Editor’s Comment: A triumph over adversity

The first triumph was over the weather. Despite all that Storm Ciaran could throw at the venue, the new ICC in Newport, South Wales, the vast majority of those registered (1,241) turned up (959).

Fortunately the weather impact around Newport was less severe than other areas.

The second triumph on the day was to run a successful, professional conference against a backdrop of the recently reignited row over the PFS’s finances and how they are handled by parent body the Chartered Insurance Institute.

To be fair, this was less of an issue on the day than the weather.

I spent the day at the event and attended many sessions but very few people were discussing the body’s finances or the row. Most were more interested in updates on pensions legislation, taxation, AI and customer experience. With 15 sessions to choose from there was plenty to keep attendees busy.

I have no doubt that there were private conversations in darkened corners about the PFS’s recent woes but the overall mood was a positive one of professional development and looking ahead to the future.

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Sessions I attended were well managed and organised in the state of the art meeting rooms and the large exhibition area was bustling throughout the day – anyone for a free pen or some pick and mix sweets?

I spoke to many PFS members and most were there to learn and not to have an argument about the future of the body. It was a lesson that while disputes attract the headlines most planners just want to get on with the job.

With 658 new members in the past year or so, the PFS membership numbers are moving in the right direction so clearly something is right but is there something I’m missing, I wondered?

Clearly there are issues remaining to be resolved and the PFS is well aware, I understand, that it needs to engage better with members over the use of PFS reserves and the direction of the organisation. The PFS has a promising future as the Financial Planning profession grows but it must bury the hatchet with its more aggrieved members.

These issues will continue to fester until a lasting resolution is found and that has not been reached yet. 

In the meantime the PFS Conference will have been a solid morale booster for the professional body, with proof that members still want to come to events and support them in big numbers.

I should mention delegates were also entertained at the end of the day by the storming industry band ‘Consumer Duty’, proof perhaps that Financial Planning is more rock and roll than we think.

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Kevin O’Donnell is editor of Financial Planning Today and a journalist with 40 years of experience in finance, business and mainstream news. This topical comment on the Financial Planning news appears most weeks, usually on Fridays but occasionally other days. Follow @FPT_Kevin 

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