Thirty-six per cent of financial advisers want a specialised qualification in the FCA’s expectations for appropriate advice for green financial products, according to research from the Personal Finance Society (PFS).

Of 146 financial advisers surveyed, another 39% indicated they would like an e-learning module while 25% want CPD events and lectures in order to bolster their knowledge of how they should advise on green products.
 
The PFS highlighted that there is a growing range of green financial products and services available to consumers, from green loans for small businesses to green mortgages, which offer reduced rates to homeowners who want to buy an energy-efficient property.
 
The PFS’s study came after the FCA announced last October that it is looking to create a regulatory environment where financial advisers can help their clients “capture opportunities” as the UK moves to become a low carbon economy.
 
PFS chief executive, Keith Richards, commented: “Regulators and governments around the world want to ensure that consumers have access to green financial products and services that meet their needs and preferences but that they are also appropriately protected when purchasing them.
 
“The PFS will continue to we work with policymakers, members and the wider market, as well as our European Financial Planning Association affiliate bodies and the International Association of Sustainable Economy, to ensure appropriate material, good practice guides and qualification units are available to meet the needs of professionals, and to ensure consumers receive appropriate information so that they can make informed decisions and do not suffer financial harm from ‘greenwashing’.”

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