Best Practice Associate in Wilmslow

Equilibrium is more than just a Chartered Financial Planning company - we’re an award-winning, independent firm based in Handforth, Cheshire, with one clear purpose: making people’s lives better. Whether it’s our clients, our team, our community, or anyone who crosses our path. We believe in creating a positive impact in everything we do. Plus, we’re proudly managing over £1.3bn in assets for our clients.

Finding the right people is the secret to our success. We're incredibly proud of our amazing team and their dedication to excellence. Join us and you'll enjoy fantastic benefits, a challenging, exciting role, with boundless opportunities for growth and development. We’re serious about what we do, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously though, and make time for fun along the way too!

We do things differently at Equilibrium, which is why we have a Best Practice department instead of a traditional compliance team. We are now looking for an Associate to help drive excellence for our clients and team members. This is a varied, hands-on role. You'll prepare KPI and management information, conduct pre-approval file checks, and carry out post-sale thematic reviews. You'll provide guidance on regulatory and financial planning issues, helping to ensure good client outcomes — and you'll work closely with teams across the business, from Client Managers and Financial Planners to Investment, Marketing, and Finance, to sharpen advice quality and keep communications clear, fair, and accurate.

To achieve this, our new Best Practice Associate will:

• Conduct file and annual reviews to ensure the suitability of advice and adherence to regulatory requirements and internal policies.
• Work with all areas of the business to embed the culture of Best Practice, Consumer Duty, and Treating Customers Fairly.
• Where required, challenge existing policies and procedures to ensure Equilibrium continues to provide positive outcomes and improve efficiencies.
• Ensure financial promotions are clear, fair, accurate and not misleading to our clients and wider audiences. This includes an ongoing review of existing comms such as our website, articles, and blogs to ensure continuing compliance in a changing landscape.
• Be involved in complaint handling in line with regulatory guidelines and Equilibrium’s standards.
• Develop, review, and update policies, procedures, and regulatory documentation to ensure compliance with industry standards.
• Work with the Financial Planners and Client Managers to discuss the most appropriate financial strategies that meet the client's financial objectives and circumstances.
• Conduct thorough file reviews using company systems, technology, and wrap platforms to ensure accuracy, compliance, and efficiency.
• Be responsible for the integrity of Equilibrium’s data, ensuring all data is inputted and maintained to the required standard, within agreed timescales.
• Be involved with relevant projects and perform ad hoc tasks as required.

Qualifications: Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) Level 6 Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning (Chartered status).

At Equilibrium, we live our values through the following:

• Integrity – we treat everyone with respect, take responsibility for ourselves and what we do, and are open and authentic in all of our dealings.
• Growth – we foster a growth mindset, with a curiosity and desire to learn and grow both professionally and personally.
• Simplicity – we look for the clearest path to the best outcome, being adaptable in our approach. We are clear communicators with the ability to land a message appropriate to our audience.
• Excellence – we will consistently work to high standards, showing great care and attention to detail in everything that we do.

So why join us? At Equilibrium, the work environment is fast-paced. We have a hard-working, energetic team, who adapt to change easily. We are a friendly and supportive bunch, and Equilibrium’s culture is rooted in fun, collaboration, learning, and growth. We strive for excellence, setting high standards, while fully committing to supporting and nurturing your development, which means we expect your best but we’ll also give you ours. Helping people live the lives they want to live, look after those they love, and leave powerful legacies is part of the day job. We genuinely want to help create more choices and more freedom for our clients, ultimately making their lives, and the lives of those around them, better.

To support our team's development, we cover the costs of study materials and exam fees for relevant qualifications. Additionally, we offer paid study and exam leave. To ensure a healthy work-life balance, we offer a generous annual leave package. We also offer a flexible working framework, allowing team members to work from home when appropriate and where reasonable, flex their work hours, in line with business requirements. We also provide the benefits you’d expect from an award-winning company such as bonuses, pension, death in service, income protection and more.