A chartered financial planner is someone who is qualified to the same level as a chartered accountant or a solicitor. In other words, they have attained a recognised level of training, competence and professional standing. There are currently around 1,700 chartered financial planners in the UK. financial planners in the UK.

The CFP qualification is different from the chartered one, and tends to specialise within the holistic financial planning report writing, rather than the wider base for the chartered option. CFP is the internationally recognised qualification for holistic financial planning. You can view more on the Institute of Financial Planning website.

In theory, an independent financial adviser (IFA) is someone who will choose for you the best product or service from the entire range of financial products available. The problem at present is that most IFAs are commission based, so will often choose the best product paying the most commission. From 2012 the rules are supposed to be changing, so that to call yourself an IFA you have to work for a fee, instead of accepting commission.

Wealth management is the holistic management of a client's total wealth. There are many different styles of wealth management, we prefer the passive asset allocation approach, others prefer the stock picking or multimanager methods.

Only the UK's premier financial planning firms qualify for chartered status, which is the industry's gold standard for firms of financial planners. It also involves a commitment to continuing professional development, and adherence to an industry standard Code of Ethics and Conduct. There are currently only about 250 firms of chartered financial planners in the UK. You can view more on the The Chartered Insurance Institute website.