Members of the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) have voted in favour of the proposed merger of the two associations at Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs) in Sydney on Tuesday, 28 February 2023.

Across all resolutions, an average of 96.5 per cent of AFA votes and 96.7 per cent of FPA votes were in favour.  The merger proposal required 75 per cent of the votes cast by eligible voting members to be in favour of the merger in order for it to proceed.

Sam Perera, president of the AFA, said the result showed overwhelming support by members for a merger.

“A merged association gives us a united voice at a crucial turning point for our profession, including the proposed changes from the Quality of Advice review.

“Our members have recognised the importance of having a strong, single voice representing them to government, regulators and other stakeholders

“During our discussions in recent months with members, it was clear that there was significant support for a merger, but we never took this for granted and recognised the importance of members having their say,” he said.

David Sharpe, chair of the FPA, added that both the AFA and FPA boards were unanimously in support of a merger since it was first proposed to members in September 2022.

“The boards developed the proposal as they believed a merger for the two associations was in the best interests of all members, and of the financial planning and advice profession as a whole.   We saw substantial benefits from a merger, and it is clear from the vote that the vast majority of members also recognise these benefits.

“This is a historic day. We are coming together at a critical time, when we have a real opportunity to drive much-needed change to strengthen and grow the profession of financial advice. I want to thank all members of the AFA and FPA who have engaged with us, asked many great questions along the way and taken the time to make their voices heard. You have put your trust in us to create a larger and stronger association to represent you, and we will be doing our utmost to deliver.

“There has been a great deal of work going on since the proposal was first put forward, and we are now in a strong position to move ahead with formally establishing the merged association.”

The full legal name of the new association will be the Financial Advice Association of Australia Limited.

Legal completion is expected to take place on 3 April 2023 and a transition period will run from April to June, including adoption of the new name and constitution, finalising and launching a new brand and logo, new board formation, and membership transition.  The transition is expected to be complete by 1 July 2023.