Firm Quits AIFA Over RDR Dispute
Posted on:
28
Mar
2011
by Huw Thomas
IFA firm Creative Benefit Solutions have resigned from AIFA as a result of its position on industry support for the Retail Distribution Review.
According to Creative Benefit Solutions chairman AIFA RDR Working Group member Doug Johnstone, the resignation is because of a string disagreement with AIFA’s submission to the Treasury Select Committee that the RDR has the wider support of the IFA community.
In a letter to AIFA director Stephen Gay published by PanaceaIFA.com, Johnstone said that he and his from were resigning: “because they have lost all confidence in AIFA’s ability to reflect the views of its wider membership.”
Johnstone also complained that the RDR Working Group’s findings were largely ignored when AIFA prepared its submission to the Treasury Select Committee. He also raised concerns that AIFA did not take sufficient account of the views of its wider membership and was disproportionately influenced by fee-only supporting IFA firms.
In a response, Gay said: “AIFA seeks to represent the interests of members of widely differing views. It does so through a democratic process of electing Council members from constituencies that are designed to represent firms of all sizes. Council decides AIFA policy and agrees key documents such as our RDR submission to the Treasury Select Committee. We also have Working Groups on key subjects, such as the RDR, so that we can consult a wider range of firms who wish to participate in the formation of policy.”
