The FPA convention debutante

The Financial Planning Association (FPA) Annual Convention will be the perfect occasion for incoming FPA chair Kathryn Greiner to make her formal debut in financial planning circles.

It will be the first opportunity for the former City of Sydney councillor and wife of ex-New South Wales Premier Nick Greiner to come face to face with many of the planners she will now be representing as chair. And it’s shaping up to be a baptism of fire.

Greiner joined the board as a non-executive director back in November 2003, at a time when the organisation and the industry was under attack from consumer groups, regulators and legislators.

It was also around the time when the association said goodbye to former head Ken Breakspear and welcomed on board new chief executive Kerrie Kelly.

Over the past year, Greiner has witnessed Kelly’s sometimes forthright approach to FPA policy and staff, and the industry being turned on its head by Financial Services Reform (FSR).

With no formal financial services industry experience, Greiner spent the past year watching, listening and observing. And she will be able to keep an even closer eye on things, now that she has moved in-house at the FPA headquarters in Sydney.

Although the move is unusual for the chair of an industry association, for Greiner it means she will be able to fulfill her incoming mandate of rallying the troops.

“There’s an element of us all recognising how important financial planners are in the wellbeing of this nation,” Greiner says.

“The convention is a real gathering together of the clan. It gives planners the opportunity to get together on a personal basis, and on a networking basis.”

In light of the slew of regulatory changes introduced over the past 12 months, Greiner is encouraging planners to use the convention as an opportunity to build their confidence and understanding of the issues affecting the industry.

“The industry is changing at such a rapid pace,” Greiner says.

“We all need intellectual refreshment. The convention gives you time to hear new ideas, and some refreshment of the things you already know,” she says.

“I encourage planners to attend seminars they might not be specialised in, and may actually be seeking knowledge in. This is a wonderful opportunity for them to go and listen to the experts, in areas which they themselves may have a developing interest in,” she says.

“It offers a range of opportunities to engage in different levels.”

With her family background steeped in Australian politics, Greiner is naturally looking forward to former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam taking the convention stage.

“The really interesting thing is that Gough has made himself available to come to the FPA,” she says.

“He has one of the finest minds in Australia, and I’m hoping [journalist] Hugh Riminton will ask him the tough questions.”

One thing is for certain, Greiner is going to have to field plenty of tough questions on her own.

So what will Greiner’s plan of attack be, now she is firmly in the hot seat of the industry association?

After all, the convention will be the first chance FPA members will have to hear Greiner detail her agenda for the future of the organisation.

Greiner’s plan is to assure members of a sense of continuity from outgoing chair Steve Helmich, with a “steady as she goes” message.

After five years on the board, the past two as chairman, Helmich — AMP director of advice-based distribution — will make way for Greiner, the association’s first ever independent chair.

“Her non-alignment underscores the importance the board places on ensuring member interests are in line with community expectations,” Helmich says.

Greiner will also touch on issues near and dear to her own heart, which include financial literacy and financial planning in the community.

“I am really about the human interface of planners — representatives such as the YWCA and the Smith Family whose clientele aren’t the traditional clientele, yet they are a very important market for planners,” she says.

And on matters of internal politics, Greiner has nothing but praise for Kelly’s overhaul of the FPA, and has no plans to change the current course of action.

“The organisation has undergone a revamp which every organisation has to do as you move into the 21st century,” Greiner says.

“The direction we set the agenda for in 2004 is how we’ll be continuing in 2005,” she says.

“We really want to make sure we offer the members personal development opportunities and that we will be helping them do their job better.”

“Financial planners hold the future of the nation in their hands.”