2014 Spring Symposium

Friday, June 20, 2014 (7:00 AM - 5:30 PM)

Dulles Hyatt

2300 Dulles Corner Blvd.

HerndonVA20171

Join us at the Dulles Hyatt on Friday, June 20^th for a full day of educational and networking opportunities at our 2014 Spring Symposium!

This year’s event promises a highly engaging group of speakers, including a morning keynote session with Tom Giachetti on the changing compliance landscape.  Mr. Giachetti is the Chair of the Securities Practice Group at Stark & Stark, and is a nationally recognized expert in investment-related legal matters.  

Following the first keynote will be a series of 4 breakout sessions.  Debbie May, CPA/PFS, CFP®, CDFA™ will be leading a panel on divorce issues, while Jon Guyton, CFP® shares his ideas on retirement distribution planning.  As a principal at Cornerstone Wealth Advisors Inc., Mr. Guyton is a highly influential thinker in the retirement distribution arena, and was listed as one of 15 transformational advisers by InvestmentNews Research in 2013.  Later in the morning, Art Stein, CFP® will present on long-term care insurance and planning, while Sean Wilson, Director and Senior Trust Officer at Charles Schwab, speaks on trust planning.

After our annual awards presentation and networking luncheon, we’ll host another series of educational and CEU qualifying breakout sessions.  James Dearborn of Columbia Management will present on municipal bonds, while Karen Schaeffer, CFP® speaks on federal benefits.  In the final sessions, Jan Blakely Homan, CFP®, CDFA, ChFC, AIF, CFS of Thornburg Investment Management will share her expertise on advising women in transition, while Kurt Czarnowski leads a presentation on Social Security planning.  Mr. Czarnowski is former Regional Communications Director for the Social Security Administration, and is a leading expert on Social Security issues and planning.

Our final keynote will be presented by acclaimed speaker and best-selling author Cam Marston.  Mr.  Marston is recognized as the leading expert on generational change and its impact on the marketplace.   Through his consulting firm Generational Insights, he has provided advice to some of the world’s largest, national and multinational corporations including American Express, Fidelity, Merrill Lynch, Coca-Cola and Nestle.  His insight has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, the Chicago Tribune, BusinessWeek and countless others.  We are excited to have him share his dynamic presentation on the next generation of financial services clients with us.

Last but not least, don’t forget that the day’s events qualify for a total of 8 CEU for CFP, CIMA, MD Insurance, VA Insurance, and CPA CPE (pending approval).  We’ll also be hosting a raffle after the final speakers and closing remarks.

We look forward to seeing you there! Seats are limited.  Please register as soon as possible.  Registration information can be found at www.fpanca.org.

President’s Message

Helen Modly, CFP®, CPWA®

Later this week, I will be traveling with Peggy Nelson, our executive director, and Dan Lash, our treasurer, to the Alliance Forum meeting. This is a gathering of chapter executives and executive board members from the 12 largest FPA chapters in the country. (We are among the top 5 chapters in the country.)

The purpose of these semi-annual meetings is to share best practices and common challenges among the larger chapters, as well as to facilitate effective communication between the chapters and the executives at FPA National and the National Volunteer board.

FPA National has expressed their concern that the individual FPA chapters and National are “not highly aligned in their external communications and messaging”. They have task forces working on new initiatives that will explore increasing the standardization of policy, communications, branding, etc., between the chapters and National. They are also exploring whether there should be a “nationalization” of revenue raised from our respective chapter sponsors (we currently are in the top 5 chapters in terms of revenue, also).

It boils down to a fundamental question: does FPA National exist to enhance the effectiveness of the individual chapters in their respective communities of financial planners, or do the chapters exist to promote FPA National’s message to our members. Should the individual FPA chapters retain their traditional independence, or would our membership be better served by a more centralized structure? I believe these are important questions and deserve an open airing of opinions.

If you have strong opinions on this subject, please share them with me by email. In order to best represent our chapter’s members, I need to know what you are thinking.

As always, feel free to contact me if you have ideas for increasing our member’s satisfaction with FPA NCA. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Warmest regards,

Helen Modly

hmodly@focus-wealth.com

2014 President, FPA of the National Capital Area