Financial Planners have shared their thoughts with Financial Planning Today on the Chartered Insurance Institute’s (CII) plans to deregister the Personal Finance Society (PFS).

Their views come ahead of the launch of a consultation from the CII on the future of its Financial Planning professional body.

At its AGM this week the CII announced it is to launch a consultation with its 125,000 members on the future of its 40,000-member Personal Finance Society arm after rejecting a last-minute, no-confidence motion at the meeting.

Martin Bamford, Chartered Financial Planner at Informed Choice, said he hoped that the no-confidence motion tabled by some PFS members at the AGM will be enough to stop the CII from deregistering the PFS and ending its status as a separate company under the CII umbrella.

He said: “Disgruntled PFS members have made their voices heard and this mini-revolt should be sufficient to stop any idea of the CII deregistering the PFS. The AGM voting, while not enough to trigger a non-confidence motion, is a statement of intent from PFS members who want an independent future for their professional body, rather than being subsumed within the wider insurance sector.”

Ricky Chan, director and Chartered Financial Planner at IFS Wealth & Pensions, agreed that the CII will be forced to rethink its approach.

He said: “The support the PFS has received from its members clearly shows that we are passionate about our profession and maintaining an independent body. I think the CII board will come under increasing pressure in the coming days and should carefully rethink its approach, which so far has been quite dismissive of PFS members’ concerns. I’m unsure where this will lead in the end but on balance, with the profession’s interests at heart, it should for the better.”

Martin Brown, managing partner at Financial Planner Continuum, questioned the sense for the CII in continuing to seek to deregister the PFS.

He said: “It does seem bizarre, in a sector that has publicly struggled with its reputation, that the CII would seek to discredit a professional standards organisation that has been in place for 16 years.

“The timing makes no sense. The sector has really embraced the Chartered Financial Planner designation but by deregistering the PFS it feels like the CII is looking to discredit the standards that so many of in the profession have worked so hard to achieve. It feels a little like they are pulling the rug out from under the Financial Planning profession, all in the name of cost cutting.”

Keith Churchouse, director and Certified Financial Planner at Chapters Financial, has been less surprised than many Financial Planners by the CII’s plans to deregister the PFS.

He said that if the CII does not show its cards soon, he believes many Financial Planners could chose to shift their membership to the rival Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI).

He said: “I understand that the possibility of a division away of the PFS has been considered since 2016 by the CII, and the latest positioning is sadly becoming rather sour. Our profession has advanced significantly over the last 15 years and the professionalism that has been embraced by so many through exams to achieve Chartered status has been fabulous.

"If the position is not resolved soon, I think that many will vote with their feet, perhaps to the great advantage of the CISI. I hope that the CII and PFS can still work together for the continued benefit of all.”