How CIFAA will differentiate itself for independent advisers
The newly-announced Certified Independent Financial Advisers Association (CIFAA) believes being low cost and volunteer-led will allow it to be better aligned with the interests of independent advisers compared to other associations.
Speaking to Money Management, Christopher Young, one of the three inaugural presidents of CIFAA and founder of CY Financial Advice, explained why he and his fellow CIFAA founders had resigned from The Profession of Independent Financial Advisers (PIFA) to build their own association.
The association’s other directors included Berivan Dubier, a public accountant based in Moorabbin, Victoria and Nick Bruining, a prominent media commentator and former FPA director, also based in Perth
“We have all been directors of PIFA and we just did not think it was being run with the members’ best interests in mind. And we didn't like the strategy there as far as the way direction PIFA was headed.
“So out of largely frustration, we ended up basically giving up on PIFA and starting our own association but now we've done it, we're pretty happy… with the interest that we’ve got so far from independent advisers.”
Young said unlike some other associations, CIFAA was aligned with members interests due to it being volunteer-led.
“We are not trying to get any sort of compensation or remuneration for it, there's no chief executive.
“At this stage it’s a small association, all chipping in [and] working towards a common goal, which is to get the word out there.”
The organisation of independent advisers was keeping its goals realistic, according to Young, starting with getting independent advisers together to network.
“But longer term, we want to get the word out there as far as the importance of getting advice from independent financial advisers and what that actually means for consumers.
“And I think there's a fair bit of work that needs to be done there. I don't think that your average client or consumer really fully understands the importance of independent financial advice.
“Eventually we will get to the stage where we might like to try to influence policy but that's not the priority at the moment.”
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