Many FPA members disengaged

The Financial Planning Association (FPA) appears to be suffering a problem with member engagement, according to new research released by Wealth Insights.

The research, the result of surveys and focus groups conducted by Wealth Insights over recent weeks, indicated that while 22 per cent of those surveyed were FPA members and were satisfied with the organisation, an almost equal number of financial planners who are members do not deal enough with their association to have a view.

The Wealth Insights data also revealed that 13 per cent of the financial planners surveyed who said they were members of the FPA were dissatisfied.

The release of the Wealth Insights data on satisfaction levels of the members of FPA follows on from a week during which the organisation was subject to some intense criticism over its handling of negotiations around the Government's Future of Financial Advice bills - particularly the perceived influence of the Industry Super Network.

Wealth Insights invited the financial planners it surveyed to give their reasons for dissatisfaction with the organisation, with many comments from members referring to the costs involved in maintaining status under the FPA's Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation.

A number of respondents suggested they had maintained their FPA membership to ensure they could continue to use the CFP designation.

Few of the respondents appeared to entirely recognise that the FPA had changed its member structure, and even amongst those who did recognise the change, a number suggested the organisation was still unduly influenced by the major institutions.

Among non-members, the major issue appeared to be a belief that the FPA had not been strong enough in resisting the ISN or the Government's FOFA changes.