LIA

The new Personal Finance Society will merge into the Institute of Financial Planning in future years and withdraw from its links with the Chartered Insurance Institute, predicts this morning's first speaker at this year's IFP Forum for Success .

Improved regulator-industry communication and annual "health statements" from the FSA and FOS are called for in the LIA's response to CP04/12.

Mortgage advisers who are members of the LIA and plan to transfer into the Personal Finance Society proposed jointly with SOFA are being offered free membership of the Society of Mortgage Professionals.

Enabling consumers to purchase financial services products without full and proper advice could cause "considerable danger" the LIA today warns the FSA.

Initial IFA responses to details of the LIA/Sofa merger indicate some advisers believe the deal may be rejected because of the powers it gives the CII over the new body.

Plans from the Life Insurance Association and the Society of Financial Advisers to merge as the Personal Finance Society present a significant shift in thinking about the image of the financial adviser.

The LIA and Sofa have unveiled plans to rebrand as the Personal Finance Society and create a more self-regulated industry under proposals to merge the two groups.

More details of the proposed merger of the Life Insurance Association (LIA)and the Society of Financial Advisers (Sofa) will be discussed at a series of road shows in the Autumn.

The CII revealed at 11am this morning the Society of Financial Advisers and Life Insurance Association are to merge into a single professional body by 1 January 2005.

The Life Insurance Association has proposed a new approach to the FSA's "depolarisation" pricing menu which would break down the cost of advice from product purchase and ongoing service.