Hot on the heels of a recent conference at Deerhurst Resort for certified financial planners only, the Advocis 2003 National Conference kicks off Thursday in St. John’s, Nfld.

Pre-conference activities begin Wednesday.

Advocis, also known as the Financial Advisors Association of Canada, is the new industry association resulting from the merger of the Canadian Association of Financial Planners (CAFP) and the Canadian Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (CAIFA).

More than 1,000 advisors are expected to descend on St. John’s this week for two and a half days of sessions, and the association’s first annual general meeting.

Educational streams at the conference include human relations, insurance planning, practice management and sales and marketing.

Topics in each stream include how to purchase a practice, the psychological effects of retirement, tips for working with divorcing client, efficient office systems, ethics and agent’s liability, caring of aging parents, and advanced marketing strategies — multiplying your profit, not your workload, and the art and science of being a high net worth financial advisor.

Notable speakers include Bill Black of Maritime Life, Jamie Golombek of AIM Trimark, media personality Deidre McMurdy and inspirational speaker Alvin Law.

Those attending the conference will qualify for at least 12 continuing education credits.