New President of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI)’s Liverpool branch, Vanessa Doyle ACSI, has pledged to raise awareness of and reduce stigma around mental health.

The CISI has a mental health portal which claims to help members better themselves and their careers. The CISI mental health portal is an archive for resources and information related to wellbeing in the workplace.

Ms Doyle has served on the CISI Liverpool branch committee for eight years and has over 25 years of experience in the financial services profession. She is currently an investment administrator at Stellar Asset Management.

Ms Doyle said: “The pandemic has proved an extremely difficult time for many, and the number of people seeking help for their mental health wellbeing has increased.  As the UK starts to reopen, there will understandably, be many people who are anxious, but may be afraid to ask for help.  During my presidency, I want to raise awareness and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health.”

She replaces former President, Louise McEveley Chartered FCSI.

Ms McEveley said: “I aspired to be a role model for young women in the profession and I hope that I have inspired some of the youth in our region to enter our profession through our successful education programme.

“I know Vanessa will continue to be a role model for young women and will grow the region during her term as president. I look forward to working under Vanessa’s leadership and I fully support raising awareness for mental health.”

Kevin Moore, global business development director at the CISI, said: “We are delighted to welcome Vanessa and look forward to supporting her and the committee with forthcoming initiatives. We’d like to thank Louise for her inspiration and leadership over the last three years.”

The CISI is the professional body which runs the Certified Financial Planner designation. It is headquartered in the City of London and has 43,000 members in over 100 countries.