The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) has appointed Certified Financial Planner Carly Dunningham as chair of the CISI Financial Planning forum committee.

She will take over from current chair Amyr Rocha Lima who is stepping down in November.

Ms Dunningham is a director at Verso Wealth Management who has been in the profession for more than 22 years.

She has been a member of the CISI Financial Planning forum committee since 2023 and said she enjoys working closely with her clients to help them uncover and achieve their life goals.

She said: “I am thrilled to be taking on the role of chair of the CISI’s Financial Planning Forum. It was a true honour to be voted in by my fellow committee members.

“As a passionate advocate for the power of proper Financial Planning, I’m excited to have this opportunity to help the forum make a real difference to our profession and for the people in it. 

“I am looking forward to raising our profile to get more people into this amazing career and increasing public awareness about what good Financial Planning actually is.”

The Financial Planning professional forum encourages CISI’s Financial Planning members to share their ideas and best practices while helping to develop the existing and next generation of financial planning professionals.

The forum provides an opportunity to meet other professionals and engage in open discussions in a confidential setting, as forums are conducted under the Chatham House rules.

Chris Morris, CISI head of Financial Planning policy and engagement, said: “I would like to thank Amyr for all his years of support as chair of the Financial Planning forum. He has been a tremendous advocate for CFP professionals in the UK and has made a significant contribution to raising the profile of Financial Planning.”

The CISI has 10 professional forums which include, in addition to Financial Planning, the practitioner areas of: bonds and fixed interest, compliance and international regulations, corporate finance, fintech, operations, risk, wealth management, paraplanner, training, competence and culture.