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CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(cm) and [CFP trademark]

are certification marks owned outside the U.S. by Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. Institute of Financial Planning is the marks licensing authority for the CFP marks in the United Kingdom, through agreement with FPSB.

Financial Planning Definition

Comprehensive Financial Planning is a professional service for clients who need objective assistance in organising their personal or corporate financial affairs to more readily achieve their goals.

In the practice of Financial Planning, Institute members strive to help their clients define, review and attain their financial objectives with less risk and cost than if they tried to do this themselves.

A typical financial plan will contain some or all of the following reports within which professional recommendations would be made:

Life Goals Planning
Cash Flow Planning
Investment Planning
Personal Risk Planning
Personal Protection Planning
Tax Planning and Mitigation
Retirement Planning
Estate Planning

Financial Planning Process

Financial planning is a professional service for individuals. It puts clients' needs first, and helps them to identify then achieve their financial and lifestyle goals.

The Financial Planning process aims to establish a comprehensive plan to meet the client’s objectives. These steps are:

Gathering data
Establishing the client’s objectives, goals and aims
Processing and analysing information
Recommending a plan of action
Implementing the plan when agreed
Reviewing the plan regularly

One of the most important points of the process is to ensure that the plan is reviewed regularly to ensure that changes in economic conditions or the client’s objectives are taken into account to ensure that goals can still be attained.

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Institute of Financial Planning Limited
Registered in England: Whitefriars Centre, Lewins Mead, Bristol BS1 2NT
Registered number: 2109630, VAT Number: 489201333