chartered Body Alliance, the partnership of professional bodies.

It will increase the joint membership of the Alliance to almost 225,000 professionals.

The Alliance’s founding members were the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and the Chartered Banker Institute.

It was formed in 2017 to serve the public interest and support the members of each body by sharing insights and knowledge on issues important to the financial services sector.

The CFA UK was created in 1955 in London and now has 12,000 investment professionals as members. Most of the members have earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and many analyse securities, manage investment portfolios, advise on investments, or are in roles responsible for investment operations or oversight.

It says it is, “not a lobby group or a trade body”, instead it says it is “an independent, professional association whose mission is to educate, connect and inspire the investment community to build a sustainable future.”

The Chartered Body Alliance said it aims to demonstrate a collective commitment to enhancing professionalism and improving public confidence and trust in UK financial services.

It said it promotes the importance of professionalism, lifelong learning, and integrity within financial services. Its member bodies share information and collaborating to identify challenges and opportunities, engaging in dialogue with regulators, government, and other stakeholders.

Will Goodhart, CFA UK chief executive, said: “The Chartered Body Alliance helps the different parts of the finance profession to work together in the public interest and we are delighted to be joining the group so that we can support and contribute to its mission.”

Tracy Vegro, CISI chief executive said: “The CFA UK joining the Chartered Body Alliance is testament to our collective objective of promoting the highest professional standards to build public trust in all aspects of the provision of financial services to the end consumer. We look forward to their guidance, thought leadership and sharing of best practice.”

Financial Planning Today Analysis: The addition of the highly respected CFA UK underlines the growing importance of the alliance which now needs to use this greater influence for the betterment of professional standards in financial services. So far the alliance has mostly been in the wings but the group could be a much stronger force in the financial services sector and move centre stage if it wanted. Whether the individual professional bodies would be willing to dilute their own influence to make this happens remains to be seen but the Chartered Body Alliance is one to watch, albeit with many questions to resolve.