| 7 December | School Students Outperform Stock Market The “FTSE 5 Returns”, a team of 4 school students from Ralph Thoresby High School in Leeds, outperformed over 7,600 other teams from across the UK to win the first ifs Student Investor monthly prize. |
| 5 December | ifs Young Business Writer of the Year 2007 Financial education charity, ifs School of Finance, has today launched the ifs Young Business Writer of the Year competition as part of their wider financial capability programme. |
| 5 December | Financial World Goes Online Financial World, the ifs School of Finance's award-winning management magazine, with a worldwide circulation in excess of 30,000, has been launched in an online format today. |
| 23 November | Bond Girl Presents Financial Innovation Awards to the Most Innovative Financial Services Companies in UK The 2006 ifs/Capgemini Financial Innovation Awards, the most prestigious awards in the financial services calendar, last night saw industry heavyweights such as HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds TSB, as well as other companies including Voca and Trade Ideas Ltd., scoop awards for demonstrating the highest levels of financial innovation over the last 12 months. |
| 21 November | Masterclass on Islamic Banking & Finance The ifs School of Finance, an educational charity offering finance related qualifications to industry and the wider community, is to hold a masterclass on Islamic Banking and Finance at its Cannon Street Offices later this month. |
| 20 November | ifs School of Finance Welcome Conservatives Announcement on Debt The ifs School of Finance, a financial education charity, has welcomed the Shadow Chancellor's announcement today that if elected to Government, financial education will be taught to all 11 - 18 year olds. |
| 16 November | ifs School of Finance Welcomes Treasury Committee Report To combat financial exclusion in the UK, Treasury Select Committee Chairman John McFall MP has called on the Government to tackle high-cost credit and illegal lending and to foster a greater savings culture. |
| 7 November | E-learning training package ensures Financial and Mortgage Advisers do more than just tick the box Absolutely Training has brought together a number of its joint venture partners to create a unique training package designed to help Financial and Mortgage Advisers develop and benchmark their compliance with the regulatory requirements set out by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). |
| 7 November | Positive News Amid Debt Avalanche Last week the Abbey began offering borrowers five times their salary to obtain a mortgage - meaning many will now be saddled with greater debts. This was followed by the release of Insolvency Service figures on Friday showing record increases in the number of insolvencies. |
| 3 November | The ifs School of Finance Calls for Greater Government Action to Stem Tide of Record Insolvencies The Insolvency Service today released figures showing there were 27,644 individual insolvencies in England and Wales in the third quarter of 2006 on a seasonally adjusted basis. This was an increase of 5.7% on the previous quarter and an increase of 55.4% on the same period a year ago! |
| 30 October | FSA Announce Regulation of Home Reversion Plans Earlier today the FSA published final rules for the regulation of Home Reversion plans which will come within its scope next year. |
| 27 October | Certificate in Regulated Complaints Handling The ifs School of Finance, an educational charity offering finance related qualifications to industry and the wider community, today confirmed that a new qualification on complaints handling will be available from 30 October 2006. |
| 11 October | ifs School of Finance focus on Customer Services The ifs School of Finance held a very successful “Customer Service Week” at their Canterbury Office last week in recognition of the hard work that the Customer and Student Services department carries out – they also raised over £400 for charity whilst doing so. |
| 10 October | ifs School of Finance Welcome Citizens Advice Grants for Financial Capability The ifs School of Finance, an educational charity offering financial education to industry and the wider community, have welcomed today's announcement at the House of Commons that the C.A.B. are to award grants totaling £300,000 to improve financial capability in the UK. |
| 6 October | Reaping the Rewards of Regulation – an ifs School of Finance seminar On Wednesday 18th October 2006 the ifs School of Finance, an educational charity offering finance related qualifications to industry and the wider community, are holding a half-day seminar on regulation in the financial services industry. |
| 3 October | ifs Student Investor Challenge Secures Major Sponsorship Deals The ifs Student Investor Challenge, a competition where teams of students aged 14-19 invest £100,000 in the stock market, has announced that sponsorship from both Deutsche Bank and Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust has been secured. |
| 29 September | ifs/CapGemini Financial Innovation Awards Finalists Announced The finalists of the 2006 ifs/Capgemini Financial Innovation Awards were announced today. The announcement comes just days after Capgemini, a global leader in Consulting, Technology and Outsourcing services, was confirmed as the official Major Partner of this year’s awards. |
| 27 September | ifs School of Finance call for greater government action in wake of new statistics In response to today’s news that Britons are responsible for a third of all unsecured debt in Western Europe, the ifs School of Finance has called on the Government to take more action in educating about personal finance. |
| 26 September | ifs diploma student wins top marketing award Olivia Difesa has been presented with the Award for Excellence by the Worshipful Company of Marketors at their annual presentation. |
| 25 September | Advanced CeMAP® update Advisers taking the Advanced Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (Advanced CeMAP®) will now benefit from a new and improved qualification structure. |
| 21 September | ifs School of Finance to develop complaints handling qualification ifs School of Finance is working on a new qualification that will focus on the regulated complaints handling procedure. |
| 20 September | ifs School of Finance Students to benefit from Associate NUS Status Earlier today the ifs School of Finance announced they had reached agreement with the National Union of Students (NUS) on Associate membership for ifs School of Finance students. |
| 19 September | Sebastian Coe lecture is an Olympic success The financial services industry got a glimpse of Olympic life yesterday when Lord Sebastian Coe gave a prestige lecture in Leeds. |
| 12 September | Lord Sebastian Coe to Lecture in Leeds Lord Sebastian Coe who headed London's successful Olympic bid and is now Chair of the Olympic Games Organising Committee, is to give a free lecture at Leeds town hall next week. |
| 8 September | ifs Student Investor Challenge launched Schools and colleges across the UK will begin registering for the 2007 Student Investor Challenge from next week. |
| 5 September | Registration deadline for degree and diploma courses extended to 15 September 2006 |
| 5 September | ifs School of Finance announces free seminar on tackling financial crime “Bank Manager or Police Officer? – Effective and efficient controls in financial crime” is the forthcoming breakfast seminar from the ifs School of Finance in association with sas.com. |
| 25 August | University Student Wins £9,000 Prize for ifs Uni Investor Challenge The first ever winner of the ifs Uni Investor Challenge has today spoken of her delight at winning the £9,000 top prize. |
| 25 August | ifs School of Finance confirms Risk Management Masterclass The ifs School of Finance will be hosting its next Risk Management masterclass in association with INSEAD on Monday 2 October 2006. |
| 25 August | Pensions whiz confirmed for ifs ProShare conference Robin Ellison has now been confirmed as the pensions speaker at the forthcoming ifs ProShare Employee Share Plans Conference and Exhibition 2006. |
| 23 August | ifs School of Finance welcomes ippr Report into Financial Education The ifs School of Finance, the only organisation currently offering personal finance qualifications in schools and colleges in England & Wales has welcomed today's ippr report into financial education. |
| 22 August | New online TCF training tool in development A new online Competence Maintenance Tool (CMT) is being developed by the ifs School of Finance and Absolutely Training Ltd (ATL). The new CMT will focus on the principles of Treating Customers Fairly and will be available to business customers from November 2006. |
| 16 August | Insufficient Government action on UK Over-Indebtedness In response to today's publication of the third cross-government Over-Indebtedness Annual Report, the ifs School of Finance has warned that proposals to address the problem are insufficient. |
| 14 August | Delivering Customer Focused Change is key to TCF "Delivering Customer Focused Change" has just been confirmed as the theme for the next Treating Customers Fairly Masterclass. |
| 14 August | ifs School of Finance to Offer Masterclass in Integrated Crisis Management The ifs School of Finance are pleased to announce they will be holding a Masterclass in Integrated Crisis Management later this year. |
| 7 August | Lack of financial qualifications among senior civil servants According to a new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) only one in three senior civil servants hold professional qualifications. |
| 4 August | Record levels of insolvency There were 26,021 individual insolvencies in England and Wales in the second quarter of 2006 – a staggering increase of more than 66% on the same period a year ago. |
| 4 August | A new name for the ifs “ifs School of Finance” is the new name for the Institute of Financial Services (ifs). |
| 3 August | ifs Appoints New Head of Media & Public Affairs The Institute of Financial Services (ifs) has announced the appointment of Phil Hall to the newly created role of Head of Media & Public Affairs. |
| 25 July | New qualification in development for supervisors Supervisors will soon be able to gain a new regulatory qualification being developed by the Institute of Financial Services (ifs). |
| 21 July | While you sweated, 1,000 advisers swotted! 1,000 advisers sweated through the heat yesterday to take the ifs Certificate in Lifetime Mortgages. In a joint venture between the Institute of Financial Services (ifs) and Just Retirement, 1,000 advisers were given the opportunity to become qualified in this fast-growing area of the market. |
| 20 July | 1,000 advisers sit ifs Lifetime Mortgage advice qualification today 1,000 advisers will be sitting the ifs Certificate in Lifetime Mortgages (CeLTM®) exam today in a bid to raise standards in the equity release sector. |
| 17 July | Learning material updates Updated learning materials for CeMAP®, CeFA®, CeLTM®, CeRGI® and ARL are now available online at myifslearning.com. |
| 10 July | CeMAP® updates coming soon. Advisers studying for the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP®) will soon benefit from a new syllabus. |
| 4 July | Last chance for discount equity release package! There are only 30 places left on a special subsidized equity release training package. The closing date for registrations is this Friday 7 July 2006. |
| 3 July | Results for degree/diploma modules due week commencing 10 July 2006 |
| 30 June | Personal financial education in the UK is chaotic, says the Institute
of Financial Services The benchmark study commissioned by the Financial Services Authority confirms the chaotic state of personal financial education in schools throughout the UK. |
| 29 June | ifs launch online qualification registration Advisers can now register for qualifications online. The Institute of Financial Services (ifs) has launched a new service allowing people to register for its regulatory qualifications on the Internet, 24 hours a day. |
| 20 June | Compulsory qualifications marks the beginning of a new era for equity release industry The Institute of Financial Services (ifs) is announcing its support of SHIP's (Safe Home Income Plans) decision to no longer accept business from advisers who do not hold a 'suitable lifetime mortgages qualification' |
| 19 June | New exam format increases success rate for Financial Advisers Financial advisers currently sitting their professional exams have a greater chance of passing now, thanks to a new exam format. |
| 13 June | Only 150 places left on subsidized exam package! Mortgage advisers are being offered the chance to take the Certificate in Lifetime Mortgages (CeLTM) at the subsidized price of £75 (normal price £120). |
| 26 May | New ifs supervisory module proves popular with advisers The new supervisory module, launched by the Institute of Financial Services (ifs) at the end of 2005 has proved extremely popular with advisers. |
| 22 May | ifs Certificate in Commercial Mortgages reaches 300 registrations! The Institute of Financial Services (ifs) is celebrating the news that 300 advisers have now registered for the recently launched Certificate in Commercial Mortgages (CeCM). |
| 15 May | Lifetime Mortgage training package selling out fast! Over one third of the subsidized Lifetime Mortgage exams being offered by Just Retirement and the ifs have already gone. |
| 8 May | Next ifs TCF Masterclass announced The specialist Masterclass will be given by Richard Wyatt-Haines on Thursday 7 September 2006. |
| 28 April | ifs teams up with Just Retirement to offer new equity release exam for financial advisers. The Institute of Financial Services (ifs) has teamed up with equity release specialists, Just Retirement, to offer a unique training and exam package for up to 1,000 financial advisers. |
| 27 April | The National Final of the ifsProShare Student Investor Challenge 30,000 Students from over 900 Schools, the 2006 ifsProShare Student Investor Programme delivers the UK's Largest Financial Education initiative for Young People! |
| 24 April | Commuting advisers can specialise in 30 days! Many advisers are loosing out on gaining specialist qualifications because they are deterred by the prospect of long hours of study. |
| 18 April | ifs to offer basic insurance qualification course online via Searchlight's Tick e-learning system Leading provider of financial education the Institute of Financial Services (ifs) has teamed up with the UK's number one insurance training specialist Searchlight Solutions to allow insurance professionals to study online. |
| 11 April | New Super Mortgage Advisers New 'super' advisers are now entering the workplace having completed an advanced qualification in mortgage advice. |
| 10 April | Historic vote is mandate for the future The Institute of Financial Services (ifs) has taken a series of key decisions that will further enhance its ambition to become a degree awarding authority in its own right. |
| 5 April | ifs Celebrates the first anniversary of the Certificate in Lifetime Mortgages The Institute of Financial Services is celebrating the first anniversary of the Certificate in Lifetime Mortgages (CeLTM®) today. |
| 29 March | Local schools beat over 900 schools to reach the National Final of the 2006 ifsProShare Student Investor Portfolio Challenge! Eight teams of students from schools in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Oldham, Coventry, Chesterfield, London, Plymouth, and Reading have made it through to the 2006 ifsProShare Student Investor Portfolio Challenge National Final. |
| 28 March | FSA Study Reveals Financial Crisis of the 18-40s Institute of Financial Services (ifs) calls for financial capability to be recognised as an essential skill that needs separate treatment. |
| 28 March | Competent and compliant ahead of A-Day deadline As the countdown to A-Day draws to a close, the Institute of Financial Services (ifs) is pleased to announce that it has brought all of its study aids into line with the new Pension Tax Simplification rules. |
| 15 March | Podcast-style CeMAP® notes now available online The new Audio Revision Notes were recently launched by the Institute of Financial Services (ifs) to assist CeMAP® candidates with their exam preparation. |
| 2 March | Draft revised Charter and Bylaws The ifs has published the full amended wording for the Charter and Bylaws. |
| 28 February | ifs opens registrations for its Certificate in Commercial Mortgages The Institute of Financial Services (ifs) will open registrations for its new Certificate in Commercial Mortgages (CeCM) tomorrow, Wednesday 1 March 2006. |
| 27 February | A-Day updates now available online to ifs students Both CeMAP® and CeFA® have been updated to reflect the new pension tax simplification legislation. |
| 20 February | ifs Launches Audio CeMAP® The Institute of Financial Services (ifs) has developed a new CD-based audio learning tool for its Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP®) qualification. |
| 13 February | ifs announces second TCF Masterclass Following the success of last year's masterclass on the subject of Treating Customers Fairly (TCF), the Institute of Financial Services (ifs) is running a further masterclass this time examining how performance can be managed in a TCF environment. |
| 6 February | UCAS recognition for the ifs level 3 Diploma in Financial Studies (Dip FS) The Institute of Financial Services (ifs) financial capability qualifications have taken yet another great leap forward towards nationwide acceptance with the formal granting of a UCAS tariff for the ifs level 3 Diploma in Financial Studies (Dip FS). |
| 1 February | ifs exam bookings now online Advisers studying for ifs professional qualifications can now book their exams online at a location and time that suits them. |
| 26 January | Announcing the launch of the 2006 ifs Uni Investor The Stock Market Challenge for University students with a chance to win a £9,000 Cash Prize! |
| 17 January | CeMAP® Ongoing Competence Tool launched The Competence Maintenance Tool (CMT) has now been successfully launched by both the Institute of Financial Services (ifs) and Absolutely Training Ltd. |
| 10 January | Money Management lessons for 14-16 Year Olds Institute of Financial Services (ifs) launch new Personal Finance Qualifications Schools and colleges can sign up to two new personal finance qualifications aimed at 14-16 year olds, following a successful pilot by the Institute of Financial Services (ifs). |
| 9 January | Record numbers of women register for ifs general insurance qualification On the first anniversary of the introduction of statutory general insurance regulation, the Institute of Financial Services (ifs) is delighted to report that it has had record numbers of women registering for its Certificate in Regulated General Insurance (CeRGI®). |
| 9 January | ifs urges advisers to prepare for new pension rules ahead of A-Day Ahead of A-Day, 6 April 2006, the Institute of Financial Services (ifs) is urging all those working in personal finance to prepare for changes in pension legislation in order to remain compliant and sustain competitive advantage. |
