New association hits adviser space

A new planning association has been launched, promising to help advisers deliver real return strategies against the backdrop of increasing regulation.  

The Association of Real Return Investment Advisers (ARRIA), a collaboration of four independent advisers and four fund managers, was developed in response to a growing need for research and real return advocacy in the “equity-reliant” post-global financial crisis space, according to its general manager Philip Reid.  

“ARRIA will also liaise and co-ordinate communications with government, regulatory bodies, other relevant industry associations and general service providers in what is rapidly becoming a real return investment industry,” he said.  

The association held its soft launch in early March and plans to host a series of roundtables in the coming months to drive up membership numbers.  

Membership is around $1000 for advisers and $5000 for fund managers, Reid said.  

However, the platform will be entirely adviser-driven, according to Reid, with safeguards in place to ensure manager issues do not creep into the agenda.  

“Mostly, advisers look to fund managers for advice and we thought, what if we had a peer group in that space to take on part of that role?” Reid said. 

Reid, an accountant by profession and former general manager of the Fitzpatrick dealer group, said he hoped word-of-mouth endorsements through advisers and roundtables would see membership grow in the next few months.  

Fellow founding members include WLM Financial Services principal Matthew Walker, Northstar Financial Advisers principal Alistair Saunders, More4Life Financial Services principal James Walker-Powell and Fergus Hardingham of FM Financial Solutions.