The Personal Finance Society (PFS) recently held their fourth quarter 2011 Regional Conference at the Claremont Hotel in Douglas. The PFS is the professional body for the financial planning profession in the UK and is part of the larger Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) family The society recently made the Isle of Man its 27th region with 126 local members. Hosted in association with Capital International and Octopus Investment Ltd, the event was opened by Managing Director of Thornton Associates, Sharon Sutton who is currently chair of the local region. Sharon stated: “It is always a privilege to be a part of such a worthy event, as well as being able to exchange ideas with the numerous experts who attend the conference. It’s imperative that we continue to develop ourselves professionally, and by sharing information with other PFS members we can ensure that key issues affecting the sector are discussed as ultimately the CII is a consumer interest body.” Other speakers at the event were John Dashfield of Dashfield Coaching and Development who talked about the importance of being motivated and inspired in business, Christopher Bell of Capital International who discussed the new age of financial austerity and Lothar Mentel of Octopus Investment Ltd who gave a fascinating perspective on investment markets and the Eurozone, himself coming from Germany. The session closed with a case study on business succession and business protection strategies for the private limited company, which represents a large proportion of island businesses and highlighted the value they can obtain by engaging with a locally qualified and authorised Financial Planner. The CII offers both diploma level and advanced diploma level papers in Business Financial Planning and there are few locally who hold either. Terry Bateman of PFS gave the closing remarks: “The success of the PFS comes down to the expertise provided by and shared among its members. One of the main aims of these events is that they also serve individuals looking to further themselves in their career by giving them the opportunity to acquire Continued Professional Development (CPD) points and assisting them in obtaining the qualifications they need in line with the new requirements for financial advisers following the Retail Distribution Review. I hope that future events will help our members to develop further and our network to grow continuously.” Future PFS events on the Isle of Man include 18th January, 4th May, 17th July & 9th October 2012. ENDS