SIFA considers its future in new environment

The Society of Independent Financial Advisers (SIFA) figures it will have to change its name soon and is pondering its place in the new, regulated world.

Thursday, February 25th 2010, 7:23AM 8 Comments

by Jenha White

What will the Society of independent Financial Advisers (SiFA) do with its name as regulation restricts the use of the words "independent adviser?"

SiFA chairman Murray Weatherston says the simplest thing to do is to change SiFA from an acronym to a word in its own right.

Weatherston believes fewer than 5% of advisers could class themselves as independent with the Code Committee ruling that an independent adviser has to be both independent and objective.

"Anyone who works off a preferred or approved list can never be objective because they're not considering other products. I doubt many advisers are independent and objective."

He thinks SiFA may well become an organisation suitable for authorised financial advisers (AFAs) who don't come under QFE's.

"If you work for a QFE you don't need to be authorised because under the QFE you're a tied agent.

"If you're individually authorised then you're not tied and we may become a very attractive organisation for those individual authorised advisers - we don't have the huge membership obligations of other big institutions, however we can still offer collegiality and conferences."

SIFA has fewer than 100 members and runs two conferences each year. It is a group primarily for sharing ideas and discussing investment and insurance issues. It doesn't have rules and codes dictating standards, ethics or processes and isn't involved in formal education and professional training.

Jenha is a TPL staff reporter. jenha@tarawera.co.nz

« IFA seeks exemption from training requirements

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Comments from our readers

On 25 February 2010 at 8:22 am Independent Observer said:

Perhaps SIFA could become Society Of Financial Advisers... although this may conjour up the wrong (???) images.

On 25 February 2010 at 8:44 am norman said:

Society of AFA's would be so much SAFA.

That, or Society of Impartial Financial Advisors = SiFA

On 25 February 2010 at 8:58 am Zorro said:

How do you suppose you Freemasons will be able to provide your wonderfully independent conferences without the financial support of the product providers that you are apparently not going to be tied to?

On 25 February 2010 at 11:29 am QFA said:

ANTTI - Advisers Not Tied To Insititutions

On 26 February 2010 at 9:39 am Anon said:

Very Impartial Righteous Gentlemen, Independent, Not.

On 26 February 2010 at 6:02 pm Mike Kinsella said:

My suggestion is SOPTC as an acronym for:
Society of Professional Ticket Clippers

On 27 February 2010 at 10:26 pm QFA said:

Doctors don't seem to have a problem with medical suppliers sponsoring their conferences. Nor do Doctors have a problem adding to the government subsidised price of the ticket. Dancers have the choice of polka, ballroom, ballet, lap and pole. The only choice Advisers will have soon is which coloured pole they can dance on. Independent in an Adviser context, means not beholding to any fund manager and exercising a free choice in which investment products suit your clients.

On 1 March 2010 at 3:53 pm Independent said:

The article is incorrect. SIFA does have a set of Rules and Code of Ethics. Have a look at www.sifa.org.nz

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