A group of Past Presidents of the 40,000 member Personal Finance Society (PFS) has launched a vocal campaign group called 'Our PFS' to halt the deregistration of the PFS.

The group has urged members to vote agains the re-election of some CII board members and other motions it sees as unhelpful to the anti-deregistration campaign.

The group is also aiming to put to the AGM two motions which would reverse the CII's aim to deregister the PFS and force a vote of no confidence in CII CEO Sian Fisher.

In its annual financial statement being considered at the virtual AGM today, the Chartered Insurance Institute said it had been hit hard by the pandemic and was losing money. It needs to cut costs to balance the books, it said.

Opposition to the deregistration of the PFS has been growing with the campaign group 'Our PFS’ gaining support from many PFS members. The PFS board has also opposed the deregistration.

The groups’ website can be found here: Our PFS

The campaign group is calling for a “fully independent" PFS that will promote its membership while making sure that it takes action, "where the reputation of the body is under threat."

Deregistration of the PFS has been proposed by the CII a number of times since 2016 to streamline the organisation's structure. The CII has already replaced the PFS CEO post, held by outgoing Keith Richards for many years, with a chief membership officer role across the organisation. 

The PFS was formed after two earlier adviser bodies, the Society of Financial Advisers (SOFA) and the Life Insurance Association (LIA) merged and then joined the CII. Since its establishment the PFS has always been a company owned by the CII but has retained a semi-autonomous status.

PFS chief executive and CII chief membership officer Keith Richards is standing down this month as his CEO role is disappearing under the changes. Following his departure the role of PFS CEO will not be replaced but the CII has insisted there is no downgrading of the status of the PFS which will continue to operate under the aegis of the CII.

In contrast, the campaign group Our PFS believes the deregistration of the PFS will lead to a loss of status and influence for the PFS, particularly when lobbying government and regulators on behalf of Financial Planners.

Among the PFS Past Presidents and leading Financial Planning figures supporting the campaign are Robert Reid, Brian Steeples, Sharon Sutton, Carole Nicholls, Nick Bamford and Grant Scott.

Members of the CII can view a live webcast of the meeting, ask questions and submit their votes in real-time by logging in to the AGM website. The motions for the AGM can be found here: https://www.cii.co.uk/about-us/governance/annual-general-meeting/”

Sian Fisher, CEO of the Chartered Insurance Institute, said last week in a statement: “When we launched the Strategic Manifesto in 2016, we set out our vision – “Working together as one united profession we will drive confidence in the power of professional standards.” 

“Integral to this was working as an efficient, united group with a clear direction of travel and a clear set of common goals. It was against this backdrop that the topic of deregistration was tabled – as a way of focusing on unifying CII governance and the overall efficient running of the organisation.

“Nothing that was being considered would in any way have compromised the benefits members receive from the PFS, nor its health, status and efficient functioning. We recognise and regret, however, that the CII’s intentions have not been well communicated. The CII recognises the PFS board is not supportive of deregistration at this time.”

• Financial Planning Today will bring you updates on the AGM so check but with the website later today.