Submitted by Scott Nelson, CFA, CFP® - Professional Issues Committee Director
Welcome to 2017! I’m sure this will be an interesting year for all of us as financial professionals and as Americans. The Professional Issues Committee has some ambitious plans for 2017 that I would like to share with you.
Once again, we will be holding our annual Advocacy Day in St. Paul early in 2017. We will let you know the date very soon so you can block out a couple hours to join us. This year, we are looking to expand our outreach to state lawmakers with a communications strategy that informs them of FPAMN throughout the year. We are planning to enlist the help of the FPA MN membership to send their legislators template messages composed by the Committee. Members will simply need to print the text on their own letterhead and mail it to their legislator. We hope that we can depend on your participation in our effort to raise the awareness of FPA MN with our state and federal legislators.
The Committee is also looking to work with other FPAMN committees to bring you an educational event similar to the RIA Regulations for Breakfast event we sponsored last September with the NexGen Committee. The goal is to offer a presentation on a professional issue that has actionable insights that attendees can apply their practice and career.
Finally, the Committee has chosen technology as the professional issue of 2017. From time to time, Committee members will be writing about the challenges and opportunities that technology offers them in their practices. Is there any doubt that technological change is impacting how financial planners interact with their clients and how clients manage their finances? Technology is on a very short list of things financial professionals know they need to tweak to stay competitive.
Let me take this opportunity to invite you to join the Professional Issues Committee. The nice thing about the Professional Issues Committee is that our mission has something for everyone. If you appreciate the importance of establishing and maintaining good relations with your legislators and regulators. If you find yourself pondering all that it takes to be in compliance. If you ever want to do a deep dive into a particular issue that you find to be a challenge in your planning practice. We enjoy discussing and sharing insights at our monthly meetings. Probably the best part is that by taking an hour or so out of your month, you will be more involved in the efforts that the FPA is taking to further the financial planning profession. If you are interested in trying something new and rewarding in 2017, contact me about how you can get involved with FPA of MN’s Professional Issues Committee.
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