A new body to administer the registered financial planner designation was born Thursday at the Canadian Association of Financial Planners annual convention in Edmonton. CAFP members ratified the move during the association’s annual general meeting held in Edmonton as part of its annual convention.

According to the Institute of Advanced Financial Planning, its mission will be to set a standard of competency for financial planners, provide assurance to the public about planners’ qualifications, and provide a forum to develop and exchange financial planning issues.

Members of the institute will include planners who already hold the RFP designation as well as those who are working toward attaining it.

“The institute will be committed to the ongoing development of the Institute’s professional designation,” the Institute says.

The creation of the institute comes as a result of the proposed merger between the CAFP and the Canadian Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. The proposal for that merger, approved in a straw poll by CAFP members Thursday, would mean the eventual phasing out of the RFP designation. The creation of the IAFP, which would operate outside of the CAFP, could administer the designation, including education and testing, regardless of the merger.

The institute says it will be the only association that requires its professional members to demonstrate an ability to produce a comprehensive financial plan.

“People will be looking for a way to distinguish themselves, and one way to do that is to strive for a higher level of advanced planning,” says Ian Secord, a co-chair of the CAFP’s board of regents. “We regret that we’re not staying within the organization, but it will be an opportunity to promote the designation, which has not had a lot of effort put into it over the last few years.”