I will try to keep this short.
I have volunteered with the CII and PFS for most of the last decade, first as a council-member at the local Insurance Institute, and more recently as a panel-member and chair of the Financial Planning (Power) Panel.
My intention and motivation has always been this: Financial Planning is a fantastic profession, and I want to be part of the movement that drives it forward.
I have worked with the PFS as they have the largest membership, and the most opportunity to make a positive difference.
I genuinely believe the panel, and the Power project, has done and is doing great things. It has been described to me as the “Jewel in the crown” of the PFS, and our recent announcement of the launch of Power Planning marked the first time the PFS were going to formally support a financial planning approach.
With all of this said, I am deeply disturbed by the recent behaviour of the CII, and I do not feel that I can carry on supporting the PFS as a volunteer whilst there are so many unanswered questions about the CII’s hostile takeover attempt.
Furthermore, having read Caroline Stuart’s harrowing account of her time as president of the PFS board, I cannot support an organisation who feels it is fair or right to apply those kind of pressures to the volunteer workforce it depends on.
All PFS members should be concerned and interested in what is happening at CII head office. It may seem like boardroom politics and detached from your day job, but it has the potential to severely impact the future of our profession and actively work against the hard work we are all doing.
Please head to https://ourpfs.co.uk and find out more, or contact me directly at
-Alasdair Walker FPFS, Chartered Financial Planner