Associations of Independent Financial Advisors

I made this list about a year ago, for those wishing to find an independent financial advisor. It may not be complete or up to date, but might be useful.


There are a few associations for independent advisors

a) Certified Independent Financial Advisers Association Pty Ltd (CIFAA)

Certified Independent Financial Advisers Association - CIFAA

b) The Profession of Independent Financial Advisers (PIFA)

PIFA


c) Independent Financial Advisers Australia

IFA-Aust


d) Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals

AIOFP - Independently Owned Financial Advisers in Australia

 

And to add, for a financial advisor to say that are 'independent' they must comply with this:


S923A Corporations Act

CORPORATIONS ACT 2001 - SECT 923A Restriction on use of certain words or expressions

 

Great post, just a note on the AIOFP it may be worth double checking but I'm not 100% sure an adviser needs to be independent to be a member. AIOFP advertise on their site that their marketing material isn't captured by S923A.

 

To avoid conflicts of interest, being independent and fee-for-service are the two essentials for a financial advisor, imo.

 

What is the difference between the over-arching bodies, is one membership of a group considered better than the other. For instance do you need to meet a certain criteria before you can join one group, and is it like a tiered system?

 

These are all slightly different and I don't know if it's really better or worse.

The first 2 are associations where the advisers need to meet their definition of independent (very closely aligned with s923A).

The third appears to actually be an AFSL where representatives have to meet the definition of independent under s923A to be able to be authorised by them.

The fourth is an association for self-licensed advice practices hence the "independently owned". I don't know what the requirement is on needing to be independent in the context of s923A.

CORPORATIONS ACT 2001 - SECT 923A Restriction on use of certain words or expressions (austlii.edu.au)

The other major association for financial advisers is the Financial Advice Association Australia which doesn't have any restrictions around your business type etc. but certify the CFP® designation in Australia plus some other designations.

Home - Financial Advice Association Australia (faaa.au)
Find a financial planner - Financial Advice Association Australia (faaa.au)