He used the example of the CII piloting a new form of assessment for the R06 Financial Planning Practice unit which would see written examinations replaced by coursework.
“Do we only want coursework tested? It may make it easier to run exams, but does it make them [qualifications] better?” said the former PFS president.
“Should we just build something clean and separate from what currently exists? If we do that, we should use it to manage conflicts of interest.
"A new body would suit everybody, as there'd be no baggage. But it would be a disaster for the CII, given its financial struggles. If a body appears with the right backing, then it’s not inheriting a bad computer system, bad working practices, or marred management."
Starting up a new body, Reid said, means there is an opportunity to ‘de-bundle’ the PFS offering and potentially offer parts of it at a lower cost.
He used the analogy of a flight and an all-inclusive holiday.
“With the PFS, everything is thrown in - CPD, SPS, CPD events. Many advisers don’t care about the CPD events. If someone could unbundle the proposition, they might be able to undercut the PFS on price.
“An employer will just see this as a saving, as the majority of members don’t have the emotional investment that chartered firms do.”
Some 55 per cent of exams taken in 2021 at the CII were PFS exams, according to former PFS planning panel chair, Alasdair Walker.
He cited a conversation with the CII's chief operating officer on a podcast hosted by Timeline chief executive, Abraham Okusanya, making the point that the PFS represents a substantial proportion of the CII's revenues.
‘We don’t need a clone of the PFS’
Whilst the recent in-fighting between the CII and the PFS has sparked talk of a new body, some are wary that if a new body emerges, it should be for the right reasons.
Ian Else, founder of 4 Financial Planning, said: “A new body should be something born out of desire not because of a hostile takeover of the PFS by the CII forcing our hand.
“The PFS seems like it’s modern, open and understands something about financial planning and what we do, while the CII offers little except exams.
“I hadn’t been an adviser long when the IFP [Institute of Financial Planning] ceased to be and that was a great shame.”
Octo Members Group chief executive, Lee Robertson, is also wary another professional body could add more noise and disruption to the industry, rather than less.
