Opportunities and Benefits for Minnesota Members

President’s Message -

As you all know, the last year has been an amazingly challenging time for many businesses and consumers in the financial markets, and certainly for many in our profession. Many among our ranks may count 2008-2009 as the worst environment they have experienced, for their clients and for themselves. Those of us working directly with clients and constituents likely feel a mission to help our clients and our colleagues to successfully weather this incredible storm – and provide perspective, confidence and ideas for the future.

We have many great challenges and opportunities in 2010, both individually and as a profession. Certainly, current clients are in need of our assistance, and we have also learned that there are many unserved or underserved in our society whom we can assist. We can also help each other. FPA wants to be a resource to you, a place to network and share ideas, and to continue to promote the value of financial planning to consumers, and through the media.

Our most important function as a local Chapter is to help you by bringing you top-quality educational programs – on topics that you have identified for us that YOU want to hear about, via our Fall 2009 survey. Your time is valuable and we want to maximize your use of it through your learning and networking at FPA events. Our calendar of programs and event is just about finalized and it will be a very exciting year. Included in this year is a commitment to offer the majority of our programs recorded “webinars” for those unable to join us in person. I hope you explore taking advantage of this.

Luckily, our Minnesota Chapter and nationwide organization are strong. Maintaining that strength of our organization is crucial as we strive to meet the challenges facing our profession and the public. We need to both maintain and even grow our membership, and keep strong, viable relationships with the partner organizations which allow us to bring great educational programs to you through their sponsorship. We hope all involved in our financial planning community can take advantage to learn from other professionals to help meet the challenges we face. So I want to ask each of you to not only renew your FPA membership this year, but also to introduce a non-member colleague to FPA of MN, host them at a meeting and ask to consider adding their voice to our membership.

I want to thank everyone who takes part as a volunteer on a committee or on a one-time basis, such as a pro-bono event. Consider serving in some way – you will likely find it will be one of the most-rewarding benefits of your membership.

Know that each of you has an open door to me or any of our Board members to share your comments or concerns about your FPA of MN Chapter.

Becky Krieger, CFP®, CPA President of the Financial Planning Association of Minnesota