Taking stock on the rock: Advocis announces national conference details

(January 10, 2003) A panel of Canada’s leading economists and a group of award-winning advisors will highlight the inaugural Advocis conference, slated for June 11-14 in St. John’s, Newfoundland. It’s the first national conference for the newly merged Canadian Association of Financial Planners and the Canadian Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.

The conference includes 23 workshop sessions divided into six educational streams: human relations, insurance planning, practice management, sales and marketing, taxation and estate planning, and advanced financial planning.

“We wanted to have more choice with respect to educational streams,” says Terry Taylor, chief operating officer and chief executive officer, standards, at Advocis. This year’s conference will follow the CAIFA model of repeating certain sessions, he explains. “So there’s far more choice than the old CAIFA conference and there’s much more flexibility to plan your program because of the repeats.”

Four former and current Advisor of the Year Award recipients will be featured in the advanced planning stream, including Sheila Munch, Brant Taylor, Ralph Zielsdorf and the 2002 Ontario co-winners Lance Howard and Patrick Keyes. “They’re going to give a technical presentation on their winning case studies,” Taylor says. “It will be an opportunity for practitioners to speak from a practical perspective and I think it’s going to a very popular series.”

Confirmed keynotes include Maritime Life’s Bill Black, AIM Trimark’s tax expert Jamie Golombek and inspirational speaker Alvin Law. The conference will also feature a panel of three well-known economists, Jeff Rubin, Fred Ketchen and John Crispo, discussing the outlook for 2003 and beyond in a session moderated by business journalist Deidre McMurdy.

McMurdy will also take part in a he said/she said session on politics and finance with Maclean’s editor Anthony Wilson Smith.

Three pre-conference workshops on financial plan writing, regulatory compliance, and sales and marketing will be held on June 11. The education and plenary sessions are scheduled for June 12-14.

Early-bird fees of $575 for members are in effect until January 31. Prices rise by $100 in February. Conference information and registration forms are available on the Advocis Web site.

The CAIFA/CAFP merger was approved last fall and Advocis officially came into being on January 1, 2003. CAFP staffers moved to the former CAIFA office in downtown Toronto in December. Taylor says the integration has gone well and members are reacting positively to the merger.

“The furor over the name has died down,” he says. “I think we have an opportunity to demonstrate what we’re all about. If we do what we intend to do, I think the membership will be happy.”

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