The number of chartered financial planners has risen 24 per cent over the last year and doubled in the last three years, figures from the Chartered Insurance Institute show.
There were 3,513 individual chartered financial planners in March, compared to 2,839 at the same time last year.
The number of chartered financial planning firms also increased 24 per cent over the year from 404 to 502.
Overall the CII had 21,331 individual chartered members in March 2013, including 14,921 chartered insurance practitioners and 2,897 chartered insurance brokers.
The professional body has a total of 669 chartered member firms, including 145 chartered insurance brokers and 22 chartered insurers.
The CII says: “We believe chartered titles have a big role to play in securing the successful development and reputation of the insurance and financial planning sector. Part of our role as a professional body is to ensure our members develop the highest standards of professionalism and to promote the fundamental values of professionalism to our members and the public.
“With more and more individuals taking on higher levels of qualification, we are optimistic about the future growth of numbers of chartered title-holders, and the higher standards of professionalism this will reinforce across the sector.”
Thameside Wealth director Tom Kean says: “Being chartered is one of the main differentiators for advisers post-RDR. I am a firm believer that the way to raise standards is to do it from the bottom-up, with new joiners aspiring to chartered status.”
