New CFP-only membership association generating

(November 25, 2002) A fledgling organization exclusively for holders of the Certified Financial Planner designation is generating a tremendous amount of interest, says the director of the Canadian Institute of Financial Planning. Although he wouldn’t reveal exact figures, Keith Costello says a recruitment drive for the new tentatively named Canadian Institute of Financial Planners (CIFPs) has already attracted enough members to make it viable.

“I don’t want to get into a numbers game, but I can tell you that it’s going well,” Costello told Advisor.ca. “I think we’ll have an excellent number to start with and get the organization off the ground.”

The CIFPs was first announced in August and an inaugural conference was scheduled for December. Costello says that’s been delayed until the new year as the membership drive continues. “We haven’t set an exact date,” he says, but adds the conference will likely either be held in January or not until April, because of RRSP season.

The conference is an opportunity to confirm governance structures and bylaws, but the CIFPs is already a “going concern,” Costello says, providing continuing education services and advocacy for members.

Critics have questioned the need for a CFP-only member organization, given that CAIFA/CAFP — to be known as Advocis as of January 1, 2003 — also supports the CFP. But Costello says Advocis has a more diverse membership makeup and says CIFPs’ CFP-exclusive mandate is resonating with members. “They want an organization that will focus on financial planning and help them support the CFP,” he says.

In Canada, the Financial Planners Standards Council controls the CFP mark, but FPSC president Don Johnston says his organization had no involvement in the creation of the CIFPs and was never consulted. “It’s a business decision on their part,” Johnston said in a recent interview. “They want to have a CFP-centric organization and believe it will have strong appeal, but we don’t want to get involved.”

Costello says although the relationship between CIFPs and FPSC will remain arm’s length, he envisions a cooperative relationship. “They will drive the certification process and we’ll drive the membership process,” Costello says.

“We just want to provide membership services and advocacy, which are beyond the council’s reach,” he adds. “It’s a great marriage, but there’s no official alliance.”

Similarly, the CIFPs will be independent from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada, Costello says, despite reports to the contrary. “There’s no legal connection between CIFP and IFIC, but there is an affiliate relationship, where the two organizations will cooperate.”

There’s still no final decision on a name for the new association, Costello says, although he hinted CIFPs would not follow Advocis’s controversial decision to abandon the alphabet-soup approach. “Our preference is to have a name that reflects what you’re doing,” he says. “It’s important to have a name people can understand and that demonstrates what the organization stands for. So we’re quite happy with the traditional approach.”

Filed by Doug Watt, Advisor.ca, dwatt@advisor.ca .