IFA half-price sale now on
The Institute of Financial Advisers (IFA) has launched a recruitment drive offering half-price entry to the organisation if referred by an existing member.
Tuesday, May 25th 2010, 5:30AM 
6 Comments
by David Chaplin
Outgoing IFA president, Lyn McMorran, said the industry body was trying to entice advisers who did not currently belong to a professional organisation.
"We've always been unsure of how to reach people who were not members," McMorran said. "We're hoping this [campaign] will help spread the word."
She said with regulation coming more advisers would need the kind of support provided by industry associations to help them operate under the new regime.
"We have a lot to offer people going through the authorisation process," McMorran said.
The IFA charges new members an application fee of $125 plus an annual membership fee of $475 for provisional members or $625 for general members.
In an email obtained by Good Returns, an IFA member explains: "The 50% off would apply to your membership subscription - so half price for you.
"There are also a range of member benefits announced that add serious value to being a member, together with the usual reasons for belonging to a professional association. And professionalism is the issue of the moment isn't it?"
The IFA's current half-price offer for new members is valid until the end of July.
Just under 1,100 members are listed on the IFA website. While no definitive figure has yet been published for how many people will have to become authorised financial advisers (AFA) once regulation comes into force, Commerce Minister Simon Power told ASSET magazine this March that the government estimated about 5,000 individuals would need to become an AFA.
However, since then estimates of AFA numbers have been revised upwards, with figures as high as 30,000 being bandied about.
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Comments from our readers
The discount is offered to existing members (not to new applicants) to encourage them to introduce colleagues as new members, they have the option to share the discount if they so desire.
If I am not wrong didn't the PAA simply levy members to pay for the introduction of their first CEO, where was IO then?
To inform "Cynic" the strategy is sound marketing, all voluntary bodies will expect some drop off when the financial and retraining requirement pressures come on to their members and yes this is designed to replace and grow members that want the support of a sound professional body.
It is unfortunate for our evolving profession that we still have such divisive attitudes out there, especially when they hide behind masks of anonymity and don't have the strength of their convictions to speak out publicly in the open.
Anonymity works well in any environment where emotion overwhelms fact
Value, not price is the solution – irrespective of what the entity is. Whilst a price reduction for commodities can provide a short term solution, it will be a poor retention / gathering strategy by the IFA. I guess that time will be the judge on this one.
Whilst there is no dispute that “a great deal of work has been done by the IFA over the many years that the government has been developing regulations for financial advisers”, it will be interesting to assess whether this effort is considered successful. It appears that the Regulator is working towards their own outcomes, with little true interaction with the advisory community.
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The latest tactic of reducing the entry price to join a professional body has the smell of an entity that is fighting for survival. Ask anyone who is successful in business: price is often the last argument when there are no more left.
As is the case with all industry participants, the solution is not price, it is value! If the IFA were delivering a robust value proposition then it would have little difficulties in retaining and attracting membership.