“Alasdair’s four points seem perfectly reasonable and indeed an absolute requirement that the CII must morally adhere to at the least- and I hope that more than the current 197 members sign the letter and show their support.”
Elsewhere, Dan Brent, founder & CEO at DFB Wealth Strategies called it “corporate sabotage”.
“The CII, a group of insurers, would appear to be trying to subsume the PFS, our personal finance body, allegedly pocketing millions in the process,” he said.
“If this isn't the CII's plan, then why haven't members heard from the CII leadership to the contrary.
“Promises have been broken, the board has been flooded 7 to 3 in favour of CII and to me just looks like the larger body trying to divide and conquer, and pocket millions in PFS revenue.”
Wider issues within the PFS
In its full year results, the PFS said its board and CEO have worked with the CII to tackle concerns about online training and examination processes which continued to be disrupted in 2022.
This comes as the CII has been plagued with a number of technical issues over the past couple of years.
For exemple, in November 2021, the CII faced exam glitches as candidates were unable to view their results and certificates online.
During the pandemic, the CII also apologised to candidates for “unacceptable instances” including problems with accessing remote invigilation sessions and technical issues during sittings.
However, aside from these, there are wider issues that the PFS and CII need to tackle, according to some members.
Tim Morris, IFA at Russell & Co Financial Advisers, said that he would really like to see someone who understands financial advice/planning at the top.
Morris explained that having worked in banking for a decade, he always felt that financial advice was seen purely as a “money-spinning enterprise”.
He said although the bottom-line profit is paramount for any business, especially a bank, they are effectively run by accountants whereas financial advice firms are not.
“They are run by people who generally have more compassion for the end client,” he said.
“That’s not to say compassionate people don’t work for banks. Lots of them do (I did after all).
“The fact is, they are far removed and detached from any client contact.”
Morris said his point is that you probably won’t succeed with an accountant making decisions for financial advice firms.
“The same way that most accountancy firms wouldn’t be well run by a financial adviser,” he said.
Meanwhile, Julie Flynn, financial planner and coach at Ebb & Flow Financial Coaching, said Walker is doing a great job of leading the charge on this and represents the voice of many of the members on the issue with the CII flooding the board and the issues around the finances.
