The last time I sat through a graduation ceremony was 14 years ago, in Winchester Cathedral when I received my honours degree in Business Administration.
My lingering memory of that day was clapping for a very (very!) long time as hundreds of my fellow graduates received an academic degree.
Yesterday afternoon I found myself graduating again, this time in the company of my fellow professionals in a room of fewer than 100 graduates and their guests.
I was attending the Personal Finance Society (PFS) graduation ceremony in London which took place in the Great Hall of the Worshipful Company of Insurers which is also the home of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and the PFS.
The PFS graduation ceremony is open to Financial Planners who have reached Associateship of the PFS, or achieved Chartered or Fellowship status.
After passing four exams in the past year, I reached Fellowship status earlier this year and was pleased to receive an invitation to the PFS graduation ceremony to celebrate this achievement.
The afternoon started with a drinks reception before official photographs (adorned in graduation robes and a hat), and then a group photo before we all processed into the Great Hall for the graduation ceremony itself.
We listened to speeches by Robin Melley, the winner of the Chartered Financial Planner of the Year award last year, and Keith Richards, CEO of the PFS, and each took our turn to collect our certificates on the stage.
We also read an oath declaring we will endeavour at all times to live by the highest standards of professional conduct.
In a time when only 28% of the general public trusts financial advisers (better than the 12% who trust fund managers but disappointingly trailing behind the 32% who trust retail banks), it was good to see a growing number of Financial Planners are striving to demonstrate the highest levels of professionalism.
It might be another 14 years or longer before I attend another graduation ceremony, hopefully when Megan graduates from University sometime around 2028!
