Deadline looms for AFA members

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) has informed its members that they only have until 26 June to transfer and renew their membership with the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA).

Back in April, the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) and AFA announced they had completed their legal merger to form the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA).

In a statement at the time, the groups confirmed that while FPA members will start a transition to the new FAAA branding almost immediately, AFA would continue to operate under its own brand until 30 June, when those members who renew would move to FAAA.

Commenting on the progress of the membership transition recently, the chief executive officer of FAAA, Sarah Abood, told ifa that the response to become a member of FAAA has been “positive”, from both existing AFA and legacy FPA members.

“The transition of members across to the FAAA has been better than our expectations and we are very pleased with the renewals so far,” Ms Abood said.

“We will continue to actively engage with members to ensure they are aware of the relevant deadlines, and the benefits of being part of the FAAA. Members of the AFA have until 26 June to register as members of the FAAA, and we also encourage legacy FPA members to renew with the FAAA before 30 June.”

At the time of their official merger, FPA and AFA also confirmed the new association’s board of directors, which includes David Sharpe as chair, alongside FPA directors Diana D’Ambra, Kearsten James, William Johns, Jade Khao, Julie Matheson, Angela Martyn, and Julian Place.

The nominated AFA directors who will serve on the FAAA board are Michelle Veitch as deputy chair, Katherine Hayes, Patricia Garcia, and Shaun McDonagh.

Despite his decision not to join the new board, Sam Perera, AFA national president, expressed pride in his contribution towards the consolidation of the two associations.

“I have decided to refocus my time toward my family, staff, and practice who have been patient with my absence whilst I served on the AFA board. I will remain an active member of the FAAA and continue to contribute in the areas of policy and advocacy,” Mr Perera said at the time.

FAAA did, however, face a slight hiccup in its otherwise smooth merger, with ifa learning in May that the Flight Attendants Association of Australia had issued a written notice to the new association regarding the latter’s intention to register the acronym FAAA as a trademark.

FAAA has been broadly welcomed by both sides of government, with Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones applauding it for its “successful merger” which, he said, meant it now had a “strong” voice representing advisers throughout the country.

In a pre-recorded message at the FAAA roadshow last month, he said: “There are around 5 million Australians who are either at or approaching retirement, they need access to good quality advice and information to guide them on that pathway. You’ve got a key role in doing that”.

Also at the time, Mr Sharpe confirmed that the majority of the FAAA board would consist of practitioners, noting that the requirement is embedded in the association’s constitution.

He added that FAAA would not represent product providers, licensees, insurance providers, superannuation funds, or technology providers.