A showdown amongst members of the Association of Investment Advisers and Financial Planners (IAFP) is now inevitable after the two warring factions failed to reach a compromise last week.
During the past week IAFP chairman Rodger Spiller and his deputy Mark Hubber have been in discussion with the Gary Stevens-led Group of Seven which has called for a special general meeting to discuss the proposed merger with the Insurance and Investment Advisers Association (IIAA).
The meeting is scheduled for Thursday December 18 in Wellington and IAFP members who want to vote need their proxies in by Tuesday.
The two points of negotiation were who represented the IAFP in negotiations with the IIAA and the status of the proposal.
The Group of Seven say they are not demanding a merger with IIAA and they view the retention of the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) mark as non-negotiable.
It appears the two factions have some understanding on the latter issue, however the composition of the negotiating team is being hotly debated.
The Group of Seven is critical of the way the IAFP board is being run, and believes the negotiating team of Spiller and Hubber has alienated the IIAA.
They put three proposals, last week, to the association for a reconstituted negotiating team, namely;
Spiller, Stevens and an agreed independent person
Spiller and Stevens
Spiller, Stevens and another board member unanimously agreed to by the board itself.
The key to these proposals is that the balance of power is evenly split or held by a person which is either not aligned with either camp, or sanctioned by both camps.
Spiller and Hubber rejected all three of these proposals, however were prepared to allow Stevens to join them on the negotiating team.
Spiller says he believes the current teams have been doing a good job, and the proposals suggested come back to key corporate governance issues.
He says people elected by the members should do the negotiations.
The SGM is likely to be a key turning point in the brief history of the IAFP. While it is difficult to predict an outcome (both parties are feeling confident) one thing is for sure, that is there will be blood on the floor.
What's not known is whether Spiller and Hubber will ride out victorious or whether they will be tarred and feathered and run out of town.
A showdown amongst members of the Association of Investment Advisers and Financial Planners (IAFP) is now inevitable after the two warring factions failed to reach a compromise last week.