Both organisations represent individual member IFAs rather than firms as in the case of AMI.
They have signed heads of agreements to form a new company to which the joint 25,000 current members will be transferred. A name will be chosen in October, following consultation with members.
Mark Mountney, managing director of Premier Mortgage Management, said he would be supporting the proposed merger. “The bigger an organisation is, the more teeth it has, and I believe this can only benefit the industry in terms of representation,” he commented. He said that up till now both organisations had punched below their weight.
This view was endorsed by AMI board member and managing director of Mortgageforce, Rob Clifford. He said: “I have been a LIA member for 15 years, and while it has provided good annual conferences and personal professional development courses, it has had a low profile as regards mortgage advisors. The merger can only be a good thing for the industry.”
Mark Omanhey, director general of the LIA, commented: “Financial Advisors would benefit enormously from one professional body representing their interests at all levels. There would be less confusion, while at the same time the single body would have more authority to speak for advisers.”
