A record number of Financial Planners have achieved Chartered status via the CII, with no sign of demand slumping.

Despite the CII’s annual report showing that, in general, Chartered-accredited individuals had shrunk for the first time in a decade, Financial Planners bucked the trend.

As at 31 Dec 2017, there were 6,027 Chartered Financial Planners, up from 5,474 at the end of 2016.

The trend has continued upwards this year and currently stands at 6,336.

The CII also estimated that a further 8,000 are “on the journey to Chartered with demand for advanced qualifications showing no sign of slowing down.”

The general drop in Chartered titles, which includes Chartered Insurance Brokers, Chartered Insurers, Chartered Insurance Practitioners and Chartered Insurance Risk Managers, was revealed in the CII’s annual report, which showed a decline for the first time since 2008.

It showed a fall from 23,266 in 2016 to 23,137 people with one of the CII’s Chartered designations in 2017.

A spokeswoman for the CII said: “Although some individual Chartered titles have plateaued, we continue to see significant growth in those obtaining Chartered Financial Planner.

“We have also seen growth in Corporate Chartered and are in the process of launching a consultation paper to seek the views of members on the current criteria.

“Eleven years on from the launch of the three Corporate Chartered titles; Chartered Insurers, Chartered Insurance Brokers and Chartered Financial Planners, the CII plans to evolve the Corporate Chartered proposition to make it more modern, relevant and inclusive to address the needs of a more diverse membership base.”

She added: “The profession continues to actively seek Chartered status and in 2018 companies including RSA Claims, Chubb and Covea have all been proud to join the growing Chartered community.”