The CISI’s head of Financial Planning believes the number of CFP^TM professionals in the UK should grow by nearly 600 by 2022.

The global Financial Planning Standards Board today revealed there were 962 Certified Financial Planners in Britain at the end of 2016.

This compared to 474 in Ireland, 1,670 in France, 1,474 in Germany and 3,649 in Holland.

The CISI took over as the marks licensing authority for the CFP marks in the United Kingdom, through agreement with FPSB, after the merger with the IFP in 2015.

CISI head of Financial Planning Campbell Edgar, CFP^TM Chartered FCSI, said he anticipates the net number to rise through 2017 by some 10% from 962 to about 1,060.

He said: “This allows for death, sadly, and retirement of a few practitioners. CISI is fully behind the FPSB ambition to reach 250,000 CFP^TM practitioners by 2025 and intends to play its part.”

The CISI said it has between 60 and 70 candidates at any one time going through the assessment and it expects this number to remain at or rise gradually over time, as more candidates take and pass the Financial Planning and Advice examination, which was launched in August 2016.

Mr Campbell said: “There is an increased demand for professional planning, and CISI’s measures on the supply side (enhanced pathway and improved assessment) should see a steady net 10% increase per annum. For those with a grasp of compound interest, this suggests a CFP^TM community of 1,549 by 2022.”

Mr Campbell said the first initiative already for boosting of CFP^TM numbers this year and beyond is the streamlined pathway to CFP^TM accreditation, which is already in place.

He said: “The new Financial Planning and Advice examination enables any authorised adviser to meet the FPSB education requirements to enter the CFP^TM assessment process.

“Take up of this exam is very encouraging with over 110 entries in the first five months.

“This has led on to a review of the Diploma in Financial Planning examination with a view to reducing any duplication in the FPSB education and examination requirements and to make the assessment process simpler (but not easier).

“The process requires candidates to submit a written financial plan for assessment against the FPSB standards. Candidates are allowed up to three submissions with each cycle, which can take up to a year. We are looking to adopt new technology to speed this up considerably.

The CFP^TM certification is an annual process and CFP^TM professionals are required to renew their certificate every year - requiring at least 35 hours CPD and a commitment to the FPSB and CISI codes of ethics.

The FPSB reported that in 2016:

• The FPSB network added 18,435 CFP professionals

• The total number of CFP professionals rose to 170,101 worldwide.

• With a net increase of 8,280 CFP professionals, FPSB and its member organisations experienced annual growth of 5.1% - almost double that of the previous year.

• The Netherlands ended the year with 3,649 CFP professionals through a consolidation strategy that merged two organisations.

• Japan, a territory offering CFP certification for 25 years, had net growth of 389 for a total of 20,683 CFP professionals at the end of last year.

• Brazil remained a standout performer for the third year in a row with net growth (615 CFP professionals) and rate of growth (26.7%).

• FPSB’s member organization in Chinese Taipei added a net number of 211 CFP professionals, for a growth rate of 27.3%,

• the CFP certification body in Indonesia added 164 CFP professionals for a growth rate of 13.2% over the previous year.