A united voice for the profession

8 SEPTEMBER – FPA MEMBER WEBINAR

FPA members attended an interactive webinar on Thursday 8 September to discuss the proposal with Chair David Sharpe and CEO Sarah Abood. An opportunity was provided to ask questions.

21-23 SEPTEMBER – AFA CONFERENCE

FPA members were invited to attend the AFA conference on 21-23 September in the Gold Coast. The conference included a panel session on the merger proposal, and the boards of both associations were in attendance. A number of great questions were asked and discussions held, and the results are being incorporated in the merger documents currently being drafted.

3 NOVEMBER – COMBINED MEMBER WEBINAR

AFA and FPA members were invited to join a joint member webinar, hosted by FPA and AFA leadership. The webinar included further information on the potential merger as well as providing an opportunity for members to ask questions of both boards.

17 NOVEMBER – AFA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND MERGER BRIEFING

The annual general meeting for the AFA was held on 17 November 2022. During this meeting there was also a merger briefing.

22 NOVEMBER – FPA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND MERGER BRIEFING

The annual general meeting for the FPA was held on 22 November 2022. During this meeting there was also a merger briefing.

23-24 NOVEMBER 2022 – FPA CONGRESS

AFA members were invited to attend Congress at the member price. The Congress celebrated the FPA’s 30th birthday and delivered high-quality content and networking opportunities to members.

1 DECEMBER 2022 – CONSULTATION ON NEW NAME FOR THE ASSOCIATION

Members of the AFA and FPA were invited to provide feedback via a survey on a name for the merged association. Members were sent an email with a link to the survey questions.

FROM 13 DECEMBER TO 31 JANUARY 2023 – FINAL ROUND MEMBER CONSULTATION

Members of both associations received the Merger Summary, and drafts of the final resolutions and constitution for comment.

Contributions to the Member Consultation which closed on Tuesday 31 January have been taken into account in finalising the documents that are now put forward for your consideration.

25 JANUARY 2023 – FPA MEMBER WEBINAR

FPA members are invited to attend a consultation webinar at 1pm AEDT on Wednesday 25 January 2023, to discuss the documents and proposals with Chair David Sharpe and CEO Sarah Abood. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and the webinar will include live feedback polls on key issues.

EARLY FEBRUARY 2023 – VOTING OPENS

Final documents will be provided and voting will be opened to all eligible voting members.

LATE FEBRUARY 2023 – VOTING CLOSES, EGMs HELD AND OUTCOME ANNOUNCED

The results from the vote will be finalised and announced at FPA and AFA EGMs. For the proposal to succeed, 75% of members who vote will need to vote in favour.

MARCH – JUNE 2023 – TRANSITION PHASE

If the vote is ‘yes’, the steps to transition to a single association will commence. During this transition phase, the new association will be launched. This will include a new name for the united association and the adoption of a new constitution and a new board. Staff and members will transition to the new association.

FROM 1 JULY 2023 – TRANSITION COMPLETION

Windup of legacy structures will be completed.

Both boards agree that a new name and branding, reflecting the new entity, would be appropriate to honour the heritage of both associations. We are pleased to announce that in the event of a successful vote, the name of the merged association will be the Financial Advice Association of Australia Limited.

The current timings are:

– Second round member consultation: Dec 2022 – Jan 2023

– Final papers and resolutions sent to members for voting: early Feb 2023

– EGM and vote at both associations: end Feb 2023

– Transition period: March 2023-June 2023 including adoption of new name and constitution, new board formation, membership transition, staff transition.

– Windup of AFA structures: from 1 July 2023

A merged association would represent professional planners and advisers. As a professional association, it would also act in the public interest. These two goals are complementary – planners are required by law and by Code to act in the best interests of their clients, and their association would reflect that.

The association would not represent dealer groups, super funds or other product providers – which are generally represented by associations including the FSC, the new insurance-focused CALI, ASFA, ISA and so on. The new association will continue to work with these groups in the interests of its members, as the FPA and AFA do currently via the Joint Association Working Group (JAWG).

The AFA has a partner program that entitles participants to seats and exhibition stands at events, advertising and, in the case of licensees, access to discounted membership pricing for the advisers authorised by that licensee. That program would not continue in the merged association.

In the past the FPA had a membership category for dealer groups, although that category was abolished some years ago. Those membership types would not exist in the merged association.

This does not preclude these organisations sponsoring interesting and useful content for members and networking events to help keep costs down for members. Where that occurs it will be fully disclosed – as is the case currently for both associations.

No. Both boards believe there are substantial benefits for their respective members from a merger, providing a united voice and stronger advocacy for the profession. Any merged association would honour the heritage of both the FPA and AFA, in particular recognising

the AFA’s 76-year history as well as the FPA’s background of providing the globally recognised CFP designation. We are specifically seeking members’ feedback on our proposal that the new association will have a new name and constitution, recognising both associations’ heritage.

The AFA will have an influential role to play in any new association, which will have a new name and brand (not FPA or AFA). Four directors on the new board will be appointed from the AFA board – one-third of the board representation. Jointly we will work to ensure that the issues that are important to heritage members of both associations will be important to the board of the new association.

Both associations are advocating for the continuation of commissions as an option for consumers to pay for their life insurance advice, and this will not change for the merged association. At time of writing this isa live issue, with Treasury recently releasing a consultation paper on life insurance commissions (among other matters).

Overall, we haven’t identified any areas where the principles of our advocacy differ. In some places the details might be a little different, and we will be working through those areas in coming months to ensure we can be fully aligned.

The boards have proposed that the CFP designation would be the primary designation going forward. The FChFP and the ChLP designations which have previously been offered by the AFA, would continue to be recognised and supported, although not available to new applicants. Experience and related qualifications will be appropriately recognised in the pathways to enrol for the CFP.

For those advisers who have completed the FChFP designation but who are interested in transferring to the CFP designation, we are reviewing where the FChFP designation corresponds with the CFP and have identified a high degree of overlap. We are working to map the content of the FChFP designation to the CFP designation following the process used with FPEC to approve RPL for tertiary qualifications, to confirm what standing holders of the FChFP will have in terms of recognition of prior learning. Any student wishing to obtain the CFP designation needs to pass the CFP “Capstone” exam, in line with international requirements set by the FPSB.

A merged association would have a new constitution, terms, membership regulations and categories. There is overlap with many of the existing membership categories for both associations. Where there is no clear equivalent the member will be guided to the membership category that is the best fit.

Effective advocacy is consistently the number one priority for members of both associations and a merger of the FPA and AFA would create a single association which would speak for the profession. In particular, the new association will be focusing on ensuring support that the AFA currently provides, will be available in the new association. A number of AFA members have focused on insurance, and that area is a high priority one for both boards to ensure continued support. The AFA and FPA have run a joint life insurance taskforce for three years and that focus will continue, along with support for existing holders of the FChFP and the life risk specialist designation (ChLP ). The merged association will also maintain support for the various communities that are run by the AFA.

For most AFA members, a merged association should see a reduction in their membership fees. For all other members, including FPA members, fees should remain unchanged.

Both the AFA and FPA have a disciplinary process in place that investigates allegations of member misconduct and imposes sanctions where misconduct is found to have occurred.

The key difference between the two systems is that the FPA maintains an independent body – the Conduct Review Commission – which hears cases of misconduct investigated by the FPA where there is found to be a case to answer. In addition the FPA has the power to impose monetary fines. That power is only rarely used, in cases where conduct has been of such concern that the FPA believes the cost of the hearing should not be funded by all members. Only one case resulted in a fine last financial year (in this case, a member had been driving an elderly and cognitively-impaired client to an ATM and benefiting from substantial cash withdrawals made).

The details of completed FPA determinations are transparent and cases can be viewed on the FPA website: https://faaa.au/professionalism/register-of-disciplinary-action/

A decision is yet to made on the disciplinary process of a merged association but both the AFA and FPA boards agree that it is vital to maintain a code of conduct that members must adhere to.

A disciplinary process is an important part of maintaining the integrity of members and supporting public confidence in the profession. Ultimately it supports the standards the associations require of its members, and any reputable association should have measures that penalise or exclude members who do not meet these professional conduct standards.

The AIOFP is entitled to its views but we don’t see them as relevant to the majority of our members. We believe that it is potentially damaging to our profession to get involved in a public squabble between two associations.