Personal Finance Society (PFS) president Sarah Lord has urged the profession to unite to increase the strength and sustainability of the Financial Planning profession.

The impact the pandemic has had on our economy, the jobs market and personal lives means now, more than ever, clients need support with managing their personal finances, according to Ms Lord.

The PFS appointed Sarah Lord FPFS, chief client officer at Succession Wealth, as President for 2020-21 at its Annual General Meeting in September.

Ms Lord said: “We need to focus on how we continue to come together as a profession to thrive - not just survive - for many years to come. I am passionate about promoting financial planning as a profession to the younger generation and providing the right environment to train and develop the next generation of financial planners. Our Aspire Apprenticeship programme is a great way to attract new talent and at the same time provide opportunity to school leavers who have been hit so hard by the pandemic.

“Sustainability isn’t just about attracting, developing and retaining talent it is also about sustaining our relationships with our clients. One of the biggest challenges that businesses face is transitioning client relationships from planner to planner. During the course of my year as President, we will start to share more good practice on how to do this with the clients of today.”

“We also need to continue to think about developing relationships and providing services to clients of the future. For many of us the clients we have today, were once our clients of the future.”

Ms Lord will explain why she has chosen “building a strong and sustainable future for our profession” as the theme for her year as president of the professional body at its annual awards ceremony held online this afternoon.