The Institute of Financial Planning's first conference for Accredited Financial Planning Firms in London this week was well-received by delegates and enjoyed strong support from Accredited Firms. The conference, held on Thursday 22 March at the Hilton London Kensington, was themed on 'Great Minds Think Alike.'

Some 75 individuals attended, representing 36 out of the 40 firms on the register. Topics included marketing, strategic planning, client referrals and VAT.
The issues on the agenda had been chosen by members of the register as to what they would find useful and insightful.
Speakers were varied and included Brett Davidson from FP Advance, Jon Pittham from Clients First and Nick Blake from Vanguard.
After each presentation there was an opportunity for delegates to ask the speakers questions, prompting interesting and lively discussions among delegates.
One such session with Darren Shirlaw from Navitas IP provoked a fierce discussion between delegates on the advantages and disadvantages of working with entrepreneurs.
In the afternoon was an interactive session with experts sharing their best marketing tips to help Accredited Financial Planning Firms to engage with consumers and show them the benefit of the designation.
Sue Whitbread, communications manager at the IFP, said: "The inaugural conference for Accredited Firms was a significant landmark for the IFP – and it didn't disappoint!
"Bringing together the leaders of the profession in this way exceeded even our own very high expectations. We're really excited by the prospects of what we can achieve by working with this group of enthusiastic and talented individuals to build a profession we can all be proud of and which will add real value for consumers.

"The launch of the new IFP mobile website was particularly well received. It's announcement created a notable buzz among delegates keen to use it to help them connect with more potential clients using mobile devices such as Iphones."

Nick Cann, chief executive of the IFP, said: "This was the first conference for the Accredited Financial Planning firms and was attended by the large majority of those currently on the register.
"The focus was on business growth, marketing and client engagement and the IFP was also able to launch the "great minds think alike" campaign which will drive the further development of the Financial Planning profession. There was plenty of opportunity for delegates to contribute and share best practice and there was great feedback and tremendous optimism for the future"