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(May 30, 2003) The financial industry’s newest association, the Canadian Institute of Financial Planners (CIFPs), will hold its first conference next week, June 1 to 3 in Deerhurst, Ontario. While conference organizers work to make final preparations, Advisor.ca spoke to Keith Costello, executive director of the CIFPs.
Advisor.ca: Why did you want to hold a conference now?
Keith Costello: The conference is really serving as a vehicle to start up the organization. This is our founding conference, where we will be holding our first annual general meeting. The set-up of the organization, setting up the ongoing board, getting our bylaws approved — all that type of member business will be finalized on Tuesday morning. The conference will also be a showcase of who we are and will demonstrate the type and quality of things that we will be doing as an association as we move forward.
Advisor.ca: This is your first conference and I’m sure you looked to other conferences to help you decide how to frame your conference. What will your conference offer that is different from others?
Keith Costello: Our conference is really geared toward our members. It’s also really geared toward setting up a financial planning family in Canada. We see a lot of advisor conferences and organizations, but we really don’t see specific financial planning organizations or conferences. In our case, the CFP is our definition of financial planning. We think [the CIFPs conference] is really unique in that it is solely financial planning and addresses the issues CFPs face.
It’s also a family-oriented event. A lot of people are bringing their spouses and children with them. We have a spouses’ program where spouses can participate in certain events and meals, and there are kids programs, so you can integrate your whole family into the program. It’s a unique concept — we want to create a family from an association perspective, so we are really trying to make it so that it is all-encompassing.
Advisor.ca: Because it’s your first conference, do you think some advisors and financial planners are going to the conference out of curiosity to see what it’s all about?
Keith Costello: From my perspective, and it’s based on preliminary data, most of the people who are coming — about 98% have joined already. I believe they are coming because they want to be a part of this new association and family. I don’t think they are coming out of curiosity. For most people who are coming, this is a serious endeavour. I think financial planners can see from the program that the value is implicit.
Advisor.ca: How many people are planning to attend?
Keith Costello: We are going to have about 150 at the event. That’s pretty good for a first go-around. We wanted to keep it small. Years to come it will be bigger, but for now we wanted to keep it very personal and cozy. The venue and the program are set that so that people feel comfortable; it’s not a big trade show type conference where there is a whole bunch of delegates. At this event, everyone should be able to meet each other, which we think is great.
Keep in mind that this conference was put together in the space of two or three months, so we are very happy with the number of people who are embracing it. And, there’s still time, too, for people who still want to register or just come at the door. We provide for that, too.
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Filed by Jennifer McLaughlin, Advisor’s Edge, jmclaughlin@rmpublishing.com.
(05/30/03)