Our purpose
The Institute for Financial Wellbeing, or IFW for short, is a non-profit membership organisation working towards shifting the focus of the finance services industry away from selling products and towards the discovery and understanding of what clients actually want from their money.
Our purpose is to help financial planners, advisers and coaches improve their clients’ financial wellbeing by helping them become happier and more fulfilled, not just wealthier. This includes helping them to identify what aspects of their life they value most.
In the long-term, we aim to positively influence the way the financial services industry works with clients, shifting the focus from money being the goal to money being a tool with which to attain life goals.
To do this, we host regular Roundtable discussions, Wellbeing Cafe ‘lunch and learn’ sessions and Forums that IFW members can attend free of charge, as well as providing members with a wide variety of resources on the topic of financial wellbeing and how to implement it to enhance business practices and deepen client relationships.
In time, this purpose may be widened to speak to people beyond the financial services industry. However, the world of the regulated financial advisory firm and non-regulated financial coaches is our starting point.
Find out more about IFW membership.
Already a member? Visit your IFW community.
Visit your IFW membership resources portal.
To find out more about us you can read our Grand Plan here.
Our guiding principles are:
- To explore and promote the relationship between money and wellbeing
- To provide a meeting point for the sharing of ideas
- To influence institutions that deal with consumers on a mass scale
- To provide a resource for the financial services community to help those who cannot afford to pay for it
- To influence financial education to focus on wellbeing
What do we do?
Research
We research the principles of money and happiness.
Tools
We turn our research into tools to use with clients.
Collaboration
We partner with organisations to promote financial wellbeing.
Events
We spread knowledge and create a purposeful community.
Financial Coaching
Supporting Coaches to empower their clients to gain clarity of their finances
Workplace Wellbeing
A series of workshops and presentations that can be delivered in the workplace that embody the principles of Financial Wellbeing
If you are interested in joining any of these streams please enquire now.
IFW Training Programme Accreditation
To be accredited by the IFW would indicate that your financial coaching programme/s are in synch with the principles and practices of financial wellbeing. The IFW exists to provide a learning and development environment for like-minded people. We are not for profit and want to be the place that people go to when they want to find the very best in financial planning and coaching.
The IFW is able to accredit both internal and external (client) training programmes. We use an accreditation process (from the National College of Financial Services) which provides affordable external validity for courses offered by members.
The outcome of this process will be to provide our members with the confidence that any training programmes we accredit a) are professional and deliver what is promised, and b) will help them to achieve the aims of the IFW. All accredited programmes will be added to our learning centre and promoted to our members.
Criteria for IFW Accreditation
In order for the programme to prove that it embodies the principles of the Initiative for Financial Wellbeing it must show that it delivers upon at least one of the following:
The programme:
- Educates financial planners, advisers and coaches so that they can improve their client’s financial wellbeing by helping them become happier, not just wealthier
- Explores and promotes the relationship between money and wellbeing
- Provides a relevant resource for the financial services community
- Reinforces the influence on financial education to focus on wellbeing
If you are interested in the IFW accrediting one or more of your training programmes, please Enquire now
To provide you with some further detail, please click here to view the accreditation process
Get involved
The initiative will be member-led. We’d love to hear from individuals and organisations who would like to get involved.