Two Past Presidents of the Personal Finance Society (PFS) have attacked the PFS parent body, the Chartered Insurance Institute, after it decided to step in today to take control of the PFS board.

Sarah Lord, the immediate Past President of the Personal Finance Society (PFS) from 2020-2022, called the CII’s move to take control “deeply cynical.”

She promised to fight for the PFS membership.

She said: “This is a deeply cynical move by the Chartered Insurance Institute and the orchestration of the announcement that we have witnessed today shows that this is a pre-meditated decision.

“I have until very recently been in conversations with the CII leadership and we have engaged in mediation at their request. The conversations were still underway. It is extraordinary that they have been so disingenuous.

“Acting in this way today, and in such an aggressive way, is likely designed to diminish the existing PFS board’s powers and undermine its forward-looking strategy. I will do all I can over the coming weeks to ensure the Personal Finance Society, its members and the professions interests are protected.”

Another Past President, Garry Hale, (2012 to 2013) added to the criticism of the CII. 

He said: “I am shocked, stunned and angered that the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has chosen today to take the harmful and cynical decision to announce its intention to ‘flood’ the PFS board with CII nominee directors.

"The timing of this on the eve of Christmas celebrations is a blatant attempt to avoid scrutiny, avoid CII/PFS member backlash, avoid journalists’ questions and prevent regulators and politicians from actively understanding or mediating the decision in the full knowledge that the majority of the members, sector journalists and regulators will be off work and with their families, in many cases for the first time in three years. I would urge all PFS members to speak out and raise any concerns they have about this potentially damaging move.”  

The Chartered Insurance Institute said today that it stepped in at its Personal Financial Society arm to take control of the board after significant governance issues became apparent.

CII CEO Alan Vallance said that the PFS had set up new committees without CII approval and also held meetings without informing CII directors who were entitled to attend.

These governance issues had forced the CII's hand, he said.

Mediation has been taking place between the two organisations, which have been at loggerheads for some time, over the past few months but was ended recently.

Financial Planning Today has asked the PFS board for comment.

The move today by the CII to take full control of the PFS could open the door to the PFS to try to split off from the CII or pave the way for a new body for Financial Planners to be established.

One of the PFS reform campaign leaders, Robert Reid of Chartered Financial Planners Syndaxi, told Financial Planning Today: “Today’s announcement comes as no surprise as the two bodies have become so heavily linked financially that one had to take control of the other. It’s a great pity that the dysfunctional part had to take control of the other part.

"It’s clearly time for the sector to determine a better way forward but I’m not sure the CII know how to deliver it."

Earlier today the The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) informed the PFS that it intends to appoint a majority of directors to its board.