The Association of Financial Advisers and the Financial Planning Association of Australia will merge to form the Financial Advice Association of Australia.
Confirmation of the merger was made this afternoon following Extraordinary General Meetings conducted by both associations, where the result of the member vote on the merger proposition was announced.
A release announcing confirmation of the merger reported an average of 96.5% of AFA votes and 96.7% of FPA votes were in favour of the merger proposition, well exceeding the minimum 75% required for the merger to proceed.
A merged association gives us a united voice at a crucial turning point for our profession
AFA National President, Sam Perera, said the result showed overwhelming support by members for a merger and that “A merged association gives us a united voice at a crucial turning point for our profession, including the proposed changes from the Quality of Advice review.”
Perera added the during discussions in recent months with members, it was clear that there was significant support for a merger, “…but we never took this for granted and recognised the importance of members having their say,” he said.
…an historic day
Calling it an historic day, FPA Chair, David Sharpe, added that both the AFA and FPA boards were unanimously in support of a merger since it was first proposed to members in September 2022.
“The boards developed the proposal as they believed a merger for the two associations was in the best interests of all members, and of the financial planning and advice profession as a whole. We saw substantial benefits from a merger, and it is clear from the vote that the vast majority of members also recognise these benefits.”
The statement notes the full legal name of the new association will be the Financial Advice Association of Australia Limited, and that legal completion is expected to take place on 3 April 2023.
A transition period to the new association is intended to run from April to June 2023, including adoption of the new name and constitution, finalising and launching a new brand and logo, new board formation, and membership transition. The transition is expected to be complete by 1 July 2023.
I hope the FPA recognises that they have NEVER understood how risk advice works in the real world and they need to get up to speed as to what the REAL SOLUTIONS are to fix what was a totally avoidable and disastrous set of protocols that allowed the Government and Regulators to head down the road to perdition, with the subsequent loss of thousands of experienced Advisers and the brave new world of University qualifications to be a risk adviser.
If you want to see the end result of that policy, look at how many new graduates are specialising in risk advice and the decline in New Business.
The solution is to separate risk advice from Investment advice and have upfront and ongoing Education that is fit for purpose.
Most risk advisers entered the Industry via other paths, rather than the University structure that has not worked in the past and nor will it be successful in the future.
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