New Zealand newsround – ‘Bitter’ merger fallout sparks splinter faction

The fallout from the lengthy, convoluted and occasionally acrimonious merger last year between New Zealand's two largest financial adviser bodies continues.

Former Association of Investment Advisers and Financial Planners (IAFP) board member Craig Myles has announced plans to form a new organisation.

Myles says support for a dedicated financial planning body is growing amongst planners dissatisfied with 1998's merger between the IAFP and the Insurance and Investment Advisers Association (IIAA).

He says feedback from letters he has written to planners outlining ideas for the new group has been very positive, indicating a demand for a different organisation.

Both the IIAA and the IAFP approved the creation of a joint industry body representing financial planners and risk advisers last year after several delays and an often bitter debate. The new organisation, the Financial Planners and Insurance Advisers Association (FPIAA) is due to come into effect by the middle of this year.

However, Myles - a fierce opponent of the merger - says his proposed Institute of Financial Planners (IFP) would protect the professional image of planners and maintain the integrity of the CFP brand.

Myles has written to the international CFP Board of Standards asking that "the CFP license held by the IAFP be revoked and that all licensees be licensed directly from the CFP Board of Standards until such time as an alternative licensee in New Zealand can be appointed."

However, communications director for the IAFP board, Christine Winter, says the CFP Board of Standards has given the FPIAA their full support.

"The key issue is that at last year's SGM the representatives of the CFP made it clear they had no intention of negotiating with anybody else," she says. "They have given an assurance that the FPIAA has their blessing and that the CFP licence will be transferred to the new body."

She says Myles is wasting a lot of energy to achieve the impossible because the CFP are not prepared to talk.

"You have to ask why he is doing this," Winter says. "What would a new body achieve? All it would do is fragment the industry."

She does concede, however, that a certain amount of dissent exists in the industry. But she maintains that one large industry body is the best way to represent the concerns of all financial advisers.

Myles says while the establishment of the IFP may not be in the best interests of the public, "neither is what we have ended up with". He says many of the actions of the IAFP board have been "unethical" while the CFP brand has languished.

Others in the industry have questioned Myles's motives, with one source speculating that it may be based on either a suspicion of insurance agents or New Zealanders' general mistrust of large organisations.

AMP puts out call for more women advisers

AMP is looking to significantly increase the number of women in its New Zealand adviser network, according to Diana Crossan, manager of customer access in New Zealand.

She says while no specific target number of female recruits has been set, "it would be fantastic to double" the current eight per cent of AMP advisers who are women.

"While the issue is always finding the best person for the job, sometimes that person is a woman. The whole company knows the importance of recruiting more women."

Crossan says AMP's internal recruitment has produced one of the highest ratios of women in senior management positions of all the major companies. She adds that AMP's chief executive officer, George Trumbull, is "right behind this move to recruit more women."

The decision to hire more female advisers follows months of analysis and identification of the "customers of the future", Crossan says. It was also influenced by the increasing importance of women to the financial services industry, both as participators and as target markets.

"We were always aware of the need for more women. Some women customers prefer to buy from women, but also if we don't recruit more women we will be missing out on good advisers," Crossan says.

She says women in general have the skills necessary to develop the partnership-based relationships which will be crucial for advisers as the importance of providing a wider range of services and meeting the total financial needs of customers increases.

An AMP policy statement recommends financial advisers "now need to be 'farmers', with a focus on developing long-term relationships with customers, rather than the traditional 'hunters', which had a focus on getting a quick sale and moving on. In general, women fit this desired 'farmer' profile".

Crossan believes the hiring of advisers has traditionally been part of an "old boys' network" which AMP's rigorous new recruitment process aims to eliminate.

"Women have responded well to our ad, which offered to train them to be good advisers," says Crossan. "Men tend to approach jobs differently and jump in with a 'boots and all' attitude even if they don't know what they're doing."

As part of this education process, AMP will be presenting a recruitment seminar in Auckland late in February. Crossan says AMP is looking for women who have certain skills but may not be sure how to apply them to a different area.

Holistic approach needed to face the new millennium

Financial advisers need to take a more holistic approach to their services if they want to maintain and build their practices in the next century, according to Paul Bevin, national development director of Millennium3 Professional Services.

Bevin says as competition increases on all fronts, advisers need to value-add to their professional services and offer their clients complete and integrated financial service packages.

"Over the past decade, the financial services sector has undergone some major changes," he says. "Banks and other financial institutions are diversifying into broader financial services and now offer a myriad of professional services traditionally provided by private financial services practitioners."

"People today prefer, and to some degree expect, a complete integrated approach to their financial needs."

He says Millennium3 assists financial service practitioners such as accountants, planners, life brokers and general insurance and finance brokers to "maintain their competitive edge in this evolving market."

Established in 1996, Millennium3 services 300 independent businesses throughout Australia and New Zealand.