kitces.com | Nerd's Eye View - Conferences

FPA Experience: The Big Show in Financial Planning

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 09:00:00 -0400

Every community has its home - that place we all feel compelled to return to from time to time. In the financial planning world, that home is the FPA Experience conference - the annual convention of the Financial Planning Association that has become the biggest event of the year dedicated to the financial planning profession. Thousands of people from across the country - and increasingly, around the world - feel the need to visit the financial planning "homeland" and attend the conference. Some attend for the continuing education credit; others attend to be a part of their financial planning community. Personally, though, I believe the best reason to attend the conference is to see the latest offerings in the exhibit hall for the financial planning world, from products to services to vendors and technology providers. In fact, I would even say we have a professional ethical obligation to see the "big show" in financial planning at least once every couple of years.

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The Best 3 Financial Planning Conferences Of 2012

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:32:07 -0500

Continuing education is a fundamental principle of being a professional. In fact, Competence is one of the 7 core principles in the CFP Code of Ethics and Professional responsibility, which includes both attaining and maintaining an adequate level of knowledge to serve clients. Unfortunately, though, it’s often the case that continuing education is not much more than checking off the box to receive credit for sitting through a session, regardless of whether the professional really learned anything. Well, in the spirit seeking out continuing education that actually teaches you something, here are my recommendations for the top 3 financial planning conferences in 2012 that are worth the investment and might actually teach you something new.
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Why Are Financial Planners So Afraid Of The Conference Exhibit Hall?

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:24:00 -0400

Every financial planner delivering advice to clients must, at some point, help the client interact with and implement advice with a financial service or product provider at some point. Depending on the planner's business model, the implementation of the advice may or may not directly command a commission, but even a fee-only planner ultimately recommends financial products and services. After all, you can't investment in an IRA without an IRA custodian, you can't buy mutual funds or ETFs inside the account without interacting with mutual fund and ETF product providers, and you can't buy insurance without an insurance company as part of the transaction. In fact, implementation of the advice IS the 5th step of the financial planning process. Which raises the question: given the reliance of financial planning on implementation using financial services and products, why do so many financial planners try so hard to avoid the conference exhibit hall? Are we shirking our professional due diligence obligations, or is there another issue at hand?

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Are You Going To "The Most Interesting Conference In The World" With FPA This Fall?

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:12:02 -0400

The FPA Annual Convention every fall is arguably the biggest event in financial planning each year. Typically drawing upwards of 3,000 attendees, it is certainly by numbers one of the largest conferences by far; although some of the custodial conferences (e.g., Schwab Impact) are competitive, FPA's is focused more directly on financial planning. This year, though, the FPA has rebranded the conference as FPA Experience, and conference chair Evelyn Zohlen is trying to take the event to a whole new level, with a huge focus on building community, and an effort to make it "the most interesting conference in the world" starting with a phenomenal promotional video!

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Greg Valliere's Insider View of Washington - FPA NorCal Keynote Session (Twitter Style!)

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 20:44:00 -0400

Day 2 of the 2011 FPA NorCal regional conference wrapped up with a keynote session by Greg Valliere, of the Potomac Research Group, sharing his perspective on the activities in Washington now and in the coming years. Here are the highlights... as captured on the #FPANorCal twitter hashtag!

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Day 2 Highlights of FPA NorCal Conference - Twitter Style!

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 16:00:00 -0400

Continuing our series for the 2011 FPA NorCal regional conference, here are the highlights from Day 2, as broadcast from the incredibly active Twitter stream on the #FPANorCal hashtag!

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Michael Lewis' Perspective on Wall Street - FPA NorCal Keynote Session (Twitter Style!)

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 10:05:00 -0400

Day 2 of the 2011 FPA NorCal regional conference featured a keynote session by Michael Lewis, author of "The Big Short" to share his perspective on Wall Street and the recent financial crisis. Here are the highlights... as captured on the #FPANorCal twitter hashtag!

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Day 1 Highlights of FPA NorCal Conference - Twitter Style!

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 18:09:00 -0400

The FPA NorCal regional conference ran as it usually does, on the Tuesday/Wednesday following Memorial Day weekend at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Pulling over 600 attendees from across the country, the event is on par with any national conference in the financial planning space. Here are the highlights from Day 1, as broadcast from the incredibly active Twitter stream on the #FPANorCal hashtag!
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Economic Outlook Highlights from Neel Kashkari - FPA NorCal Opening Session (Twitter Style!)

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 11:31:27 -0400

This past week featured the 2011 FPA NorCal regional conference. Pulling over 600 attendees, don't let the "regional" label fool you - the event is on par with any national financial planning conference! The opening general session event featured Neel Kashkari, currently a managing director with PIMCO, and former chief of the Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP) for the Federal government. Here are the highlights... as captured on the #FPANorCal twitter hashtag!
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Missed NAPFA National 2011? Experience The Entire Conference In Minutes... Twitter Style!

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Sat, 21 May 2011 21:24:10 -0400

This past week was the NAPFA 2011 National Conference in Salt Lake City. Pulling almost 500 attendees from across the country, it's one of the top financial planning events of the year. Unfortunately, though, many did not have the time or opportunity to attend the conference. The good news, however, is that a growing cadre of Twitter users "live-Tweeted" the conference for all to enjoy, using the #NAPFA11 hash tag. So for those of you who missed the conference, here's a quick synopsis of the entire 3-day conference from start to finish... from those who Tweeted it!

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Top 40 Tweets From FPA Retreat

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Sat, 14 May 2011 21:41:20 -0400

Earlier this month the Financial Planning Association hosted FPA Retreat, one of the leading cutting edge conferences on the art and science of financial planning. Drawing hundreds of attendees from across the country (and around the world, with participants coming from as far away as Australia!), the conference never lacks for interesting ideas and conversations, both within the sessions and out in the hallways. This year, though, those who didn't attend still had the opportunity to enjoy some of the content virtually, thanks to an active group of participants who "live Tweeted" highlights throughout the conference on the #FPARetreat11 hashtag. For those of you who missed it, here are some of the highlights...
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