A Paraplanner who started as a junior has won the prestigious Simon Wheatley Shield and a £250 cash prize for being an outstanding candidate while completing her PFS Fellowship.

Kimberley Tyson, 27, a senior Paraplanner at Chartered Financial Planning firm Telford Mann Pensions & Investments in Kettering, received the trophy and £250 from the Chartered Insurance Institute of Peterborough for her performance in the 2019 exams.

She joined Telford Mann five years ago and has been steadily completing her CII qualifications to attain Chartered Financial Planner and Fellowship status.

She said: “It was a total surprise to be nominated for these awards. I have been so focused on completing my studies over the last five years that I never expected to be recognised in this way, but it makes all the hard work even more rewarding.”

Telford Mann is a firm of Chartered Financial Planners and discretionary investment managers with over £500m under management and more than 2,500 clients.

Jilly Mann, joint managing director at Telford Mann, said: “Kimberley is a credit to our firm and the profession. She joined us as a junior with no expectations, but it quickly became clear that she was something special.

“She has worked tirelessly to achieve her exams and she is the embodiment of why we invest so heavily in our staff to allow them to achieve their full potential.”

In her role as senior Paraplanner she also takes responsibility for training new starters, leading team meetings and responding to technical and system queries.