IFP splinter group could form if CISI merger fails financial planning

Carmen Reichman
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A group campaigning against the merger of the Institute of Financial Planning (IFP) and Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) has pulled out after discovering the IFP did not have enough money to continue going alone.

However the group's members have raised the possibility of creating a splinter group if the merged body neglects the IFP's focus on financial planning. Smart Financial's Steve Martin (pictured), who identified himself on Thursday as the author of the brief online campaign, said a recent discussion with IFP president Rebecca Taylor revealed the merger as the best option available to the body. Though the IFP recorded a surplus of more than £40,000 last year, and its CEO Steve Gazzard has declared the body is in the best financial position in its history, its attempts to build up reserve...

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