With yet another sell-out IFP annual conference in store, the biggest Financial Planning event of the year is almost here. Sue Whitbread, IFP communications director, previews what delegates can expect.
For three days from 1 October, almost 400 of the leading Financial Planners and Paraplanners from the UK and overseas will descend upon the glorious Celtic Manor Resort in South Wales for the 25th IFP Annual Conference.
They'll be joined by almost 200 experts from a host of different organisations relevant to the needs of Financial Planning professionals who will be contributing to the event as session leaders, exhibitors, journalists and in many other ways too.
Nick Cann, chief executive of the IFP, sees this year's conference theme as being a key theme for 2013. While the IFP supports the Question of Trust campaign, the brainchild of Fiscal Engineers managing director Shane Mullins, building trust is key driver for 2013. He said: "In reality this theme should underpin all our businesses. Survey after survey and extended consumer feedback confirms that trust remains the single most important ingredient in a strong Financial Planning relationship.
"The programme we've developed will help Financial Planning firms to differentiate themselves from 2013 in key areas around building trust through client service and having effective business processes in place. It'll get people thinking differently about what they do and how they do it. The sessions are designed to help delegates to deliver more as a business but also, most importantly, to deliver more for their clients."
For the first time, Transact will be lead sponsor for the conference. As Malcolm F Murray, head of marketing at Transact, explained: "The next 12 months sees the watershed of a new era in Financial Planning which we believe will epitomise the core values represented by the IFP, its members and Transact. It is fitting therefore, that we should mark this historic year with our sponsorship of this outstanding Financial Planning conference."

So what have delegates got to look forward to at Celtic Manor? With almost 50 separate programme sessions, providing a significant proportion of an IFP member's structured annual CPD target, there's not the scope to go into detail here so do check online at financialplanning. org.uk for full details.
Following an exclusive session for Accredited Financial Planning Firms^TM on the Monday morning, the exhibition will open at lunchtime on 1 October. Monday afternoon sees a new introduction for 2012, a series of "How To" workshops. Whether getting to grips with social media, PR and working with the media or a host of other topics, you'll find topics to suit your needs. There's also an exclusive session for IFP Fellows. This is followed by the AGM, to which all members are invited. Attending the IFP AGM is a great opportunity for members to catch up with their professional body and something we'd encourage members to add to their schedule. The new look Welcome Evening moves away from the exhibition hall and, courtesy of sponsors Parmenion, should be lots of fun too. We're keeping the details close to our chest at the moment, but it won't disappoint.
Keynote sessions from Carl Richards CFP^CM, of Behavior Gap, Jacqueline Gold, chief executive of Ann Summers, Ian Taylor, chief executive of Transact and John Cremer are likely to be highlights. As Mr Cremer commented: "Relationships are key to any successful business. I'm looking forward to helping delegates by giving them tools to rapidly connect with new clients and deepen trust and rapport with existing clients. We have all heard the phrase "different strokes for different folks" well this is a way to get to know your folks and the right strokes".

However, the track programme has equally powerful sessions and speakers, including sessions designed specifically for Paraplanners. The full programme is at www.ifpconference.org.uk, although delegates are urged to study the details before they arrive. It's a packed agenda, so working out in advance which sessions you most want to go to makes things easier. As usual, there will be a host of awards presented which recognise the achievements of people and firms in Financial Planning. Perhaps the award most keenly sought after in recent years has been the David Norton "Building Excellence" Award.
There will be more than 500 of the profession's most talented individuals gathering at the Gala Dinner, this year kindly sponsored by Succession Group. Simon Chamberlain, chief executive, said: "The management of Succession Group have been long- standing supporters of the IFP and indeed the chair of our investment committee is a past President. We are uniquely placed to understand its principles and values and share these ideas with our advisers, staff and clients." The evening will provide the showpiece of the event, with great entertainment, food and company. Online networking site Twitter will be a popular way to keep in touch whether you're at Celtic Manor or not. As well as tweeting the news via @IFP_UK and @FPM_Online we'll all be using the hashtag #IFPConf to find out what's going. If you've not yet discovered Twitter, why not use conference as a time to try it? There will be lots of experienced tweeters on hand to help.
I hope to see you there!