There are times when our financial services pull together for the greater good of consumers and planners.

The campaign to ban cold calling, led by Darren Cooke, is a prime example. BACK2Y, set up by Paul Armson is another, so is NextGen Planners.

You may well have already come across the NextGen Group. If not, I recommend you take a look at their website and consider joining. At just £7.95 per month it must be one of the best kept secrets in financial services.

The work they are doing, building a community of planners and promoting best practice, is truly inspiring. We are proud to be working with many of their members including Alasdair Walker at Hunter, Aitkenhead & Walker, Ross Taylor at Taylor & Taylor as well as Rohan Sivajoti of Postcard Planning and one of the founders of NextGen Planners.

Training

Perhaps most impressive is their commitment to improving standards and high-quality training within the financial services.

So far, 120 planners have attended their courses in 2017; the feedback from members I’ve spoken to has been superb.

New dates for their 2018 ‘Aspiring Adviser Foundation Course’ have just been announced.

Commencing in January, the course is split into three workshops:

• Communication skills
• Client acquisition skills
• Client meetings

Aimed at both trainee and existing financial planners. It provides practical training to improve communication skills and develop a value proposition.

I know places are limited, so if you are planning your training and CPD for 2018, I can’t think of a better place to start.

Get in touch if you want more information or you can find out more by clicking here.

Finally, next week sees the first NextGen Planners Conference. The line-up of speakers is terrific, and it promises to be one of the highlights of my year. If you are attending, I look forward to seeing you there.

I love the work NextGen Planners are doing; the community feel and willingness to share best practice is hugely refreshing. Check them out to see what I mean.