Five firms - including platform and investment provider Hargreaves Lansdown - have achieved Corporate Chartered status from the CII in the latest quarter.

Platform Hargreaves Lansdown was the largest firm to achieve the status and joined four other firms in the latest crop including three Financial Planning firms.

The Financial Planning firms were:

• Astute Wealth Planning, a West Sussex-based Financial Planning firm and appointed representative of The Tavistock Partnership. It was founded by Timothy Santry in 2012.

• East Anglian Financial Planning, which is based in Colchester, provides bespoke Financial Planning to private individuals, trusts, charities and corporate entities across North Essex, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. It was founded by Andrew Johnson and Beverley Monk in 2022. They founded the firm alongside five financial advisers: James Wright, Matt Merchant, Grant Buchanan, Gary Riches and Neil Hewitt.

• Synthesis Wealth Management, a Financial Planning firm based in Bath and London. The firm was founded by Chartered Financial Planner Jonathan Barnes and Samantha Skuse DipPFS.

The other two firms to receive Corporate Chartered status from the CII in the quarter were Hargreaves Lansdown and BPW Insurance Services.

The CII said Corporate Chartered status was a symbol of technical competence and signifies a public commitment to professional standards.

Rebecca Aston, professional standards manager at the CII, said: “In achieving Corporate Chartered status, they have each made a public declaration to professional standards, and committed to upholding the Chartered Ethos of nurturing knowledge, client centricity and serving society.

"Corporate Chartered status is a key component in building public trust and a true mark of professionalism.”