The Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) says it has registered more than 8700 membership renewals following the merger of the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and Financial Planning Association (FPA) ahead of its first congress later this year.  

The body says the renewals mark more than an 80% renewal rate for members of the two former financial adviser groups, which merged in March following a “historic” vote.   

The FAAA says 1563 out of 2489 AFA members and 7138 from the FPA – 6377 of which were practitioners – have committed to transferring to the new body, with more expected to renew in the coming months.   

“We encourage all members to renew as soon as possible,” FAAA CEO Sarah Abood said. “The more members we have, the more strength we have to create better outcomes for the financial advice profession. 

“This is particularly important in advocacy, where there are plenty of issues on the FAAA agenda: including the unreasonable hike in the ASIC industry levy, the continuing consultation with the government on implementing the recommendations of the Quality of Advice Review, the legislation of the experienced pathway and many more.”  

Ms Abood also noted the appointment of FAAA’s new marketing and communication manager, Ben Rutherford, who will hold critical multi-stakeholder responsibilities.   

“Ben will play a critical role in achieving the FAAA’s goals of membership growth, deeper stakeholder engagement and increased brand awareness, particularly at a pivotal time following the recent merger with the AFA.  

“Most importantly, Ben will be responsible for developing and delivering activities that enable the FAAA, through its members, to deliver more great advice to more Australian consumers.”  

The FAAA plans to host its first congress in Adelaide from November 20 to 22, with the theme “Grow Together”. The event is expected to host specialist workshops, speaker panels and presentations on industry issues.  

Early Bird tickets for the event are available here.