Author: financialwalker

First posted 21st December 2022

Today the CII contacted the PFS membership with an email filled with misinformation and half-truths.

The truth is this: The CII is running out of money, and they want unfettered access to the £19m of PFS member funds which are currently held in reserve for the PFS.

Make no mistake – without our swift action, PFS members will find themselves the poor younger siblings of an ailing general insurance membership body.

The CII’s plan of action appears to be simple: Flood the board with a majority of CII directors, and force a vote to deregister the PFS. This has been tried before, but the stakes are higher now, because the CII’s coffers are empty.

Read more as it is written at https://ourpfs.co.uk

How can I help?

We need 5% of PFS members engaged enough to call an Emergency General Meeting

The most important thing is to spread the word.

Forward this email to friends and colleagues.

Send people to https://ourpfs.co.uk and ask them to join this mailing list.

Tweet about it.

Post on Linkedin and Facebook.

Contact alan.vallance@cii.co.uk and let him know that the CII’s behaviour is unacceptable. We must hold him, and his co-directors, accountable.

I will continue to update ourpfs.co.uk with information, background and updates.

Thanks

Alasdair Walker FPFS

p.s. want to get in touch? send us an email at hello@ourpfs.co.uk

First posted on 26th November 2021

Hi.

This is the first time I have written to you since you signed up to the ourpfs.uk website. I hope you don’t mind. I will try and keep emails to an absolute minimum, but if you would rather unsubscribe, please hit the link at the bottom of the email.

The reason for the email is straightforward. James Fitzgerald at New Model Adviser has uncovered a plan for the CII to seek business-as-usual funding from their own independent education charity. Excerpt follows:

The chair of an educational charity has said he felt uncomfortable after Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) executives enquired whether charity grants could be used to fund the CII’s local institutes’ expenses.

The Education and Training Trust, which is affiliated to but independent from the CII, knocked back the informal request on the basis that the CII could not prove the funds would be used for charitable or educational expenses. The Institute did not then submit a formal application.

The Trust provides training and professional development grants for those working in financial services or studying for CII and Personal Finance Society (PFS) qualifications, but who are struggling financially.

Although the scheme is administered by the CII, decisions on the grants it awards are made by a board of seven independent trustees. These grants must be made for charitable and educational expenses, as per UK charity law and the Trust’s articles of association.

You can read the full article here: https://citywire.co.uk/new-model-adviser/news/revealed-charity-trustees-uncomfortable-over-cii-grant-enquiry/a1584056

At this stage, I think the best thing we can do is contact the independent chair of the CII board and ask for an urgent investigation into this governance failing. She can be emailed at Helen.Phillips@cii.co.uk.

Thanks