Armstrong Watson Financial Planning & Wealth Management are extremely proud of our Chartered status which we've held for nearly a decade. It’s something we worked very hard to earn and continue to work hard to maintain as, quite rightly, the requirements become more and more stretching.
Excellence and Professionalism
The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), the body responsible for awarding Chartered status to both individuals and frms, summarises the signifcance: ‘A corporate Chartered title is a commitment to an overall standard of excellence and professionalism, and evidence of that commitment to customers, partners and employees.’ To achieve Chartered status, we must demonstrate: n The highest levels of technical and professional knowledge and competence through professional qualifcations n The ability to keep knowledge and skills up to date through continuing professional development n Ethical conduct through adhering to an industry Code of Ethics. In the CII’s words, competence, knowledge and ethical behaviour are the qualities that are embodied by Chartered status. They are all qualities that we strive to deliver consistently at Armstrong Watson Financial Planning & Wealth Management. Our focus is developing deep, long-lasting relationships, and this can only be achieved through giving high-quality personalised advice that can be relied upon to stand the test of time.
Values and Expertise
The decision to review your retirement plans to ensure you are on track to enjoy the retirement you have dreamed of is an example of a time where you will want to be sure that the adviser and the frm you choose to deal with have the right values and expertise. Pension advice can, on occasion, involve transferring existing arrangements into new ones. This can be transfers from defned contribution plans or, on occasion, from defned beneft arrangements. There has been a lot of recent media coverage of poor advisory practices inevitably leading to poor customer outcomes, the most recent example being the many instances of British Steel employees receiving poor and expensive advice.
The Pension Transfer Gold Standard
The Pension Transfer Gold Standard is a voluntary code of good practice for all pension transfer advice, based around a set of principles. The aim being that consumers can better understand and fnd good advice and be confdent they are dealing with a frm that is going beyond minimum requirements when providing fnancial advice.
The key principles are:
Helping clients understand when advice is appropriate
Ensuring the advice given supports the clients’ overall well-being in the context of their stated objectives
Ensuring client understanding and acceptance of all charges
Ensuring the most appropriate and updated technical skills are applied
Transparent management of Conficts of Interest
Helping clients understand the cost of transferring benefts
Avoiding unregulated investments and introducers
Transparency in the advice processes and outcomes
Promoting the Consumer Guide to the Pension Transfer Gold Standard
We are proud to have met these criteria. By working with a frm that has voluntarily committed to the Pension Transfer Gold Advice, you can be confdent that you will receive the best possible advice, service and support when considering any form of pension transfer. Finding the right frm to work with is not easy but, as a starting point, making sure that they are Chartered Financial Planners and adopters of the Pension Transfer Gold standard will help you flter your search and increase your chances of achieving a positive outcome. nis a voluntary code of good practice for all pension transfer advice, based around a set of principles. The aim being that consumers can better understand and fnd good advice and be confdent they are dealing with a frm that is going beyond minimum requirements when providing fnancial advice. The key principles are: n Helping clients understand when advice is appropriate n Ensuring the advice given supports the clients’ overall well-being in the context of their stated objectives n Ensuring client understanding and acceptance of all charges n Ensuring the most appropriate and updated technical skills are applied n Transparent management of Conficts of Interest n Helping clients understand the cost of transferring benefts n Avoiding unregulated investments and introducers n Transparency in the advice processes and outcomes n Promoting the Consumer Guide to the Pension Transfer Gold Standard We are proud to have met these criteria. By working with a frm that has voluntarily committed to the Pension Transfer Gold Advice, you can be confdent that you will receive the best possible advice, service and support when considering any form of pension transfer. Finding the right frm to work with is not easy but, as a starting point, making sure that they are Chartered Financial Planners and adopters of the Pension Transfer Gold standard will help you flter your search and increase your chances of achieving a positive outcome.
Armstrong Watson Financial Planning Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Firm reference number 542122. Registered as a limited company in England and Wales, number 7208672. The registered office is 15 Victoria Place, Carlisle, CA1 1EW. Armstrong Watson Financial Planning & Wealth Management is a trading style of Armstrong Watson Financial Planning Limited.
