Sequoia buys Interprac advisers AIOFP membership
The Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals (AIOFP) is claiming success for its political lobbying efforts on the back of a membership sponsorship deal covering 400 advisers working under the Sequoia-owned Interprac license.
AIOFP executive director, Peter Johnston has told the organisation’s members that “Interprac have agreed to fund their 400 Adviser cohort’s first 6 months AIOFP membership to assist our emerging political lobbing strategy in Canberra.
He said that once the six months membership expired, the Interprac advisers would have the choice of maintaining their membership or of opting out.
Johnston said the AIOFP was particularly please that only two Interprac advisers had opted not to take up the offer.
“SEQUOIA Director, CEO of Interprac and AIOFP Director Garry Crole has participated in and been impressed with our activities in Canberra over the past 2 years dealing with the Minister Jones’ office, Shadow Angus Taylor and key Treasury officials,” Johnston’s message said.
“Garry stated – ‘The best investment a consumer can make is to invest in advice from a professional that has both a legal and ethical obligation to act in their best interests. The AIOFP is dedicated to reducing red tape and supporting an advice industry that has reduced alarmingly in numbers over the last 4 years and our decision to enrol our advisers as members is our investment in tomorrow’s next generation of advice professionals’.”
Johnston’s message suggested that the Interprac advisers would take the AIOFP’s membership from 3,650 to over 4,000.
He said that Sequoia’s Gary Crole “was one of our foundation members in 1999 and has believed in the AIOFP objectives and market conduct to get things done over the past 26 years”.
“We may not be orthodox in our approach, but we get the job done,” Johnston said. “The old Association ‘sit on the fence’ political mentality only ends up getting ‘shot’ from both sides.
When licensees pay association memberships for their advisers it is corporate membership by stealth. This is exactly what happens with FAAA. It is why FAAA is more focused on the interests of large product company licencees than it is on the interests of advisers.
So what exactly have you done?????
For the life of me can’t see a single positive thing!!!!!!
To be fair what has the AFA/FPA/FAAA done either.
So that’d make 401 members now?
A quick reconciliation between the statements of the AIOFP on membership numbers (“4,000”) and what the Financial Adviser Register says (and that is where proud members disclose which associations they below to) points to a huge gap. A few hundred, does not magically become 4,000.
We all know how much people value what they get for free. It will be very interesting to see how many of these new members put their hands in their own pockets to pay the renewal when the six month period expires. Not that we would ever expect to find out, given the complete lack of transparency on numbers and financials with the AIOFP.
It is clear that the AIOFP will now be further beholden to Sequoia. I wonder how this control will play out!
If my licensee signed me up to these cowboys I would change licensees immediately