I was heartened this week by the efforts of Welsh Financial Planning firm Celtic Financial Planning to both help improve children’s financial literacy and support local charities.
The app-based approach is a good one given how much time young people spend on their mobiles and it could well make a difference. Financial Planning literacy among the young is nowhere good enough and this new app will help.
The firm has also donated £7,500 since 2025 to local charities, community groups, and grassroots sports including Mold Rugby Union U16s international tour, Northop and Northop Hall cricket clubs, and Hawarden Park U11 Diamonds girls football team since.
On top of this, the firm also has a partnership with the North Wales Wildlife Trust which has resulted in 2,385 trees being planted. The firm’s efforts are set out in an ESG reports and the company is also a B Corp status business too. It does many other good works too numerous to mention here.
Of course, many will dismiss much of this as just good intentions and good PR but I think it goes much further than that because Celtic Financial Planning is not alone.
I have been hugely impressed over the last few years with just how many Financial Planning firms go above and beyond to help their local communities, and also national communities too. That’s not to mention the hugely impressive work of the professional bodies’ branches, most run entirely by volunteers.
I’ve lost count of the number of charity and community-minded initiatives Financial Planning Today has covered over the last few years and it should be remembered no-one is forcing them to do this; they are investing in local community groups because it’s a good thing to do if you want to be part of that community and serve it over the long term. It makes the world a better place.
Financial Planning Today regularly covers news articles on failed firms and regulatory interventions against rogue firms. Good news stories are less interesting to many but we will continue to publicise and cover the Financial Planners who are invested, not just in their own businesses, but also in their local towns, cities and villages.
So I pay tribute to all the Financial Planning firms which get involved in local projects and charities and represent a ‘giving back’ profession. You are the real heroes of the Financial Planning sector.
Kevin O’Donnell is editor of Financial Planning Today and a journalist with 40 years of experience in finance, business and mainstream news. This topical comment on the Financial Planning news appears most weeks, usually on Fridays but occasionally other days. Email:
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