IAFP healthy and growing, says president

(October 12, 2004) The Institute of Advanced Planners (IAFP) is here to stay, says president Ian Secord, with close to 500 RFP members. The IAFP held its annual conference last week in Kelowna, B.C.

Confidently laying aside speculation that the organization would not be viable, Secord said that it is healthy today with 463 RFP-toting members, three newly minted RFPs and four new associate members.

The organization was founded to offer a home for financial planners holding the Registered Financial Planner (RFP) designation after the designation was jettisoned from the Canadian Association of Financial Planners (CAFP) in 2001 when the CAFP joined up with CAIFA to form Advocis. Secord says the IAFP is encouraged by its membership numbers as well as the strong support of members.

Although the IAFP is a lean organization staffed by volunteers, it has already codified its professional practice standards, built a member Web site and an e-mail-based RFP communications forum, Secord added.

In order to improve its services to members, the IAFP has hired Larry Colero as its executive director and Maurine Brown to improve its administrative infrastructure. Secord admits that the IAFP will never be the largest of financial advisor associations in Canada, so it will focus instead on the quality of its members, and maintain high standards through its support of the RFP designation.

The organization intends to remain member driven and is promising a more practical versus utopian approach to standards as it revises parts of the professional practice standards based on member feedback.

“It is our role to assist you and treat you as adults,” said Secord at the institute’s annual general meeting. The conference itself was heavy on technical knowledge and practical application.

In an effort to clarify and refine its standards, IAFP continues to seek member consultation on key areas of the financial planning process. These include the planners’ level of due diligence, the required planning elements, the disclosure of compensation and a newly completed adjudication process. Secord admitted that the organization would not be able to conduct the previously planned peer practice audits but was considering a self-audit system instead.

He also commented that the IAFP had not yet succeeded in securing a professional errors and omissions insurance policy for its members, but was still diligently in discussions with the insurance industry over this.

Secord reaffirmed the significance of the RFP designation (Plantificateur Financier Certifie (PFC) in Quebec) as those who have the proven ability to complete comprehensive financial plans and apply complex planning knowledge, and who follow the comprehensive six-step planning process and adhere to the organization’s professional standards.

Prospective RFP candidates are expected to have five years of financial planning experience, submit an example of one of their financial plans for a peer review and pass the newly redeveloped exam. The organization is reviewing this process currently and is exploring affiliations with university programs.

Although the IAFP has limited financial resources, it is committed to increasing the profile of the RFP in the general public and industry, Secord said, through obtaining third-party endorsements, working with the media, educating clients and improving its Web site.

Michael Berton is a financial planner with Assante in Vancouver and a part-time instructor at the B.C. Institute of Technology