(September 25 – 16:00 ET) – The Canadian Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors was overwhelmed by the support of its members that voted in favour of allowing mutual fund and security reps to join them. At the annual general meeting this morning, 90% of the delegates voted to change membership requirements. Traditionally, membership has been contingent on having a life insurance license.
“It’s an endorsement in the general direction in which we’re trying to take CAIFA,” said Jim Rogers, CAIFA chairman. “We’re more welcoming to other designations and moving away from a trade organization to a professional organization.”
CAIFA will now accept those with either a license to sell securities or mutual funds. Effective January 2001 all new members will have seven years to complete either their CFP or CLU designation. Sixty hours of continuing education will now be required every two years.
Senior members that don’t already have a CFP or CLU will be able to call on a long list of other designations to safeguard their membership. Members that don’t have any designation will have 10 years to complete the CFP or CLU courses.
Over the next year CAIFA hopes to add 4,000 members to its roster, most of them from the mutual fund side because they don’t a professional group of their own.
“It’s a really good idea because there’s no professional organization for mutual fund people. We have 1,500 reps and there’s no opportunity for training out there,” said WH Stuart advisor Murray Whitehorn, from Markham, Ontario.
The association did their homework, too. Gary McLeod is in charge of the membership task force that gathered market research and membership support so the issue would have substance at this morning’s meeting.
Rogers also said that the potential merger with the Canadian Association of Financial Planners is not dead.
-IE Staff