kitces.com | Nerd's Eye View - Planning Profession

Navigating the Future of Planning by Understanding the Past

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:43:06 -0500

As George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," but fortunately we don't need to remember the past ourselves, at least when it comes to financial planning. E. Denby Brandon, Jr., and H. Oliver Welch, have done it for us in their new book "The History of Financial Planning: The Transformation of Financial Services."

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Are We Really Ready for true Standards of Care?

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:30:24 -0400

Continuing the fiduciary financial planning momentum created by the CFP Board's release last year of their updated Standards of Professional Conduct, the FPA has promulgated one of the first formal statements of a "Standard of Care" for the delivery of financial planning services - a step that many consider to be crucial for financial planning to become widely recognized as a profession. But is the planning community really ready to go where this road leads?

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The plight of the independent RIA

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:15:42 -0400

A new campaign is underway to help promote the visibility of independent RIAs to the general public. But the focus is not to increase awareness of the differences between RIA and broker/dealer compensation, nor to explore the fiduciary versus suitability debate. Instead, it's simply to convey the message "We exist."

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Is the Military Leading the Cutting Edge of Financial Planning?

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:42:16 -0400

In the midst of the financial planning community's struggles to figure out how to serve the mass middle market in an effective manner, a surprising new entrant to the field may lead the way in showing how to get it done right. Welcome to the Personal Financial Counselor Network, brought to the U.S. military courtesy of the Department of Defense!
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What is the CFP Board up to now?

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:33:23 -0400

In a press release this morning, the CFP Board announced the creation of the new "Council on Education" for the purposes of developing a model curriculum, determining continuing education requirements, reviewing course providers, and implementing a peer review process, among other things. Huh? Isn't that what the CFP Board already does!?

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Did Moss Adams Consulting Just Blow Up?

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:24:26 -0400

If you ask anyone in the financial planning industry who the leader is for industry consulting and benchmarking, Moss Adams is likely to be at the top of the list. At least, it was up until today.

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So who is Kevin Keller?

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:00:30 -0400

It's been a time of great change for the CFP Board over the past few years, and especially the past 12 months or so. The responsilibity for managing all of this change in the organization lies on the shoulders of one man - Kevin Keller. The only catch - he's also the new kid on the block.

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It's Financial Literacy Month - and we need to step it up!

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:49:18 -0400

April is Financial Literacy Month - a time for us to reflect on what we're doing to promote and support financial literacy in the United States, and hopefully focus on making improvements. But a recent survey indicates that we need to try harder - and we might even be losing ground!

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