Mainstream associations still conflicted: IFAAA

Speaking at the association’s national symposium in Canberra, Mr Brammall reflected on the IFAAA’s 10-year journey which started at an FPA Congress in Sydney in 2007.

After a keynote address in which former Woolworths CEO and business luminary Roger Corbett criticised the financial advice industry for its primary business model of investment commissions, Mr Brammall became dismayed at the kneejerk response of his fellow FPA members, who "attacked" Mr Corbett and denied his assessment of the industry. 

“It was a significant day for me. I left the room disappointed. I decided to resign my membership of the FPA and hand back my CFP,” Mr Brammall explained.

Asked whether he believes the FPA has made sufficient changes to its own operational model in the past decade to be deemed a professional association, the former member said he was unconvinced.

“I would like to be a member of the FPA again but I have not yet seen the change that I’m hearing,” he said.

“The FPA does a lot of great work and a lot of our members are members of the FPA. But the conversations I have had with them haven’t led me to the conclusion that they are prepared to lead in the way the public and the community requires leadership.

“It’s not just the FPA, all of the other associations still have conflicts of interest.”

The fact that a majority of mainstream association members are still “involved in some shape or form with a vertical integration arrangement” precludes the possibility of support full professionalism, Mr Brammall said.

“If they announced they were going to do what we do in terms of our professional standards there would be a mutiny,” he said.

The comments come as the IFAAA has announced it will rebrand as the Profession of Independent Financial Advisers and seek professional association status from the government’s authorising body.

The IFAAA national symposium did not have any corporate sponsorships or endorsements in place.