Our purpose
The Institute for Financial Wellbeing, or IFW for short, is a not-for-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.
The IFW’s Mission
Our purpose is to educate, empower and support people of all ages in every community to feel safe  and confident around money by creating a space for conversation, collaboration and positive change.
The IFW’s Vision
To have been instrumental in ensuring every adult and child has access to a financial wellbeing pathway by 2030.
How we aim to achieve this
We 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, the IFW aims 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 people are able to utilise to attain their life goals.
We are also broadening our strategy to deliver financial wellbeing content and insights to the consumer and are proactively identifying Partners such as charities, HR & L&D practitioners, accountants and solicitors who are interested in joining in the conversation and providing this style of content to their customers.
To do this, we host regular Roundtable discussions, Wellbeing Cafe ‘lunch and learns’ and Tools & Tactics sessions, which IFW members attend free of charge. In addition, members have access to a growing number of resources on the topic of financial wellbeing and how to implement it to enhance business practices and deepen client relationships.
IFW members benefit from the support and stimulation of being part of a vibrant, growing community of likeminded professionals, and enjoy access to collated, trusted resources, as well as bespoke resources, on the growing understanding of financial wellbeing.
Find out more about IFW membership.
Already a member? Visit your IFW community.
View the guide to the IFW Community.
Visit your IFW membership resources portal.
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, and consumers as a whole, to help those who cannot afford to pay for it
- To broaden awareness of the value of financial education as a tool to enable financial wellbeing
What do we do?
Research
We research the principles of money and happiness. View white papers here.
Tools
In development.
Collaboration
We partner with organisations to promote financial wellbeing.
Events
We spread knowledge and create a purposeful community. Find out more about our online and in-person events.
Financial Coaching
Supporting Coaches to empower their clients to gain clarity of their finances. Come to the monthly Forum to find out more.
Workplace Financial Wellbeing
In development.
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
We love to hear from individuals and organisations who would like to get involved.