After two year of negotiations, the way is clear for the Canadian Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and the Canadian Association of Financial Planners to merge.

At a special meeting of members Saturday morning in Ottawa, CAFP members gave their executive the green light to proceed with the merger with CAIFA. At CAIFA’s annual general meeting Saturday afternoon, delegates voted in favour of the merger.

Said Brian Mallard, chair of CAIFA’s merger task force and the newly elected chair of the merged organization. “Canadians can now look at a single organization of professional insurance advisors and financial planners who have made a commitment to a code of professional conduct and education, as well as continuing education requirements. This is an association of advisors, run by advisors for advisors and we’re working the consumer interest,” he added.

Now the hard part begins. The new association, which has yet to be named, becomes effective January 1, 2003. In the meantime, it will be up to the new executive and different working groups to develop a constitution for the new organization as well as standards that represent both of the merging associations.

As it stands now, all associate and practitioner members of CAFP and all members of CAIFA become automatic members of the new organization. The proposed national membership fee is $350 a year and the chapter fee at $100.

All members of the new group are required to earn either a certified financial planner (CFP) designation or the chartered life underwriter (CLU), an advanced insurance and estate planning designation, as a requirement of membership. Members of the new organization will have to commit to 30 hours annually of continuing education, a triennial ethics exam, and will need to maintain errors and omissions insurance.

A consulting firm has been hired to help find a new name for the organization. A series of focus groups will be held to determine how members, potential members, and the public feel. The results will be released within the first two months of the new associations’ existence. Until then, the organization will be known as CAIFA/CAFP.

In early September, the first meeting of the CAIFA/CAFP Chapter Advisory Council took place to discuss the benefits of merging chapters from both organizations. CAIFA has 50 chapters across Canada, while the CAFP has 15. Though the merger, chapters of both groups located in one city will merge as of June 30, 2003.

Over 1,000 advisors have gathered in Ottawa this week for the CAIFA’s 2002 Annual General Meeting and National which provides professional development and networking opportunities for CAIFA members.