The first ever CFP professional of the year has leant her support to the IFP's campaign to significantly bolster its membership in the coming years.
Keri Carter CFPCM scooped the new award at the IFP annual conference earlier this month.
She has echoed calls for Financial Planners to boost their profession by increasing awareness in the industry and among consumers of the benefits they can bring.
The IFP has embarked on a campaign to significantly strengthen its membership to 3,500 by the end of 2016.
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At the conference, IFP president Rebecca Taylor CFPCM FIFP and IFP chief executive Steve Gazzard issued rallying cries to fellow planners to make it their mission to spread the word.
Former IFP board member and branch chairman Ms Carter said: "I feel we all owe it to the profession and to consumers to continue to share the benefits that quality Financial Planning can bring and this remains something I am very passionate about. It's all about spreading the word."
She also spoke about the benefits of gaining the CFPCM qualification and explained that this and being more involved with IFP activities has made a huge difference to her business life.
She said: "I also recognised that being involved in the IFP as both a member and in a more hands-on capacity would provide me with a broader understanding of Financial Planning. It did exactly this and I gained knowledge and experience from the branch meetings and the people that I met there.
"I'm in no doubt that involving myself in the IFP at branch and board level, including various committees on the way, helped me to gain confidence in my understanding of clients' needs and how to provide the best quality planning solutions for them."
Mr Gazzard said the IFP has been particularly pleased with annual conference attendees' responses to the launch of the spread the word membership campaign so far.
He said: "We believe that the best way to get across what Financial Planning is and how the IFP can support the profession, is for our members to share their experiences with colleagues and associates.
"There's more to come on this and if you have any ideas to support membership growth we'd love to hear them."
Ms Taylor told the conference: "CFP numbers in the UK have steadily grown so that we now have over 1,000 practicing CFP licensees. But we need to continue to grow.
"My request to you is could we all maybe try to get out into the wider world and let someone else know what Financial Planning is all about?"
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