A bit of reality about perceptions
Friday, January 28th 2011, 10:29AM 
4 Comments
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On 28 January 2011 at 3:25 pm Peter Urbani said:
I have always found NZ Funds to be a very professional and well run outfit. On 31 January 2011 at 8:08 pm Anon said:
Forthright you are correct about the lack of professionalism, except that you confine it to the advisory community - quite incorrectly!
The IFA as you say, has identified past failings, not least of which is theirs (although to a lessor degree) and the product producers (fund managers, etc) at large to remove themselves from the roles of trainer and educator. Those who didn't undertake tertiary training would have been at a loss to learn much in the industry. Except of course how to meet targets to make a living, and in turn meet the targets and bonus levels of managers therein (but they have slipped silently into the background - except of course where they call on adviser failings.)
The IFA is correct to introduce training opportunities as part of its mandate. However the impression taken from the public is that there is compromise in the relationship. Members I would think do not want to loose or have their independence compromised by "opportunities" obtained by the IFA. However, on this occasion I think simply a PR strategy failing as opposed to anything else.
While we are on the subject of the IFA. There is a need to address their mentor arrangements. There is a huge conflict of interest for a mentor to be a manager within a company that directly benefits from the actions of the individuals being mentored (or for that matter any individual within the same organisation who can be influenced by the policies and politics of that company). These type of arrangements also fail to provide a wider net and context for an adviser to gain knowledge, understanding, and to be critically evaluated.
On 16 February 2011 at 3:49 pm Nigel Tate said:
Anon,
You make some interesting observations but I would like to clear up your point regarding the requirement for Mentoring while on the path toward a professional designation such as CFP or CLU.
There are four E's that need to be met for any Certification, the IFA at present requires a candidate to be mentored for a two year period covering their processes as well as knowledge and skills base (the first E = Experience), but this is not done in isolation as a candidate also is required to have completed an approved Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning or Business Studies - endorsed in Financial Planning or Personal Risk Management (the second E = Education). To add to this they are required to adhere to our Code of Ethics and Practise Standards (the third E = Ethics). Finally they will in the near future, need to complete and pass a final exam before applying for Certification (the forth E = Examination)
Mentoring has long been a difficult area as we restrict those that are able to act as Mentors to thos already certified or for CLU we allow some Dealer Principals as there simply is not enough independant professionals available to meet the current need. It is very likely that mentoring as it is could change in the not too distant future as a result of FSPB developments and this will be comunicated then, but there there will still the need to meet demand and this is likely to mean closer rather than more distant relationships between the mentor/supervisor and candidate in the mentoring component (Experience) of the four E's.
Nigel Tate CFPcm,CLU
IFA President
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My message for Advisers, either stay with the old unprofessional blame game or get on with learning new stuff to make sure you don’t repeat any past mistakes. This means doing some research yourself. Not believing you are the smartest or most professional Adviser around just because you didn’t use finance companies or credit based funds. Embrace the new era of education based competencies. Finally have some respect for your colleagues, after all they only want to earn a living and do the best for their clients over the long term.