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28th May 2025 – Throwing in the Towel

The dire state of CII/PFS in 2025

Hi everyone

I’m writing this following a phone call with a subscriber to this newsletter, who had got in touch after being dismayed to read that, once again, member directors at the PFS had felt obliged to resign their posts.

It is hard to overstate quite how severe the message contained within the resignation was. The words below come from Dan Williams, who was, until 19th May, the Vice President of the PFS board.

“My decision to step down was ultimately driven by a belief that remaining on the board, under current conditions, would no longer allow me to meet the fiduciary responsibilities or ethical standards I believe are essential for non-executive directors. Stepping aside is therefore, I believe, the most responsible course of action to uphold my core beliefs.”

So, where are we?

The current state of play for PFS is pretty dire. (For references and background, please check back over previous posts at https://ourpfs.co.uk)

  • Christine Elliot, the independent chair of the PFS was removed from the board, and Carla Brown, President, was appointed as Chair.
  • The PFS board, supposedly responsible for governance over the professional body, has been flooded with CII executives, with no reasons given for this.
  • The board now has only three member-nominated directors, Carla Brown, Craig Palfrey and Kate Gannon, giving the CII executives a clear majority on voting decisions.
  • The CII is still in a financial shambles, wholly reliant on PFS revenues for its survival.
  • Decisions around the “recharge” for provision of services from CII to PFS will now be decided on by CII executives, with no functional oversight or governance.
  • My concern has always been that this mechanism would be used to bleed the PFS member funds into CII coffers, and this appears to be the route forward.
  • Meanwhile, the quality of education, events, support for new entrants into the sector, outreach, customer service, provided to PFS members have either not developed, or got noticeably worse.

I hate to say I told you so

It has been an incredibly frustrating experience over the past few years, speaking to a succession of well-meaning, well-intentioned member directors on the PFS board, who have been confident and optimistic that PFS members could get a better deal by working with CII.

It appears to me that the CII chair, board and executives, have strung board-members on for long enough to make their positions untenable. Unfortunately, I cannot see this changing for as long as the CII board and executive remain in place in their current form.

Throwing in the towel, for now

I have painted a pretty dire picture in this newsletter. I wish I could finish on a positive note, but I still believe (as I always have), that the only way to develop our great profession is to have the representation of a truly independent professional body.

I focused on the PFS because of the funding (let’s not forget, at the start of this saga PFS members had accrued member funds in excess of £20 million, which were being held hostage by CII under threat of “deregistration” of PFS as a professional body), and because of the membership. I felt it was the best hope for development of an independent body.

In November last year, I laid out why and how I thought this could happen. At that point, I still felt it was a possibility. Unfortunately, I think that time has passed.

I have simply run out of energy, and run out of belief that the board is able to act in the best interest of its members.

What can you do?

I am in the process of reviewing our relationship with CII. I am fortunate enough to hold dual fellowship with PFS and CISI, and unless there are significant positive changes to the member offering from PFS I will most likely not renew my individual, nor our corporate, membership.

CISI are not perfect. It is very obvious to me that the financial planning element is a very small cog in a big wheel. On the other hand, the larger body appears to care about it, and they are innovating on their education offering and producing high-quality events, and taking seriously their links with universities in an attempt to improve access to our profession.

You may feel the same way. Or you may have some fight left in you. If that is the case, I would seriously consider contacting the two remaining PFS member directors (Carla Brown, Craig Palfrey, and Kate Gannon), and let them know your views.

It is still theoretically possible for members to call an Extraordinary General Meeting, although we have no CEO to contact to request one. 5% of the members would need to demand one, and an alternative to the current dire state of affairs would need to be proposed.

I still care deeply about the profession, and the role of an independent professional body within it. I have just run out of steam.

Perhaps you’d like to campaign, or work on an alternative? Perhaps you have a more positive outlook? Please let me know – I’d be happy to spend some time talking in more detail about all of this. Just email me at hello@ourpfs.co.uk

PFS feedback

Just a quick note to those who voted “no” to motions 1 and/or 2 at the AGM.

The board will have sent an email to you requesting anonymous feedback.

Please consider making the case for a managed separation / independence from the CII – we need to try and bring this topic to the front and centre of the board.

Furthermore, you may want to raise the unethical recent behaviour of the CII board, and the unsatisfactory arrangements whereby CII hold PFS “treasury funds” of £8.5M on their own balance sheet with no interest payable to PFS members.

One final point to note – Trevor Edwards, who is apparently the financial director of the PFS, was asked a question from the floor about the mutual status of PFS being under threat now that it no longer has a majority of member-voted directors. From his response in the room, and the wholly unsatisfactory answer provided, I would guess that this has never actually been considered by the CII board before flooding the PFS board.