Chris Rivers, CFP®

President’s Message

We close out February on the heels of another successful Career Fair, thanks to the efforts of Emily Purdon, Emily Harper, Kelly McNerney and all of the committee members that have helped make this one of the can’t miss events of the year.  The day was packed full of interviews and roundtable discussions, along with a fabulous keynote presentation by Karen Schaeffer.  

And with that, we are on the cusp of spring.   We have two great events lined up for March.  On March 14th at Bethesda Country Club, we’ll have Ben Lewis, FPA’s Director of Public Relations, presenting Media Training. Following Ben, retired FBI agent Jeff Lanza will speak to us about preventing cyber crime and identity theft, a topic that should resonate with all of us as we grapple with both the benefits and burdens of an increasingly connected financial landscape.

On a lighter note, join us for Happy Hour on March 21^st at Chima Steakhouse in Tysons.  This is the fourth year in a row for a happy hour celebrating the “20^th Century Club.”  Do you remember the Mid-Atlantic Retreat? Were you a member of the ICFP or the IAFP, before there was a Financial Planning Association? Did you earn your CFP designation during the last millennium? Would you like to spend a pleasant evening catching up with old friends and colleagues? If you are willing to admit having been in business in the 80’s and 90’s, you’re invited, whether you are still in active practice or not. 

While we’re celebrating our mentors and industry pioneers, this happy hour is open to ALL FPA members, so please don’t hesitate to sign up!

Speaking of happy hour…we’ve got another lined up in April.  On April 18^th, just after tax season, we have a happy hour with one CE credit, focused on, you guessed it, taxes.  We are just a few weeks away from our first look at client tax returns under the new tax bill, so the time is ripe to brush up on tax planning for 2019 and beyond…with a little beer and wine to ease the pain! We are pleased to have Tom Flynn from Russell Investments presenting to our members.

This happy hour is in DC, at the office of Capital Asset Management Group in Georgetown. We are thrilled to bring an event back to the city after several years.  If you’d like more events in the city in the future please let us know!

Lastly, our two signature spring events are on the horizon.  Our annual charity golf classic is set for March 2^nd at 1757 Golf Club in Ashburn. And on June 6^th we have a star-studded spring symposium planned, highlighted by presentations from Ed Slott and Mary Beth Franklin.   Be sure to grab that early bird rate for the symposium before it expires!

Thank you for being a part of our vibrant FPA NCA community.  We look forward to seeing you soon.

All the best,

Chris

Chris Rivers, CFP®

2019 FPA NCA President

CRivers@AFMFA.com

Chris Rivers, CFP®

President’s Message

As January turns to March here in the National Capital Area, temperatures have turned bitterly cold outside, while elsewhere markets have warmed up to start the year.  In our chapter, we enter February hot on the heels of another fantastic winter symposium on January 21^st.

The program was packed with content aimed at improving client communication and elevating your practice.  In addition, we presented awards to two of our Outstanding Award recipients, Dan Lash, winner of the Norma Severns Award for Leadership and Dick Vodra, winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award.  Both awards were well deserved and a long time coming.

Speaking of elevating your practice, on February 15^th we are holding our sixth annual Career Fair. This has been one of our most exciting new initiatives in recent years, connecting new grads and career changers with a strong pool of local firms and advisors looking to hire and train the next generation.

Interviews and roundtable discussions take place all morning into early afternoon. Then at 3pm, we are thrilled to have Karen Schaeffer as our keynote speaker.  In case you missed it, Karen recently received the Alexandra Armstrong Award for Lifetime Achievement in Financial Planning, from InvestmentNews.  More on that here.

On March 15^th at Bethesda Country Club, we’ll have Ben Lewis, FPA’s Director of Public Relations, presenting Media Training. That same day retired FBI agent Jeff Lanza will speak to us about preventing cybercrime and identity theft, in what is sure to be a timely and entertaining presentation. 

 

May 2nd is our annual charity golf tournament at 1757 Golf Club, the proceeds of which primarily benefit the Foundation for Financial Planning, and its mission to provide pro bono financial advice to those in need. This is always a fun day for a worthy cause.

Looking further down the road, mark your calendars now for our Spring Symposium on June 6th. We are working hard to make this one of the best spring symposiums in recent memory. While the full schedule has not been announced yet, I can share that we will have IRA expert Ed Slott as well as InvestmentNews contributing editor Mary Beth Franklin speaking to us that day.  Watch our website and emails for an announcement of the full lineup soon.  

Lastly, I wanted to again thank everyone who came to our listening tour visit with FPA national’s representatives, regarding the new OneFPA initiative.  It was a successful day and our chapter’s voice was heard thanks to 30 plus members who took time out of their work day to give feedback to FPA leadership.  We’ll update you here as we know more about any changes to the initiative based on our feedback. In addition, FPA leaders and staff will hold two All-Member Virtual Listening Tour Meetings to share the OneFPA Network vision and draft plan with members and to hear from members on their questions, concerns and ideas. Please register for one of these special meetings on either February 5 or February 7!

Thank you for all that you do to serve your clients and advance our profession. If you have any comments or suggestions about our chapter I would love to hear them. My email is crivers@afmfa.com. 

All the best,

Chris

Chris Rivers, CFP®

2019 FPA NCA President

CRivers@AFMFA.com