Last month I passed my regulated diploma in financial planning!
The financial planning diploma is made up of 5 exams on various different technical topics and then a financial planning case study. In preparation for my case study, I was studying around the clock and finishing the exam was such a relief! As this exam can take up to 6 weeks to mark, I took this time to have a well-deserved break from my studies and get away for a week in our campervan, Velma.
We decided to take our 20 year old trusty Volkswagen to the Lake District. Having not had time to research our trip that well, my friend sent me an itinerary to follow. We typed in each destination and set on our way to visit the quirky, picturesque towns. We tried the amazing gingerbread in Grasmere, saw Scarfell pike and even kayaked in some of the great lakes. However, the most memorable moment has to be our experience with Hardknott Pass. If you haven’t heard of this road before, have a quick google and read some of the reviews, then think of us in this old van, clutch barely functioning and the brakes half rusted over! I will let your imagination paint the picture of this moment…
It was day 5 of our great northern road trip and the final day in the Lake District before heading over to Newcastle, when the message came through “I HAD PASSED!”. We celebrated with a full English breakfast and a toast to my new title – Jessica Geere DipPFS – and carried on with our travels.
But what does this qualification actually mean?
Passing these exams means that I am able to give advice, legally. However, it won’t be until Magenta feel I am at a suitable level of competence, that you will see me giving advice on my own. Alongside Gretchen and the rest of the team, I will be working towards this in the next 6-12 months.
Now that the dust had settled, what’s next?
The goal for me was not to just get my diploma, I really want to be Chartered. I want my knowledge to be as good as it can be, in order to give the best advice to my future clients. This means a lot more exams, at a much higher standard. So, I’m back to the books and starting my journey to Chartered this month!
I have had the pleasure of siting alongside Gretchen for the past 2 years now to soak up all of her expertise by observing client meetings. This is a huge part of the job and something you can’t learn in a textbook. For me now, this is the area that I want to be more involved in. Luckily, our clients are amazing and have welcomed me into the meetings, with some even letting me present them their cashflow forecasts. This is invaluable experience for me, and I am so thankful to our clients for allowing me to progress with them.
I am looking forward to meeting more of our lovely clients, getting more involved in meetings and bringing my new knowledge of the profession to the company and my day to day work.