NZ News 22/07 – FPIA conference concern

Enthusiasm for the inaugural conference of the Financial Planners and Investment Advisers Association (FPIA) appears muted with attendance numbers projected to fall below expectations.

Conference organiser, Paul Forder, says the final figure for conference delegates will be about 500, well under the FPIA's initial hopes of 600.

"I've had feedback from investment advisers with some opting to go to the Financial Planning Association (FPA) conference in Australia.," Forder says.

"It is also noticeable that the proportion of insurance and risk advisers attending compared to investment advisers is not as great as expected."

One financial planner who won't be attending, Craig Myles, says the FPIA conference agenda held little attraction for him.

Myles, a fierce opponent of the merger between the Investment Advisers and Financial Planners Association (IAFP) and the Insurance and Investment Advisers Association that created the FPIA, has joined the new organisation.

"You have to join to keep the CFP mark, that's as about as excited as I can get about it," Myles says.

He says the CFP brand is essential in helping the public to differentiate financial planners from other financial professions and needs a strong organisation to uphold it.

"We've done research in this area and found most of the public don't know what a financial planner is or understand what they do," Myles says.

"The role of a professional organisation is to make that clear. The FPIA doesn't have the resources to market the CFP and in fact it is politically extremely difficult for them to do that in the merged body."

Myles says financial planners appear to have taken a cautious approach to the FPIA with most regional committees dominated by risk advisers and former members of the IIAA.

However, Forder says the mood of FPIA members is upbeat with paid-up membership approaching 900 and many more planners and risk advisers expected to sign up shortly.

The FPIA board has indicated membership should reach around 1200 in the first year.

He says the conference, to be held at the Aotea Centre in Auckland over July 21-23, will be a "hands on practical business" affair with none of the razzmatazz of previous years.

Keynote speakers include Phil Ruthven, Australian futurist and social commentator as well as South African ex-game warden, Ian Thomas. Well known New Zealand businessmen, Lester Levy and Graeme Sinclair will also make feature presentations.

Tower set to announce major business alliance

Tower Managed Funds (TMF) are about to announce a major international business alliance according to head of the funds management group Jim Minto.

No details have yet been released but Minto says the alliance will have implications for business both in New Zealand and Australia.

He says as Tower moves closer to demutualisation, the separate business strands of the company have become more streamlined to take advantage of the opportunities ahead.

"Tower Managed Funds has been looking at the structure of its businesses, which already follow a very effective business model. We get very close to our markets," Minto says.

"We're now started to extract some efficiencies, without sacrificing the benefits the separate business strands offer, by using a common IT base for all TMF businesses. For example, the use of one centralised register for investment accounts and a single wholesale custody database."

Reeves Moses expansion plan

Planning firm Reeves Moses has launched an expansion campaign with the aim of growing the number of practices around New Zealand from the current eight to 23 by the end of next year.

Head of Reeves Moses, Roger Moses, says one new practice has already opened with several more negotiations well advanced.

"A practice opened in Rotorua recently and one more will be opening in Gisbourne in August. There are also four more solid prospects around the country. I anticipate Reeves Moses will have around 20-23 offices by the end of next year," Moses says.

The need for extra capital to expand the Reeves Moses brand was one of the reasons for the Sovereign buyout of New Zealand's longest running planning business last year.

Moses says the business has been performing very well under Sovereign, particularly with its mortgage based products.

NZ win to AMPAM

AMP Asset Management (AMPAM) has been named IPAC New Zealand fund manager of the year.

IPAC chief David van Schaardenburg says the fund manager's steady portfolio performance over the year, disciplined process and experienced, stable staff earned AMPAM the title.

"The accumulation of these factors gave AMPAM the points to pull it ahead of its competitors," van Schaardenburg says.

Head of AMPAM, Murray Gribben, says the award reflects the efforts of the entire team.

"It is a great recognition for our people at AMPAM and our disciplined research process, which at the end of the day produced excellent returns for our customers," Gribben says.

Other winners were; Guardian Trust - cash and mortgage; NZ Funds Management - property and NZ equity, Tower and WestpacTrust - joint winners for international equity, Armstrong Jones - NZ fixed interest, BT Funds Management - international fixed interest, AMPAM - diversified balanced and diversified growth, BNZ - diversified defensive and WestpacTrust - most improved.

AMP New Zealand has also received a boost from rival research company, Morningstar, earning an extra star to become the third of Morninstar's five star rated companies.

Morningstar says AMP's upgrade from a four to a five star rating follows continued strong performance and increased levels of disclosure.