The growing complexity of financial markets, the vast array of products offered and the proliferation of performing asset classes presents a challenge to both financial advisers and clients alike. One of the biggest challenges facing Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) around the world is recruiting and retaining quality staff that will grow with client requirements. While on the job education and training go a long way to building and honing the skills of our financial advisers, this is simply not enough. We believe that we must make an extra effort in professional development to better serve our clients and to provide our people with a long-term career path. Therefore, we decided to launch the Financial Partners Academy in conjunction with the prestigious American Academy of Financial Management to introduce to our staff and our recruits, a bespoke wealth management training and certification platform.

 

With the establishment of the FP Academy, the Financial Partners Group is investing in a deliberate and pro-active plan to find and develop financial advisers to the highest standards within the advisery world. The development of our staff is directly linked to our target market. We will develop our people in parallel with our clients who are moving up the ladder to High Net Worth and Ultra High Net Worth Individuals. The objective is a dual one: firstly, to capture and retain the “moving wealth” of clients on their journey from mass affluent to full prosperity and, secondly, to foster and nurture career financial advisers on their journey from salesman/vendor to consummate advisers and financial professionals.

To this end, all our advisers will undergo several levels of mandatory training, each culminating in an examination based certification issued by the American Academy of Financial Management (AAFM) and recognized across the globe. Starting at Registered Financial Specialist® and moving through Chartered Wealth Manager® and Certified Portfolio and Asset Manager® your trusted advisers can aim for the coveted Master Financial Professional®. Each level requires roughly the equivalent of one semester of classroom training and an examination to result in a post nominal designation. Each level also qualifies as a credit for a Masters or MBA programme at more than 500 universities worldwide, including the most prestigious academic institutions. While AAFM has been selected because f its balanced approach to training in both knowledge and practical skills, actual adviser status will be achieved from a mix of academic qualifications, commercial experience and local licensing requirements.

Our human resource policies, be they recruitment, promotion or remuneration, will be increasingly aligned with this development effort. Thus the FP Academy will also serve as a metric for standards in the career path of advisers. Ultimately, the objective is to only have advisers facing our clients that really have demonstrated comprehensive knowledge of today’s complex financial markets. If we can achieve this unique value proposition, we will be able to contribute to the financial success of you, our clients, and thereby fulfil our mission and vision to be the very best at what we do.