Robert Cain from threesixty finds out what makes the IFP different at the IFP conference.

My attendance at this year’s IFP conference last month was my first. My company threesixty has been a regular exhibitor at the event over the years, however, my own team have never trusted me with the responsibility of manning a stand. This year I took that decision away from them and took the opportunity to travel to Newport for the duration of the conference.

Having connected with so many IFP members via Twitter for some time now (my first venture into social media) I was excited to meet with existing clients, friends and the many people I had never before met in the flesh (meeting some in the pool made this too literal). My only disappointment was that I couldn’t meet more.

The IFP is a collection of Financial Planners and Paraplanners who stand for something. It has a philosophy, certainly, but more importantly (and unusually) it has a clear and distinct culture. It isn’t about intellectuality, as many assume.

There are plenty of similarities in business models and a belief in Financial Planning, but a conference of people who simply agreed at this level would be very dull.

The people I met had a shared sense of freedom and creativity in their work which is much more important than the sum of their collective qualifications. It isn’t often present in other professions, it is rarely present at other financial services events.

Freedom is expressed through a refusal to be controlled, dictated to, creativity through a desire to learn and embrace the future. I used Twitter to attract IFP members to my stand. That’s incredible for a supposedly outdated profession.

I must have spoken with hundreds of people and it reminded me why we have so many clients who are IFP members, including many of those named in the register of the 25 first Accredited Financial Planning FirmsTM.

threesixty has always looked forward, always embraced change and as a small, fee-based business, knows the value of spending time learning from similar firms.

That’s why I believe I’ll see even more clients at next year’s conference and why the IFP is an organisation which will continue to thrive.