(June 4, 2003) The importance of association membership and a sense of community were the two main themes among speakers and delegates alike at the inaugural conference for the Canadian Institute of Financial Planners (CIFPs).

“The community of CIFPs can make a difference,” said Bob Barry, chair of the U.S.-based Financial Planning Association (FPA). “Sooner or later the time comes when no one person can do things alone.”

Barry pointed to some of the benefits that FPA members receive from membership, including networking, relationships, knowledge, and personal and professional growth. “In many cases, professionals are afraid to share their stories with others out of fear of competition,” says Barry. “At the FPA, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Planners share stories. It shows you where you fit in.”

The FPA is also focused on sending a clear message to the media and the public about what financial planning really is, added Barry. Advocacy and study groups also round out the FPA program.

Keith Costello, managing director of the CIFPs says it will be the financial planning association for Canada. “If you are a CFP, we are your home,” he said. “We don’t see another body that will be able to bring planners together.”

The CIFPs plans to model itself after the FPA and has already begun to build an alliance with its American cousin. “When you really look it, our objects and our bylaws, we really stand for what the Canadian Association of Financial Planners stood for,” Costello added.

With that in mind, Costello announced at the members’ meeting on Tuesday morning a campaign to attract former CAFP members to the CIFPs. “Right now we have about 1,000 members,” explained Costello. “This makes us viable, but now it’s time to gain momentum.”

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    • Costello also outlined some of the future plans for the association, including alliances with the Financial Planners Standards Council and Athabasca University. An advocacy program and an errors and omissions program have already been introduced, and there are plans to start a fee-based program and develop local chapters across the country.

    Delegates who attended this year’s conference were happy with what they saw. “I had big expectations for this association [conference],” said Ron Sargent, a CFP and CMA with Money Concepts in Cobourg, Ontario. “They didn’t disappoint me. The quality of the speakers has been excellent, especially given the association’s short history.”

    “It’s exciting to be a part of the new association,” added Rodney Tam, a CFP, CIM, FMA and FCSI, from Foresters Securities in Toronto. “Given what has happened in the industry and the way the markets have been going, I really think we need an association that supports one clear designation.”

    Tam was also impressed by the conference. “The community was excellent. There are enough people here to make it a success, but it wasn’t massively large. When you are one of 5,000, networking isn’t easy.” Tam also appreciated the companion program, as he brought his wife, Eun-Mi Lee, and their one-year-old son, Brandon, to the conference.

    “This organization will be truly one member, one vote,” Costello said. “We are not a top-down organization and on the advocacy front, we will ensure our voice is heard.”

    The CIFPs’s first conference, which Costello admits was planned over three months, attracted about 150 delegates, with approximately 70 who identified themselves as CFPs — the one criterion you need to be a full member.

    • • •

    Jennifer McLaughlin, Advisor’s Edge, jmclaughlin@rmpublishing.com.

    (06/04/03)