Institute of Money Advisers

The Institute of Money Advisers is a professional standards body dedicated to relieving and preventing financial hardship through high-quality, free-to-client money advice, advancing public education in personal finance management, and influencing policy on debt and finances. Core values emphasize professionalism, integrity, public benefit, and advocacy for impartial advice, with a philosophy of sustainable impact via workforce professionalisation, continuous development, and systemic change. They believe empowered, accredited advisers drive financial resilience, preventing debt crises and poverty for vulnerable individuals by elevating sector standards and fostering evidence-based, client-centred practices.

They prioritise poverty alleviation and financial exclusion prevention through professionalisation of money advisers, delivering accredited training in debt management, personal budgeting, income maximisation, financial resilience, and legal updates for handling problem debt, low incomes, and crisis interventions like Debt Relief Orders. Supported activities include accreditation schemes for money advisers, bursaries for training courses, sector resources on budgeting and debt advice, information-sharing networks, and capacity-building for advisers in Citizens Advice, local authorities, housing associations, and charities serving vulnerable families, individuals facing financial hardship, over-indebtedness, or exclusion. Interventions focus on adviser competence to enable client outcomes like debt relief, budgeting support, and financial capability, championing preventative education, peer learning among advisers, and policy advocacy for accessible free advice addressing root causes of poverty and economic vulnerability.

They exclude direct client grants, commercial money advice providers, core funding, project grants, or emergency relief, focusing solely on workforce development and quality assurance in the free-to-client sector. Distinctive as the UK's only dedicated body for money advice professionals, they prioritise advisers supporting diverse communities in financial distress across urban and rural settings, valuing ethics, minimum standards, client-centred approaches, and collaborations with bodies like Money Advice Trust for nationwide debt prevention and resilience-building.