About 200 delegates are signed up for the inaugural meeting starting this weekend of the Canadian Institute of Financial Planners, an organization with a CFP-members-only focus towards financial planning.

The conference and general meeting runs from Sunday June 1 to Tuesday June 3 at Deerhurst Resort, in Huntsville, Ont. The goal of the conference is to launch and set up the new professional members association for financial planners, track the professional development needs and look at the evolving market and regulatory environment.

“This conference is an important one because it’s launching the only financial planning only organization in Canada,” says Keith Costello, managing director of the CIFPs. “There are a lot of organizations out there that meet in a generic sense for advisors — they may be insurance agents, sales people, people with just other designations. But from a pure financial planning discipline, this is the only organization that will specifically advocate and provide for the needs of [certified financial planners] within the financial services industry.

The member organization for holders of the certified financial planner designation was previously known as the Canadian Institute of Financial Planning — the educational arm of the Investment Funds Institute of Canada. The CIFPs announced its name change and new focus in September 2002. The organization is now in the process of recruiting members and developing programs.

“This is the founding conference to set up the organization,” Costello says. Electing the first board of directors, creating bylaws and implementing all the mechanics of an organization are all points of business interest to be addressed at the annual general meeting on Tuesday morning, and “in various non-formal sessions with members at Deerhurst.”

Conference speakers include: John Carpenter, chair of the Financial Planning Standards Board who will discuss the CFP designation and the development of its use internationally; Thomas Hockin, president of the Investment Funds Institute of Canada will discuss public trust; and Julia Dublin of the Ontario Securities Commission will participate in a panel of regulatory representatives to discuss fair dealing and other aspects of the regulatory environment.

Costello says the CIFPs has partnered with the American association called the Financial Planning Association. Delegates and stakeholders who are unavailable for this weekend’s conference will have the opportunity to revisit some of the topics at the Financial Planning Association Success Forum to be held in Philadelphia in November, he says.

Details, conference agenda and registration forms see www.cifps.ca.