The Personal Finance Society has unveiled the leading planners who will form its new Financial Planning Practitioner Panel for 2018/2019 - the body which helps shape PFS opinion, lobbying strategy and sharing of best practice.

The panel, established last year to encourage the “sharing of skills, techniques and good practice” among members, will continue to be chaired by outgoing PFS President Sharon Sutton.

In its first year, the PFS says the panel of expert practitioners helped the PFS executive team develop and share a range of skills and business practice CPD content with members, including:

•A good practice guide to Financial Planning, highlighting how Financial Planning has the power to change lives;

•A series of client testimonial videos, demonstrating the client perspective of the power of Financial Planning;

•A dedicated Power Live event, “created by practitioners for practitioners”;

•A series of CPD videos from industry expert Mitch Anthony;

•Articles, case studies and a range of other practitioner-led initiatives.

To take the panel into its second year, three new panelists are joining from 18 September are:  Ruth Sturkey, client director at Paradigm Norton; Alasdair Walker, director at Hunter Aitkenhead & Walker and Duncan Parkes, director at Old Mill Financial Planning. Garry Hale, managing director at HK Wealth has been
re-elected to sit on the panel for a second year.

 The full list of practitioners on the panel for 2018/2019 is:

•Adrian Quick, Director, HarperLees

•Alasdair Walker, Director, Hunter Aitkenhead & Walker

•Anthony Villis, Managing Partner, First Wealth

•Brendan O'Ciobhain, Managing Director, Phoenix Wealth Management

•Damien Rylett, Managing Director, Brunel Capital Partners

•Duncan Parkes, Director Old, Mill Financial Planning

•Garry Hale, Managing Director, HK Wealth Managers

•Gemma Siddle, Director of Client Services, Eldon Financial Planning

•Jane Hodges, Director, Money Honey Financial Planning

•Julie Lord, Chief Executive, Magenta Financial Planning

•Paul Hamer, Director, Advisa Financial Services

•Ruth Sturkey, Client Director, Paradigm Norton

•Sharon Sutton, Managing Director, Thornton Chartered Financial Planners

Sharon Sutton, President of the PFS and panelist, said: “I am passionate about the power Financial Planning has to genuinely change people’s lives. I wanted our members to have access to the vast experience of their peers in applying a range of skills and techniques to help improve the outcomes for their clients.

“This year has gone by in a flash but I am proud of what the team has achieved and how great the feedback has been from members. Since inviting new members to be part of the panel we have been overwhelmed by the response. Whilst it does allow us to build a balanced panel it’s such a shame we can’t involve everyone at the same time.”

Three practitioners from the original panel are retiring from the panel; Simon Thomas, head of regulatory policy at Tenet Group; Adam Carolan, managing director at Xentum and Neil Bailey, director, Fortitude Financial Planning.

Keith Richards, chief executive officer of the Personal Finance Society, said: “We are extremely grateful to our members for volunteering their time and expertise for the benefit of others and the profession more widely.

“These are vastly experienced practitioners that have learnt, sometimes the hard way, what clients really value when it comes to Financial Planning advice about their money, their life goals and how to build a rewarding business doing what they love, positively influencing and changing people’s lives.”