The Initiative for Financial Wellbeing (IFW) has been awarded Institute status by the Secretary of State for Business Kwasi Kwarteng MP.

It will now become the Institute for Financial Wellbeing, with rebranding work currently underway.

The IFW is a non-profit organisation for financial advisers and other professionals and was launched by Financial Planning firm entrepreneur Chris Budd in September 2019.

It is a membership-based body providing research, tools and knowledge focused on the growth of financial wellbeing.

Institute is a Government-protected and regulated term which is only awarded to organisations carrying out research and selected professional bodies.

The IFW said it was awarded Institute status as recognition for its white papers, CPD accreditation programme and the Financial Wellbeing Certificate programme.

So far 50 Financial Planners and advisers have completed the certificate programme.

Nick Marsh, CEO of the IFW, said: “We’re thrilled to have received this recognition in such a short space of time. It sets us up nicely for the next stage in our growth plans.

“Put simply, we want the IFW, with its new Institute status, to be the Gold-Standard benchmark for financial wellness in the profession. We want to attract more members who share our values and who serve similarly like-minded clients.”

Chris Budd, founder and chair of the IFW, said: “When I made the decision to set up the Initiative, to reach this milestone in such a short period was a pipedream. An Institute has a purpose, they are permanent and do not end when one person is gone. The IFW is the sum of all of its parts, the members, the board and the operational team.”

The IFW aims to help Financial Planners, advisers and coaches improve their client’s financial wellbeing by helping them become happier not just wealthier.

It also aims to influence the way the financial services industry works with clients, shifting the focus from money being the goal to money being a tool with which to attain life goals.

The membership-body has partnered with several providers including retirement and investment provider Aegon UK, platform Parmenion, and fintech Benchmark Capital which also owns Financial Planning firm Aspect8.

Ed Dymott, managing director wealth at Benchmark Capital, said: “We partner with some of the best Financial Planners in the UK, and for our advisers and firms, improving financial wellbeing is a core purpose of why we all exist.

“We are delighted to see the IFW has been awarded Institute status, which is recognition of the high regard in which their work is held. We are seeing great value in engaging with some of the most forward-thinking Financial Planners in the UK, and are excited by the IFW’s future plans.”