1. By Kobus Kleyn, Certified Financial Planner
F i n a n c i a l P l a n n i n g
Top financial advisers display a
passion for the advice profession
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Product floggers no more!t gives me great pleasure to write this article on a topic for
The word industry is appropriate if we view our daily task aswhich I have the greatest passion and I hope that my
I that of producing or manufacturing policies. If that is how wethoughts will resonate with my fellow financial advice
behave – and we leave our clients with the lasting perceptionprofessionals as well as intermediaries and other stakeholders
that we are product salesmen rather than advisers – then wewithin the industry.
cannot expect them to call us financial professionals nor refer
to our industry as a profession.The starting point for this discussion is that financial planners –
as professionals in the financial services sector – have the
The reality is that professionals are the exception in thepower to change people’s lives. Those of us who offer advice
current environment. There are approximately 113000with passion deserve the respect and status that our clients
intermediaries registered in South Africa, including 40000 longand potential clients confer upon us. By providing a
term advisers and only 4700 Certified Financial Professionals.professional service there is no reason that we should not be
viewed in a similar light to those in the legal and medical
Within this small subset of the advice community there is aprofessions.
handful – at best – who can refer to themselves as financial
planner professionals operating within a financial adviceFrom industry to profession
profession. But we will have to wait until after the RetailI refer in the opening paragraphs to both a profession and an
Distribution Review (RDR) process to find out who canindustry and would like to expand on these concepts. The
actually refer to themselves as financial plannerOxford Dictionary defines industry as “economic activity
professionals.concerned with the processing of raw materials and
manufacture of goods in factories.”
The intermediary environment is complex and there are thoseProfession, meanwhile, is defined as “a vocation founded
who specialise in various areas such as short term insurance,upon specialised educational training, the purpose of which
long term financial planning and healthcare and it is difficultis to supply objective counsel and service to others, for a
at this stage to blanket each of these areas with the worddirect and definite compensation, wholly apart from
profession.expectation of other business gain.”
Developing a lobbyist mind-setA profession arises when any trade or occupation transforms
There is however scope to define our profession within certainitself through the development of formal qualifications based
categories of advisers and we should all work towards thisupon education, apprenticeship, and examinations as well
objective. In fact organisations such as the Financialas the emergence of regulatory bodies with powers to admit
Intermediaries Association of Southern Africa (FIA) and theand discipline members according to a code of conduct.
Financial Planners Institute (FPi) should be playing a major role
in lobbying the regulators and other industry stakeholders toIt would be difficult for any client to consider us part of a
convert us from an industry to a profession.profession if we refer to ourselves as an industry rather than a
profession. If we wish to afford our profession more status and
This brings me to the next point of discussion – namely the rolerespect we may have to change how we refer to ourselves.
that associations and representative bodies play within our
“The FIA – an association for the country’s risk and financial
advisers – is committed to improving and promoting the
image, integrity and standing of the financial intermediary”

2. F i n a n c i a l P l a n n i n g
49
profession. There are well-established organisations both My belief, which is shared by many of my fellow MDRT
locally and abroad whose role it is to enhance our members, is that we can all learn from the incredible
professional status and ensure the long term sustainability of operating practices that our international MDRT counterparts
our profession. The words professional and profession are apply. This is especially relevant now that RDR is upon us, as
certainly appropriate considering the impact we have on many MDRT members practice in markets where RDR has
both the financial wellbeing of our clients and the broader already been implemented, including Australia, Denmark,
economy. the United Kingdom and Singapore.
The FIA – a trade association for the country’s risk and It is imperative that each of us join the FPi, FIA and MDRT as
financial advisers – is committed to improving and promoting and when we qualify to do so and to work from within these
the image, integrity and standing of the financial institutions to convert our industry to a profession. Each of
intermediary. It is an organisation that represents these premier associations has complimenting Code of Ethics
intermediary interests to the regulator as new regulation is and Conduct to promote the highest quality standards
developed and implemented so as to ensure fair outcomes amongst their respective memberships.
for members’ practices.
Unity is strength
They represent intermediaries – whether they are The existing entities are more than adequate to achieve the
independent financial advisers, brokers or tied advisers – multiple goals of our professionalism within a sustainable
regardless of size and regardless of the financial services profession as well as the protection of consumers. We should
discipline they are involved in. The FIA is certainly proving their certainly not be distracted or manipulated into joining the
mettle by representing intermediary interests to the Financial new and opportunistic associations that are being formed
Services Board, National Treasury and the Council for under the cloud of fear introduced by RDR. This would simply
Medical Schemes through the lengthy Treating Customers diluteourcombinedrepresentativepowerswiththeregulators.
Fairly and RDR implementation processes.
Earning the regulator’s respect
From my personal experience we can rest assured that the
FIA will not let us down. They earned the respect of the FSB
during the implementation of the FAIS Act and the
subsequent regulatory examinations and continue to
command this respect through their frank interactions with
the regulator on current matters.
The FPi is the independent professional body (or
accreditation body) for financial planners in South Africa. As
a non-profit professional body and founding member of the
international Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) they
exist solely to improve the level of professionalism through the
quality of advice delivered by us to the consumer. They also
issue the CFP® mark to those of us who meet their stringent
qualification and competency requirements.
The FIA and FPi are two great local entities that represent
financial professionals’ interests within South Africa – and they
are doing a great job. It is however my opinion that we also
consider international associations such as the Million Dollar
Round Table (MDRT) to further complement our professional
status and profession.
A global support base
MDRT, the Premier Association of Financial Professionals®, is a
global, independent association of the world's leading life
insurance and financial services professionals. Its members
demonstrate exceptional professional knowledge, strict
ethical conduct and outstanding client service.