As Bill Shorten, the Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation, pointed out to a sell-out crowd of more than 400 members and interested parties at an Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) function in Sydney in late June, the AFA plays an important role as a voice for financial advisers and as a training ground for the next generation of talent.
As he also pointed out, in our 65-year history we have seen considerable change, both within our own association – which, through individual memberships and relationships with licensees, now represents more than 7000 members – and in the world in which we operate.
What six-and-a-half decades have shown us is that an association’s success, longevity and ongoing relevance depend on a number of key ingredients:
Associations need to reflect the views, philosophies and ambitions of their membership – because in essence, associations are the sum of their members. They must offer a community whereby members can network, share insights and come together to share their common heritage and activities. They should also provide a forum whereby members can air their concerns and, if necessary, voice those concerns where they can be heard and thereby influence debate and effect change.
To maintain ongoing relevance, associations must provide leadership to members. In our industry, in the current climate, this is about articulating the interests of advisers and the clients they serve in the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) debate. In 2011 and beyond, associations will need to take a very strong position so that governments can negotiate change with them, rather than forcing it upon them using the blunt instruments of regulation and legislation.
The AFA demonstrates leadership by representing the interests of our members and their clients in our meetings with Government and federal politicians of every persuasion; with Treasury and the regulators; with other industry associations; and in publicly airing our concerns via the media. We believe in demonstrating leadership to our own members and to consumers because we believe the future is in our collective hands.
Successful associations also provide direction to their members by providing insight into future trends via targeted research. This helps members prepare for the future, adjust their business models and stay abreast of change while simultaneously informing decision-makers about the landscape in which advisers operate. The AFA has conducted a wealth of consumer and industry research on behalf of its members and presented this research to Government and consumers via the media.
Associations also need to pave out a pathway to education for members – supporting education programs that stretch the membership and equip them with the capability to better serve the community in an ever-changing and increasingly sophisticated financial services environment. Associations also need to have a strong code of conduct, professional ethics and standards to govern their members and a strong benchmark and disciplinary process if members do the wrong thing.
The role of an association should be to provide a vehicle, via branding and resultant consumer recognition, for its members to forge stronger relationships with consumers and to communicate the value of what they do for consumers. Associations have the opportunity to lead their members, lead the profession and lead the public debate about the benefits of good advice.
Member engagement is like a magic elixir – when done well, members feel like they own their associations and their future. When done poorly, they feel disempowered and resentful. However, associations are only as strong as the core of their members, and now is the time to stand up and be an active member of an association that best represents you and your clients. To paraphrase the great JFK: “Ask not what your association can do for you but what you can do for your association.”
Richard Klipin is chief executive officer of the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA).
