The 40,000-member Personal Finance Society is to throw its weight behind rival CISI’s Financial Planning Week campaign for the first time.

The CISI Financial Planning Week - being held this year from 5-11 October, is an annual campaign to promote the benefits of long-term Financial Planning to consumers through media coverage and free Financial Planning sessions offered by members.

While many PFS members have supported the campaign unofficially in the past the PFS has never officially supported the campaign until this year.

The two bodies, which offer rival Financial Planning qualifications, have been more collaborative in recent times and recently announced they would share space in the CISI HQ office building in the City, the ‘Walkie Talkie.'

The PFS says it will support World Financial Planning Week 2020 - the CISI UK Financial Planning Week is part of a global campaign - through the body’s established pro-bono programmes of MoneyPlan, Forces MoneyPlan and My Personal Finance Skills and use social media to increase engagement with the profession’s “good work.”

More than 900 financial advisers offer the Personal Finance Society’s My Personal Finance Skills’ free financial education workshops to schools across the country to help students understand more about money. 

More than 100 financial advisers also offer free financial guidance to Armed Forces personnel and veterans through the Personal Finance Society’s Forces Moneyplan initiative and work with Armed Forces Charities.

As part of this year’s Financial Planning Week, which kicks off on Monday 5 October, and World Financial Planning Day on 7 October, the Personal Finance Society says it is looking to increase the number of advisers who support its pro-bono schemes.

Keith Richards, chief executive of the Personal Finance Society, said: “We want the financial advisers already engaged in these pro-bono schemes to shout about what they do to increase awareness of the guidance they offer. We are also encouraging all advisers to offer existing clients, family or friends a free guidance session during the week.

“Financial Planning Week and World Financial Planning Day is a great opportunity for collaboration and for financial advisers to volunteer a small amount of their time, knowledge and expertise to make a real difference to the lives of armed forces personnel, the nation’s teenagers and wider public.

 “I hope financial advisers are inspired by the experiences that current volunteers will share on social media next week and more members of the armed forces and schools will see the posts, come forward and benefit from these fantastic initiatives.”

To sign-up to deliver My Personal Finance Skills sessions in schools planners can visit: www.thepfs.org/about-us/initiatives/my-personal-finance-skills/education-champions/)

To sign-up to offer financial guidance via Forces Moneyplan visit: www.thepfs.org/about-us/initiatives/forces-moneyplan/volunteer/