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FPA of MN Newsletter – February 2016

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New - TWO Season Pass Options!

FREE - Chapter Meeting Webinars
with Season Ticket Purchase

$249
In-Person
Attendance
and/or Webinar

$149
Webinars Only

TWO NEW MEMBER BENEFITS:
All chapter meeting webinars are now included in the Annual CHAPTER MEETING Season Ticket for $249 total!
Members may purchase a 2016 WEBINAR Season Ticket for $149! If requesting CFP or CIMA continuing education, exams must be submitted no later than December 15th. Your access code to all webinars will expire on December 31st. Watch your email for the access codes.

Recap: January Chapter Meeting & February Preview

Humor in economics? Is that possible? If you attended January's chapter meeting you experience a unique presentation by Dr. Elliot Eisenberg, a nationally acclaimed speaker and economist who gave us his perspective of the economy and a forecast of 2016. Dr. Eisenberg used a dry sense of humor, his animated personality, and a lot of graphs and charts to outline his points. It was an enjoyable presentation and a well attended meeting that provided industry insight and networking.

Please join us in February for a local presenter. Jay Mooreland, The Emotional Investor will discuss how to work with clients and prepare them for market anomalies (timely considering the market in January) and how advisors can position themselves as a coach and teacher to guide their clients to make wise decisions. Jay has spoken to our Chapter in the past and is coming to us this month with new content and thought leadership. Join an interesting conversation.

FPA Minnesota’s 2016 Advocacy Day is Wednesday, March 9th

The Professional Issues Committee will be holding their annual FPA Minnesota Advocacy Day at the State Capital on Wednesday, March 9th. Again this year, we will be occupying Room 500 North in the State Office Building adjacent to the State Capital. The program will start at 9 AM with FPA National Advocacy Director Karen Nystrom updating us on what is up with FPA National’s advocacy efforts and offering tips on how best to interact with your elected officials. We are working on getting another guest speaker before we go out to meet our legislators. Our conversations with our legislators will be to simply inform them of what FPA Minnesota is about and how we are working to improve the financial security of our clients and the financial literacy of the residents of Minnesota. We want them to know that we are a resource that they can tap when considering legislation. These meetings rarely last more than 15 minutes so everyone can expect to be on their way back to their offices by noon. We hope to see you there.

FPA MEDIA TRAINING

Become a “go to” source for journalists?

FPA is pleased to announce that registration is now open for complimentary, all-member virtual media trainings in 2016. Become a "go to" source for journalists looking for information and commentary on personal finance, financial planning and the profession! Any FPA member who is also a CFP® professional will also be able to then be part of FPA MediaSource – the automated media query system that sends reporter queries to qualified financial planners. Not only is media training mandatory for all CFP® members who want to receive FPA media queries, but the information will enable you to effectively approach media relations within your own business!​

Each 90-minute media training program, conducted by FPA Director of Communications Ben Lewis, covers the essentials in working with journalists, including:​

  • How to pitch story ideas to reporters;
  • What you need to do to prepare for interviews;
  • How you can improve interview performance;
  • The tactics for ensuring you maintain a great reputation with reporters;
  • Representing FPA and the organizational messages; and much more!

Mark your calendar and register to take advantage of this member benefit.

Exciting New Media Opportunity for Qualified FPA of MN members

The FPA PR Committee has an exciting media opportunity beginning in 2016. Through a relationship we have developed with editor Bob Powell, this year we are thrilled to be able to offer the opportunity for Minnesota FPA members to contribute a Marketwatch.com monthly article to the “Retirement Weekly” subscription magazine.

If you are interested in contributing to this or would like to be notified of future media opportunities, you must be :

  • Member in good standing
  • CFP® professional
  • Attend FPA-approved media training
  • Agree to the FPA Media Participation Agreement

The next media training webinar, hosted by FPA national's Ben Lewis, is coming up on Thursday, March 31. For more information and to
register, follow this link.

If you have met the first three criteria, all you need to do is follow this link and sign the agreement.

2016 Golf Outing Charity - Can Do Canines®

Can Do Canines®, established in 1989, places assistance dogs with people with disabilities. Their Mission Statement: Can do Canines is dedicated to enhancing to quality of life for people with disabilities by creating mutually beneficial partnerships with specially trained dogs.

In 2014 they placed 34 new assistance dog teams for people with disabilities to include hearing, mobility, diabetes, seizure and autism. They clocked more than 175,946 volunteer hours. This non-profit is located in New Hope. They have placed more than 477 dogs since 1989 and relies on individual contributions to provide dogs to clients, free of charge. They placed dogs in Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Iowa and Missouri. In addition to the donation generated from the Golf & Bocce Ball Outing, please help support Can Do Canines throughout 2016.

Don’t be surprised if you see a Can Do Canine at a FPA of MN Chapter meeting.

FINRA 2016 Exam Priorities

Few things kill that holiday season buzz and tell us it is time to get back to work like the SEC’s and FINRA’s 2016 Examination Priorities Letters.

For 2016, FINRA has decided to get to the heart of the regulatory matter by looking closely at the culture of Broker/Dealers as it relates to theircompliance practices. FINRA expects to look at how a firm’s culture influences how it does business and manages conflicts of interest. FINRA will be assessing the following which they consider to be indicators of a firm’s culture –

  • Whether control functions are valued within the organization
  • Whether policy or control breaches are tolerated
  • Whether the organization proactively seeks to identify risk and compliance events
  • Whether supervisors are effective role models of firm culture
  • Whether sub-cultures (eg. trading desk, branch offices, etc.) that are not conforming to the overall corporate culture are identified and problems addressed

The idea that a firm’s culture provides an implicit green light to unlawful actions by traders and reps has merit. It will be interesting though,to see how much success FINRA can have in affecting cultural change in firms that it feels are lax in identifying risky behavior or reforming supervisors it considers to be less than effective role models.

The SEC for its part, is continuing the initiatives it announced in 2015 to examine whether the types of accounts recommended and level of advice offered to clients when they start an advisory relationship are in the client’s best interests. The SEC will also continue to evaluate whether investment advisors’ cybersecurity controls are sufficient and whether safe cybersecurity protocols are being followed.

Again, remember to block out the morning of Wednesday, March 9th for your annual trip to the State Capital. FPA Minnesota offers this wonderful opportunity to participate in your democracy but once a year!

New social media research from FPA and LinkedIn!

One thing is clear. Today's consumers of financial services are expecting their advisers to not only give sound advice, but to educate their clients on why the financial decisions they are making are either prudent or misguided. A recent study by LinkedIn and FPA revealed that while the fastest growing financial advisory firms employ many traditional strategies and tactics to spur business growth, they are also engaging in more progressive communications approaches, including social media and thought leadership. Get the research now!

FPA Retreat 2016 Keynote Speakers Announced

Learn more about the FPA Retreat 2016 keynote speakers as they take a deep dive into the art and science of financial planning. Speakers will focus on how to improve your clients’ experience, improve mental performance, how to take advantage of retirement opportunities and more! Register now as space is limited to 350 attendees.