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Chartered Status makes Boldon’s Fairstone one of UK’s largest chartered financial planning firms

A Boldon-headquartered finance company has achieved chartered status, meaning the North East now boasts one of the largest Chartered Financial Planning firms in the UK.

Fairstone Financial Management and Fairstone Financial Management (City), both part of the Fairstone Group, have been awarded Corporate Chartered Status by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), the leading professional body for the global financial services sector.

Lee Hartley, Chief Executive of Fairstone, said: “Achieving chartered status is incredibly important to our business and, most importantly, our clients. We want to make sure that we can provide first-class service, advice and support, and achieving chartered status will help us to do just that.”

Chartered status is the ‘gold standard’ of excellence for the financial services sector. It brings with it a series of obligations to ensure that financial advice is consistently delivered in the highest quality form.

Lee added: “We take the obligations of our new status very seriously. The fact that we are now one of the largest chartered financial planning firms in the UK reflects where we want to be as a business, and is a marker in the sand for the level of professionalism that we strive for within our business.”

As part of its status as a Chartered Financial Planning firm, Fairstone will commit to the professional development of its advisers, helping them to attain the highest qualifications, whilst also adhering to the CII Code of Ethics.

Steve Jenkins, Director of Financial Services and Insurance Markets at the CII, said: “We are delighted to welcome Fairstone as a Chartered firm.

“Achieving Chartered status demonstrates a genuine commitment to the highest ethical standards and to the professional development of staff and advisers. Chartered firm status is underpinned by expertise and ethical standards which are fundamental to securing customer confidence in financial advice.”

Since 2011 The Fairstone Group has brought on board 34 financial advisory firms, including offices in Northern Ireland, Bristol and London. Now the firm has over 230 advisers acting for over 30,000 clients across the UK.