About Kingswood Consultants

A Brief History

Established in 1988 and incorporated in 2008, Kingswood Consultants Ltd are one of the UK's leading providers of Lifetime Financial Planning Services to private clients and owner managed businesses. We provide a bespoke service to a strictly limited client base, typically catering for the needs of individuals disenfranchised by the homogonous approach adopted by Banks and other mainstream financial services providers. We have been at the forefront of the Financial Planning movement for over 20 years, achieving many milestones along the way:

· 1988 - Authors of the first UK Guide to Ethical Investments

· 1991 - Founding members of UK Sustainable Investment & Finance (UKSIF)

· 1998 - Founding members of the Ethical Investment Association (EIA)

· 2001 - Became authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA)

· 2003 - Adviser recognised nationally for "outstanding success" on completing CII professional examinations.

· 2006 - One of the first firms to achieve both CFP Licence status & Advanced Financial Planning Certificate

qualifications for all advisory staff.

· 2008 - Business incorporated to form Kingswood Consultants Limited.

· 2010 - Kingswood Investment Wrap Platform launched in conjunction with AXA Wealth.

Our Credentials

When choosing a Financial Planner, how do you know that they are competent, trustworthy and can be depended on for professional advice and services? The answer: only consider engaging an adviser who has achieved and maintains the Institute of Financial Planning's (IFP) Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Licence.

One of the factors that make Kingswood Consultants Ltd different is that we only employ advisers who have met the rigorous standards imposed by the CFP Licence process. In our opinion, the CFP Licence represents the highest professional qualification currently available to Financial Planners in the UK. It is an internationally recognised standard that demonstrates an adviser's commitment to professionalism and is equivalent to an Honours Degree (a level 6 qualification under the National Qualifications Framework).

Individuals certified by the IFP must voluntarily submit to a demanding process of education, examination, experience and ethical requirements. The process typically takes 3-6 years to complete. Thereafter, CFP practitioners are required to maintain their technical competence and fulfil ongoing ethical obligations, completing at least 50 hours of continuing professional education every year. The requirements are so demanding that there are currently fewer than 1,500 Certified Financial Planners practicing in the UK. Those meeting the standards can be identified by the CFP certification mark (shown on the right), use of which is strictly controlled by the Institute of Financial Planning.

Our advisers are also all holders of either the Chartered Insurance Institute's Advanced Financial Planning Certificate or Diploma in Financial Planning, attained through a series of degree standard formal examinations, and are members of the Personal Finance Society - the largest professional body representing financial services in the UK. From 2013 these qualifications will become the minimum standard for practicing as a financial adviser in the UK.