The Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals (AIOFP) was established in 1998 to differentiate the independently owned practices from the institutionally owned practices in the market place. Institutions owned around 60% of the advice market in 1998, this figure is now approaching an alarming 80%. The investing public, regulators and government need a robust healthy financial services market and the independently owned sector is an important element to give consumers choice and maintain balance. To be an AIOFP member, practices must not have any ownership from a financial institution and operate their own Australian Financial Services License under strict regulation by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). These two elements allow the AIOFP member adviser to make their own decisions on a client’s portfolio direction and content without the conflicting influence of institutional ownership.