Fred Dodds has been in the job just over two weeks, taking over from Penny Mudford.

He said advisers needed associations now more than ever before to help them work through regulatory change.

But they needed to be able to show advisers the added value they could gain by joining. “We need to say ‘come with us on the journey and we’ll help you with your CPD plan', because advisers are struggling with ‘what do I do’?”

He said he wanted the IFA to be a point of contact for everyone in the industry. “If someone has decided they are going to have a career in financial services, and they’re going to do risk and only risk and they’re only going to do the kitchen table market, because that’s where 80% of the risk business is, I want them to know that Fred Dodds would like to talk to you because you’ve made the decision to be professional.”

He said risk advisers were the base of the financial planning pyramid and it was important to have good people in that part of the market.

But he also wanted to engage people who were going to offer a wide range of advice, and get into things such as KiwiSaver.

And he said the IFA was a natural fit for people who were wanted to offer full financial planning and investment services. “If you’re doing the diploma you might as well do a bit more study and become a CFP.”

CFP numbers were growing worldwide and it would become a more popular and recognised designation in New Zealand, he said.

He said financial planning was a great industry but associations needed to make clear the value they offered members. “I’m seeing how we can become a more helpful and useful organisation.”