Becoming a successful Financial Planning firm is a challenging journey. If your firm is making progress towards this goal, yet has identified particular development needs to help you succeed, then you should be considering entering an application for this year’s David Norton Building Excellence Award.

With more and more IFP members accessing information while on the move through smart phones and other mobile devices, the IFP has been working on changes to its website to improve the access for such users.

Following on from last year’s highly successful Financial Planning Week campaign, the IFP is again leading the way to help consumers improve their financial “fitness” with its fifth annual campaign.

Suffolk Life is one of the UK’s leading providers and administrators of self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs). We were established in 1971 and have used our experience and knowledge to build up a centre of SIPP investment excellence.

Hornbuckle Mitchell has long been a firm supporter of the IFP and we are delighted to be entering our second year as a sponsor after enjoying a fruitful 2011.

Highlighting his overriding principle towards referrals and prospecting, ‘it is silly not to ask’, respected referrals expert Matt Anderson posed a number of questions for delegates at the IFP Manchester branch meeting.

The first South Wales branch meeting took place in February at a new venue at Brewin Dolphin’s Cardiff office to house a record number of attendees, new quarterly meeting format and an excellent line up of speakers.

Northern Home Counties branch met in February to look at issues linked to working with elderly clients. Martin Hill and Ruth Markham from local legal firm Tollers talked delegates through the structure and issues around Powers of Attorney, including the time it takes to register one.

The second Surrey branch meeting of the year took place on 28 February in Guildford. Delegates enjoyed two sessions, the first on the topics of business growth and questions to ask a private banking partner and second on maximising the value of cashflow modelling and working effectively with Paraplanners.

The biannual Art and Science of Financial Planning workshop returns on 28-29 June to the Oxford Belfry.