Fifteen IFP and CISI branches are set to merge next year as the transition takes place over the course of 2016.

Of the current IFP branches, 15 correlate exactly with existing CISI branches, while the Bristol and Bath branches are merging. For both the CISI and the IFP there are new opportunities, with five new branch regions available for CISI and three new regions for IFP.

The IFP branches that are not merging are Cotswolds, Essex, Lancashire and Cumbria, Northern Home, and Thames Valley. The CISI has branches in Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey and Republic of Ireland. The bodies will be working out the best way of providing the optimum level of service to all members as the merged structure beds in over the next 12 months.

The CISI is committed to maintaining and developing the IFP’s branch network for the benefit of members. All IFP branch meetings that are scheduled for 2015 will go ahead as planned and CPD logs will be kept updated by the CISI. IFP branch meetings are not only a great way to boost your knowledge and skills in Financial Planning, but also they provide the ideal opportunity for networking with other professionals.

All IFP branches will run their own programmes until the end of March 2016. Members can continue to book to attend any branch meetings running from now until the end of December by contacting your branch chairman.

Members will continue to receive email updates of local meetings from the CISI. For those branches that are merging, from April 2016 the IFP branch chairman will join the existing CISI branch committee. For those branches that will be new to the CISI, a new committee will be formed for each which will come into effect on 1 April.

Members can also attend any CISI events, booking your place via www.cisi.org/events.