The deal is the first of a series of initiatives designed to prevent Brexit adversely affecting international expat clients.
Announcing the collaboration, PFS chief executive Keith Richards told delegates at the Festival of Financial Planning on Tuesday he hoped the mutual recognition programme would give all 37,500 PFS members “a gateway” to international clients.
In some “good news” on Brexit, he said the PFS “wanted to help mitigate the risk of customers not reaching the advice they needed in a post-Brexit World”.
“This positive collaboration gives UK advisers greater certainty in advance of Brexit, in the knowledge that the PFS qualifications framework is now recognised via the EFA and EFP European financial planning standards, which are accredited by certain European regulators.
“The new link will ensure that consumers who wish to access advice from UK advisers, or maintain existing relationships in a post Brexit environment, will in future be able to do so as part of an all embracing quality standard all over Europe.”
In a note on the deal, Karim Zouhdi, EFPA executive manager, said certificate holders would benefit from a deeper knowledge of products and European regulation and a continuing professional development programme, which he said would enable professional mobility and mutual recognition in more than 10 countries in Europe.
Under the deal holders of the DipPFS will be entitled to use European designations from their 2018 renewal date.
