The FAAA says more than 80% of its practitioner members have already renewed, with expectations of more to come.
FAAA chief executive officer Sarah Abood says by 30 June 2023, more than 8,700 members, including over 80% of eligible practitioner members, had renewed across both organisations.
She says the end of the financial year is the first big milestone for membership, noting “…this year it was the critical date for windup of the AFA, and many of our members prefer to pay in the previous financial year in any case, for tax reasons.”
Abood adds “…that such a large percentage of advisers have transferred or renewed their membership is a real vote of confidence in the newly formed FAAA. We are also seeing a number of reinstatement and new membership applications coming through.”
The FAAA says AFA heritage members numbered 2,489 at the start of the renewal process across all categories.
“ In total, 1,563 had transferred to the FAAA as at the end of June, with 146 advising that they don’t plan to transfer. The remainder includes duplicate members, members who have started the process but not yet completed it, and members who haven’t responded yet.”
It notes that as the AFA has officially wound up as of 30 June “…those AFA members who have not transferred are no longer a member of any professional body and will not be receiving any membership services.”
Abood states the organisation hears “every day” from AFA members who need some help in completing the move to a new portal, and others who have been on leave.
“We will continue the offer to transfer and retain the membership start date for AFA members, on a similar basis as FPA heritage members, with a reminder that a late fee applies for renewals after 15 July.”
…there were 9,693 FPA members in total eligible to renew…
As to the numbers for FPA heritage members, the FAAA says there were 9,693 FPA members in total eligible to renew.
It says 6,377 practitioners and another 761 non-practitioners have already renewed, for a total of 7,138.
“At the same time last year, only 6,876 FPA members had renewed, and 6,436 in the year before – so numbers are running well ahead of previous years.”
Abood encourages all members to renew as soon as possible.
“The more members we have, the more strength we have to create better outcomes for the financial advice profession. This is particularly important in advocacy, where there are plenty of issues on the FAAA agenda…”
She notes the FAAA is also focused on re-growing the profession, with campaigns highlighting financial advice as a great career choice planned for later this financial year.
“Having a unified voice for the profession, representing the majority of financial advisers in the country, gives us a greater chance of achieving the changes our members are looking for,” Abood says.
