On Tuesday 28 February 2023, members of both the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) voted in favour of the proposed merger of the two associations at Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs) held in Sydney.
Across all resolutions, an average of 96.5 per cent of AFA votes and 96.7 per cent of FPA votes were in favour. The merger proposal required 75 per cent of the votes cast by eligible voting members to be in favour of the merger in order for it to proceed.
A new constitution has been approved and the name for the new entity will be the Financial Advice Association of Australia Limited – We will more generally be known as the Financial Advice Association.
This is an exciting milestone for the financial advice profession. By combining these two longstanding reputable associations, the new entity will be a powerful force in advocating for advisers with Government and regulators. The combined resources will also unite our Advice community under the one organisation, and provide superior services and support for members.
The association will have a single national (not federated) transitional board of 12 directors, made up of eight directors from the FPA board, and four appointed from the AFA board. For future director election cycles, eligible members of both associations will be entitled to stand for election. After the three-year transition period, the board would reduce to nine.
Sarah Abood will become the CEO of the Financial Advice Association of Australia, while Phil Anderson will become General Manager, Transition, overseeing the transition and transformation. David Sharpe will be chair of the new board, and the AFA board will nominate the deputy chair.