Youngest Ever Individual to Achieve CII Diploma

The CII has confirmed that Josh Butten, 20, of Myers Davison Ginger has successfully attained both the ‘CII Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning’ as well as the ‘CII Diploma in Financial Planning’ making him the youngest person to hold these qualifications.

Josh Butten – Young Achiever

Faye Goddard, CEO of the Personal Finance Society, commented: “It is always encouraging to see members doing well in their examinations and Josh’s achievements stand him in good stead as he builds up his practical experience of dealing with clients, as necessary before achieving Chartered status. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Josh on his achievement and wish him the best of luck as he begins his career in the profession.”

Catriona Brand, Director of Brand Financial Training Ltd, has said: “There is no doubt that Josh achieved this through hard work and making best use of various external learning resources including our own mock papers, study notes and calculation workbooks.  It’s fantastic to see Josh recognised for his achievement, and as someone who likes to push his career forward we know he’s already planning to get through the Advanced Diploma and we are happy to be able to assist him.  We all wish him luck in the future.”

John Davison, Managing Director at MDG, has said “I am most impressed by Josh’s  progression over the last four years. Josh is a very motivated and focused individual who is an asset to our firm and our industry. I feel achieving this record is the first of many, and youngest Chartered Financial Planner is now in his sights. I will be taking further Advanced Diploma exams with Josh starting in April as he has motivated myself and other members of our firm to push on with our education.”

This achievement comes at a time when the Retail Distribution Review is sweeping over the Financial Advice community and has forced many to stop advising as they do not hold the necessary Level 4 qualifications. Many advisers have decided not to attempt the new exam level while others have struggled to pass the required units in time for the RDR deadline which was 1st January 2013.

“At the age of 20 I became the youngest person to hold the CII Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning and the Diploma in Financial Planning in December 2012.  I achieved this through hard work and the use of resources including those provided by Brand Financial Training; in particular the mock exams, study notes and the extremely helpful Calculation Workbooks.  I’m now moving forward with the Advanced Diploma and continue to use Brand Financial Training’s resources to aid my progression to Chartered Status.  I certainly recommend them”.

Josh Butten, MDG MK, Youngest Holder of DipPFS, Bedfordshire