Marie Swift, Impact Communications - Welcome

Welcome to Twitter Live! with the Industry Thought Leaders. My name is Marie Swift. I am president and CEO of Impact Communications, a full-service marketing and PR firm for independent advisors and the institutions that serve them.

We are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the financial planning profession. My how things have changed in just the past 20 years that I have been a part of the industry. I remember doing business before their was anything called “email” or “the internet.”

Today Twitter is all the rage. And since FPA has always been progressive, we decided to try something new this year – we’ll be combining the best of “high tech” with “high touch” here at Twitter Live.

20 Industry Thought Leaders are here in the audience. They will each come to the microphone and in 2 minutes max share the #1 thing that, from their perspective, advisors should be thinking about – or doing – as we round the corner into 2010 and beyond. I will ring this small chime 3 times to indicate that there are only 30 seconds left in the allotted time slot. I will ring the chime once when time is up. And I will be forced to use this gong if the Thought Leader just won’t stop – that’s doubtful, but you just never know when passionate people start speaking.

We have set up a Twitter page so you can sign up to follow all the great ideas that today’s Thought Leaders will share – and the other great information that FPA wants to share with you. Just go to http://www.twitter.com and sign up for a free account. Then follow “fpassociation.” So, the Twitter feeds will be found at http://www.twitter.com/fpAssociation.

We will also be video taping today’s contributions. You can find the video blog entries at http://www.fpatwitterlive.blogspot.com.

I hope you will take notes, follow the blog and twitter feeds, retweet the things that interest you and leave comments on the blog. Let’s start a dialog online – and include the other people who could not for some reason be here with us live.

In addition, if you want to speak further with the Thought Leaders here today, come by Booth #651. There you will find many of the 20 people who will be speaking here today.

To follow me on Twitter: @marieswift (http://www.twitter.com/marieswift) To follow my blog: www.marie-swift.blogspot.com.

Thanks for being here. Let’s get started!

Liz Weston, Journalist LA Times / Author "Your Credit Score"

I’m Liz Pulliam Weston, the most-read personal finance columnist on the Internet and author of the book, Your Credit Score, and I believe credit will be the big story for 2010.

We’ve already seen a revolution in the credit card industry, with issuers doubling or tripling rates, lowering credit limits and shuttering accounts even for customers with great credit scores and perfect payment histories.

This is pushing many over the financial edge into bankruptcy, and threatening the credit scores of others by reducing their available credit. Those who still have good credit need to know they have the power to fight back against these changes, or take their business elsewhere, since customers with credit scores of 740 and above are still in high demand.

If the economy continues to shed more jobs than it creates, defaults will remain high and issuers cautious about extending credit to anyone with less-than-exceptional scores. Expect truly good balance transfer offers to get scarce and rewards deals to get less appealing for all but the sterling-credit class.

New rules mean people under 21 will have a much tougher time getting a credit card starting in February—but they will still need good credit scores to get decent apartments, insurance rates and car loans when they’re out of school. Parents need to think about whether they want to co-sign for a card or add a child as an authorized user to one of their own accounts. This is a child-by-child issue—co-signing can work for the most responsible but could be a disaster otherwise.

If your clients have credit card debt, they should fix their rates now by paying off their debt with a three-year, fixed-rate personal loan from a credit union, where those with good credit can get a fixed rate of 10% to 11%. Other alternatives: social lending sites such as Prosper or Lending Club.

If they can’t pay off the debt within three years, they need to talk to a legitimate credit counselor and possibly a bankruptcy attorney. The old days of easy credit aren’t coming back soon, and strapped borrowers need to realistically assess their options rather than continue to struggle with unpayable debts.

You can learn more at www.asklizweston.com

Mary Zimmerman, Path Financial / Kinder Institute of Life Planning

Hi, I’m Mary Zimmerman. I’m a Certified Financial Planner® professional and Registered Life Planner ™. I’m proud to be a founding member of the Kinder Institute of Life Planning and was the first certified faculty member of the institute in the United States. I serve on the Board of the Greater Phoenix Financial Planning Association as Director of Public Awareness.

The one big thing all advisors should anticipate is managing change.

How do we do that? When we invest time with our clients, deepening our relationships with them, we find out what is most important in their lives.

As their trusted advisor, we understand their goals of keeping the family home or putting a premium on education. As a result, we put structures and safeguards in place to help protect our clients’ priorities.

We should walk side by side with our clients through change. Change isn’t always easy, and your guidance and support will help them through a difficult time.

Remember to
1) Be nimble. Change doesn’t just affect our clients; it affects us, our families, our societies, and our planet.

2) Be alert. If one of your clients wants to “go green,” and you know about cash for clunkers or energy credits for heat pumps, alert them!

3) Be enthusiastic. Crackle with ideas that support and encourage our clients’ dreams. For example, a middle class client, working for Southwest Airlines wants her parents in Milwaukee to have a driver. You can encourage your client to trade driving for buddy passes.

4) Be still. Make sure to have some quiet time. Just like I tell my grandchildren, it’s good for the soul.

If you have any questions, you can contact me via my financial life planning practice, PATH Financial Strategies, LLC., at mary@pathfinancialstrategies.com, or via the Kinder Institute's Find a Life Planner map at www.KinderInstitute.com.

Deena Katz, Texas Tech University, Evensky Katz Wealth Management

I’m Deena Katz, Associate Professor at Texas Tech University and Chairman of Evensky & Katz Wealth Management.

It’s a new world. After many years of negative returns, the past year of significant recession, and an unprecedented array of investment scams and fraudulent activities, we are now in a new world, a regulatory world that will set off a sea change of events like we have not seen in our lifetimes.

Be prepared. The latest draft of the Investor Protection Act of 2009 makes it clearer that the SEC must adopt rules setting a fiduciary standard for advisers and brokers providing investment advice to retail investors. It now states that the standard of conduct “shall be to act in the best interest of the customer without regard to the financial or other interest of the broker, dealer, or investment adviser providing the advice.”

Most people, who are afraid of accepting fiduciary responsibility with regard to the client relationship, interpret “fiduciary” in purely legal terms only. They worry about litigation in being held to a “trust” standard. They explain that they cannot be an agent of their firm and a fiduciary to their client. But, if we look at the FPA’s Standards of Care, there are five simple statements, that considered separately, are nearly impossible for anyone to raise serious objections:

1. Put the client's best interests first.
2. Act with due care and in utmost good faith.
3. Do not mislead clients.
4. Provide full and fair disclosure of all material facts.
5. Disclose and fairly manage all material conflicts of interest.

This, my friends, these are the definition of Fiduciary.

As you look toward 2010, remind yourself that in this New Regulatory World, we will be regulated. If you want to have a voice in that, contact your local representatives, volunteer and support advocacy at FPA. And finally, remember, all professions are regulated. And, we are a profession.

If you'd like to hear more of my thoughts, I write a regular column in Financial Planning magazine.

Julie Littlechild, Advisor Impact, Client Audit

Hello – my name is Julie Littlechild and I’m the President of Advisor Impact and the creator of the Client Audit, a client feedback tool for financial advisors.

The #1 thing that I believe advisors need to do is to clearly define and communicate their value to clients. And I think I’m backed up by the more than 70,000 clients we’ve surveyed over the last several years about what they need, want and expect.

The good news is that overall satisfaction has held strong in the last year. The bad news is that it doesn’t matter that much. What we’ve found is that there are two groups of clients. Both groups would define themselves as satisfied, overall, and both would describe themselves as dissatisfied with investment performance. That’s where the similarities stop. For the first group their dim view on the market is creating a negative halo – they said they have no confidence in their plan for the future and don’t feel their advisor has managed the relationship proactively. The second group, however, may be dissatisfied with investment performance but can see their plan forward and feels the advisor is managing the relationship. Advisors with more clients in the second group have done a better job of defining their value and creating a disconnect between market performance and the value of advice. In the process, those advisors have reduced risk.

So what can we do? I believe that advisors need to define and then communicate their value. They need to be able to clearly explain to clients what they do for them in words that are meaningful for clients. They need to document that value, from fundamentals such as contact levels to descriptions of the planning process. Consider creating a service agreement as a tactical approach to communicating your value. Research shows a clear connection between client engagement and knowing what kind of service they can expect. We also know that if your clients can’t clearly describe the value you provide, they’ll never be in a position to tell anyone else, and that will have an impact on referrals.

If you’d like to learn more about our Client Audit process, visit www.advisorimpact.com

Sheryl Garrett, Garrett Planning Network

Hi, I’m Sheryl Garrett, founder of the Garrett Planning Network - a network of fee-only advisors offering hourly, as-needed financial planning.

The number one thing I want advisors to be thinking about is that our emerging profession is on the verge of–potentially–the most important re-regulation of investment advisors ever. The public at large has little or no understanding of what a financial planning professional does, nor do they have faith in the financial markets or financial advisors.

To truly evolve into a respected profession, we must get politically active now! The proposed re-regulation of all those that render investment advice needs to be clear, powerful and client-centered. To truly emerge as a profession, we must make competent, objective financial advice accessible to ALL people.

We must have regulatory reform that ensures that all consumers of financial advice can trust that advice to be rendered by competent fiduciaries. Our society is desperate for quality advice from professionals they can trust to put their best interests first, always!

If you’d like to talk further about this issue, or learn more about the Garrett Planning Network, please contact me through my website, www.garrettplanningnetwork.com

Blaine Aikin, Fiduciary360

Hi. I’m Blaine Aikin, CEO of Fiduciary360, an organization focused on promoting a culture of fiduciary responsibility and improving the decision-making processes of investment fiduciaries.

The #1 thing advisors should have on their mind is that soon, every advisory relationship will need to be treated as a fiduciary relationship. This change is happening, and soon will be made necessary either through new legislation and regulation or because the market will demand it. Either way, advisors need to be prepared for it.

The debate on financial regulatory reform has moved beyond whether or not a fiduciary standard will apply for advisory relationships, and on to how it will be applied and who will be charged with oversight. Once the details are decided comes the task of compliance. But advisors who are already following processes to the highest standard possible won’t have to worry about playing catch up.

Meanwhile, the financial crisis has caused investors to become more distrustful, while also becoming more informed than ever. Those advisors who are fiduciaries are reaping the benefits as more new clients want the assurance that a fiduciary standard of care provides.

Implementing fiduciary processes now puts advisors both ahead of the compliance curve for when a fiduciary standard is implemented and gives them a competitive advantage for new clients.

If you’d like to learn more about this important issue further, I invite you to visit www.fi360.com

Bonnie Hughes, American Capital Planning.com, Financial Planning Association Board of Directors

Hello, I’m Bonnie Hughes, Principal at American Capital Planning.com and a member of the Financial Planning Association Board of Directors. I’ve been asked to share some insights with my colleagues as we look out into the next year and I think the main point I’d like to focus on is how planners might serve markets other than the high net worth market. Planning is a sharing profession. I have been fortunate to get to know many planners through conferences, industry events, and visits to their offices. I’ve had time to dig deep into what works for them and where challenges lie in serving those that planners may assume cannot or will not pay for financial planning services. During my own career I have consistently straddled the world of serving high net worth clients and everybody else.

Planners can help change the public’s perception of financial planning by engaging the press and local employers. Rules of thumb seen in the press can be useful as a starting point but rarely serve as a solution on an individual basis. Share case studies with reporters while still protecting your client’s privacy. We know from good research that employers benefit from having the full attention of their workers and if they are distracted by their money problems, they will be less productive at work.

Developing a business model to serve folks starting out who do not have a complex situation could be done on a renewable flat fee basis. We know that 70 to 140 people can be served by a planner during a given year. Charging $1,500 for an initial plan brings revenue of $105k - $210k. In the first year and thereafter, a monthly charge of $99 brings another $83k - $166k. A four person office working this way sharing resources is a workable model. Offerings for the monthly charge might include exclusive access to a quality newsletter, private blog, webcasts and webinars and 4 hours of your time with each client.

But building it and hoping they come won’t work. We all need to work together to change the idea that planning is only for the wealthy. Planning is for anyone who wants to make informed financial decisions for themselves with the guidance of an experienced, ethical, and educated planner.

You can learn more about me and my firm at www.americancapitalplanning.com.

Randy Gardner, Gardner Financial Planning, Inc.; Professor, Tax and Financial Planning, University of Missouri, Kansas City

Hi. I’m Randy Gardner, Professor of Tax and Financial Planning at the University of Missouri – Kansas City, contributing columnist, with Leslie Daff, for The Journal of Financial Planning, author and editor of several books at the on-site bookstore, and President of Gardner Financial Planning, Inc. My firm performs tax and estate planning services for financial planners and their clients across the country.

The #1 thing advisors should be aware of during the next year is evolving government policy, with its opportunities and threats.

I have been advising clients over 30 years and have not seen a more proactive executive branch than in the past 8 years. Proactivity has its pluses but also its minuses.

Recently, government policy has created windfalls for our clients with 15% (and maybe 0%) dividend and capital gain rates, $250,000 immediate expensing allowances for business purchases, $8,000 refundable credits for home purchases, and “Cash for Clunkers” programs and deductible sales taxes for vehicle purchases. Act quickly though; these government giveaways do not last long.

The executive branch’s need for revenue to accomplish its goals is apparent to all, but less apparent are the heavy handed tactics the executive branch is using to increase revenue. IRS audit rates are climbing; offers in compromise are denied more frequently than ever; and, if the executive branch does not get its way with Congress or the courts, it legislates through the issuance of Regulations, not only a bad precedent, but a violation of the Constitution.

The government is about to respond to some of the critical issues facing the country – the health insurance crisis with its implications for Medicare and Medicaid, the “lack of” retirement savings crisis and Social Security, and the estate tax. What form will these responses take, and at what expense?

As a financial planner, I feel my role is evolving to that of a watchdog for my client’s resources. Some days, I am reading tax updates looking for coupons my clients can cash in. However, on most days, I am keeping the government away from my clients’ doors with solid compliance and well-executed strategies.

You can contact me through UMKC.

Deborah Fox, Fox College Funding, Fox Financial Planning Network

Hello. My name is Deborah Fox. I have been a practicing financial planner for 25 years and have personally coached many financial advisors all over the country. I am best known in our industry as the founder of Fox College Funding, a specialty planning company. Just this year, I have introduced a new training program for financial advisors called Fox Financial Planning Network, a complete financial planning delivery system. If you want to learn more about me or my programs, just put “Deborah Fox financial planning” in a Google search or stop by booth #651 – “The Industry Thought Leaders’ booth”.

My message today is “Systematize, Document and Delegate.” Over the years, I have come to realize advisors who master and implement these three things are likely to not only have built a best-in-class practice, but also be in a position where they truly enjoy their work and can live a balanced life. Do you feel like you work too many hours and your practice is in disarray? Michael Gerber, author of The E-Myth points out that when most people go into business for themselves, they don’t run a business, they merely create a 12 hour-a-day, 6 or 7 day-a-week job for themselves.

What’s the solution? Every client service you deliver should be systematized, documented and then assigned to a person who is responsible for delivering that service. Whether it’s a back office task or something that is done in front of the client, there should be an order and a system for everything you do. By designing a workflow for your practice and then delegating tasks that you personally shouldn’t be spending time on, you can stop working a job and start living the life of a true entrepreneur by having time for the things that are important to you in your life.

Systematizing and documenting your practice can also make possible for you to offer a higher level of service to your clients and can prevent you from being left in a debilitating position if you lose a key member of your team. Ever since I documented my entire practice, I have been able to focus on the higher level activities of my practice that I am both good at and enjoy doing. This is just part of what I teach through the Fox Financial Planning Network where I literally hand over to you all the documented mechanics of my complete financial planning process.

If you'd like to learn more, visit my website, www.advisortrainingcenter.com.

Mark Pace, ObjectivEdge on Life Insurance as an Asset Class

Hi. I’m Mark Pace, Principal with ObjectivEdge, an insurance asset management consulting firm.

The #1 thing I want advisors to be thinking about is that Life Insurance is not a passive asset. 90% of all life insurance sold in the last 30 years is NOT performing as originally expected. However, we have found that only 25% of these policies merit "replacement," termination, or settlement. Most currently non-performing policies should not be replaced ... because they can often be remediated more successfully than subjecting the client to new fees, loads, surrender charges, and possible diminished returns and/or performance. This result is only possible when applying actuarially-derived tools, techniques and systems - independent of carrier illustrations and non-guaranteed pricing assumptions implemented by competently trained financial professionals. The financial planner is uniquely positioned to fulfill this role.

The perfect storm of reduced industry revenue and increasing policy charges will produce an unprecedented wave of policy crashes. Guaranteed death benefit policies have been all the rage for the last 10 years, but carrier revenue doesn't begin to support these policies in the long-term. While not being able to change pricing on the in-force "block" of such policies, it's anticipated that all current assumption policies (UL, VUL, EIUL) will experience increases in cost of insurance and other expenses - subject to the maximums imposed by the underlying policies. Most consumers and financial professionals have been unaware of the lifetime re-pricing possibilities carriers have contractually reserved for future profit management. Concerned financial planning professionals are ideally positioned to advise clients with proper training and Life Insurance Property Management independent analytical tools.

Whole Life insurance - for lifetime needs - has gained renewed respect as an uncorrelated asset class within an investment portfolio's fixed return allocation. Further, larger needs and policies (typically greater than $5 million) can be optimized into a portfolio of policies with techniques that not only can but SHOULD be applied to the acquisition and asset management of life insurance.

To learn more, visit my website, www.objectiview.com. I also invite you to visit my colleague Dick Weber's website, www.ethicaledgeconsulting.com

Karen Lee, Karen Lee and Associates, Integrated Financial Group, Securities America

Hi. I’m Karen Lee, President of Karen Lee & Associates. My firm is part of the Integrated Financial Group, a consortium of 40 elite advisors and one of the largest branches of Securities America Advisors.

The #1 thing that advisors should be aware of is how common it is for clients to be their own worst enemy when it comes to implementing a financial plan.

I’ve been a financial planner for over 20 years and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen clients trip over their money baggage. It’s like an elephant in the room and unless we, as advisors, acknowledge its presence and help clients see how it can cause them to sabotage their best-intentioned plans, we are not serving them well.

Have you ever had a client tell you that he wants to get his kids through college and then retire at 55? Sure - we all have. So you develop a financial plan that will help him do just that. But instead of following the plan, he’s always got an excuse as to why he’s spending the money that he should be saving.

I have found that if I uncover clients’ issues around their relationship with money when I first start working with then, we are much better able to discuss their behavior and avoid some of the things that throw them off track.

As advisors, we are not therapists - nor should we be. But we can develop a protocol with new clients that enables us to ask questions like:

- How were money decisions made when you were growing up?
- Who kept the purse strings?
If I’m working with a couple, I’ll probe for answers to those questions from both partners. I’ll ask them how they make money decisions in their own relationship - which inevitably tells me whether one is a spender and the other a saver.

While we often learn about issues over the course of working with clients, getting it out on the table at the beginning of the relationship is a tremendous advantage in helping them avoid - or at least be conscious of - the traps they might fall into. They are able to be more successful in achieving their goals, which makes me more successful as an advisor.

To read more about this subject, read my article, A Fine Line, in Financial Planning magazine. You can contact me through my website www.karenleeandassociates.com.

Susan Galvan, Galvanic Communications

Hello, my name is Susan Galvan. I was co-founder of the Kinder Institute of Life Planning. The last two years I've had my own company, Galvanic Communications.

The quality that planners need to bear most in mind going into 2010 is Trust. Over the past year or so, there have been many challenges to trust in the relationship between planners and clients. Not because planners themselves are lacking in that area, but because circumstances have been so tumultuous that there's been a lot of confusion for everyone. We can all agree that trust forms the cornerstone - the foundation - of the planner/client relationship.

To begin re-building this trust, we need to see a change in the industry to a more client-centered, fiduciary approach. The question is, how do we make that change from being a sales-based culture to being a service-based culture?

First, we must realize that it takes a skill set of both communication and relationship skills that facilitate a relationship of trust. Additionally, I would recommend broadening your view of the planner/client relationship going forward. We should examine how our profession can shift towards a more holistic approach, ensuring that the planner helps a client look at all dimensions of their life. Finally, we need to integrate the financial with the personal to get a better picture of what the whole can be within the financial planning framework.

If you'd like more information, go to our website at www.galvaniccommunications.com, or contact me at galvanic@thegrid.net

Bob Lindner, Lindner Capital Advisors

Hi. My name is Bob Lindner, founder and president of Lindner Capital Advisors, a leader in third party money management.

The one tip I have for today’s advisors is to get a new message. It is absolutely critical for an advisor to have a well defined, interesting message to share with clients. If you’ve had the same message for a while now, perhaps your conversations have gone stale. That means it’s time to find a fresh topic in order to spark renewed interest and rejuvenate relationships.

One of the areas that is ripe for a new story is investment management. There’s been a lot written over the past year about the whys and wherefores of the decline in the markets. A lot of advisors and money managers are asking themselves what they could or should have done differently.

At my firm, we took a serious look at that question, trying to determine what if any changes we will make to our platform moving forward. Despite the popular rumor, Modern Portfolio Theory is not dead. But we will be making a number of changes in the way we manage portfolios.

Our fresh story for our clients is that we will be implementing a new series of portfolios. Although these portfolios would have done a great deal to curtail the losses investors incurred in 2008, they are in fact built upon thirty years of research. The principles of this research have benefited many large institutional investors, public and private retirement plans, endowments, banks and insurance companies. Cost and time are the largest reasons these methodologies have not been introduced by advisers. We have spent the last seven months finding solutions to these two obstacles and are satisfied that we now have a viable approach to incorporating managed futures into client portfolios - for both accredited and non-accredited investors.

To receive a copy of our new white paper, Contemporary Investment Management, visit our website, www.lcaus.com.

Brett S. Ellen, American Financial Network / Securities America

Hello. My name is Brett S. Ellen, president and CEO of American Financial Network.

The one thing I want advisors today to ask themselves is “Am I really covering all of my clients’ needs or am I only focusing on their personal finance?” It is a big world out there with untapped opportunities, especially among business owners and senior executives with an array of business-related financial challenges.

These challenges might have to do with corporate benefit programs, deferred compensation solutions, tax strategies or insurance plans and your clients may want help with these issues. As their trusted advisor, you are in a perfect position to provide the resources and support they need. Not only can you add value to your client relationships, but the growth opportunity for your practice is real, as well.

There are more than 275,000 mid-market companies in the United States. With revenues between $5 million and $500 million, these businesses generally have a small group of decision makers who can listen to recommendations from trusted advisors and make decisions quickly about how to move forward. Imagine the value you’d bring to your business-owner clients if you could be their go-to advisor for all of their business-related issues.

One way I’ve built a successful practice is by utilizing a brain trust of fellow professionals called the Financial Solutions Alliance. I use the alliance, along with the resources offered to me through Securities America where I have consistently ranked as one of their top advisors and registered representatives, to augment my financial planning and wealth management services. The breadth of expertise of the alliance partners includes accounting, investment banking, business consulting, law, real estate and other services. Developing relationships through our alliance allows each member - and their clients - to benefit from our collective knowledge, experience and independent point of view.

It would be nearly impossible for an individual financial advisor to have the range and depth of expertise in all of these areas. But with the team approach, it makes each of the alliance members more valuable to their clients.

Over the years, I’ve been approached by many advisors, asking how I have expanded my practice to its current size - which is approximately $1 B in assets under advisement. If you are interested in learning more about my approach, visit my website, www.afn-net.com.

Nancy Johnson Jones, Strategic Compliance Concepts

Good afternoon. My name is Nancy Johnson Jones, and I’ve been in senior compliance positions for nearly 20 years. I currently run a compliance coaching firm, Strategic Compliance Concepts, which works with financial planners, advisers and broker/dealers.

My goal is to coach you through the compliance maze. . . .

In a word, the biggest challenge for advisers in 2010 is change. You’ll see changes in regulations, changes in how you’re perceived with clients and with regulators. You may very well be forced to change your relationship with clients and forced to change your standard of care – regulators may require you to be a fiduciary. But will the definition of fiduciary remain the same or will that change as well? And exactly what is the definition of fiduciary?

I believe you’ll also see major changes in who regulates your business – the possibilities being bandied about are never-ending. Will it be the SEC? The states? FINRA for RIAs? Who will regulate financial planners? Will financial planners be regulated separately from investment advisers and brokers? Will there be extra layers of regulation added or will regulation truly become harmonized?

Will the new ADV Part 2 finally be approved and put into place? Can you even imagine the changes that little form will have on your compliance requirements? Do you have any idea how the regulators will react during audits now that they’ve received such extreme criticism over missing obvious red flags in the Madoff case? I’d bet they won’t be very understanding – at least until the sting wears off.

These changes – and whatever else the regulators come up with – will come fast and furious over the next 12 -18 months. Are you ready for them? Is your staff ready? Most importantly, without the knowledge and time needed to stay on top of new requirements, will you be ready when the regulators knock on your door?

To help you and your staff sleep at night, consider developing an on-going relationship with an outside compliance firm – someone to answer questions as they arise and provide guidance when needed. Remember the better they know your business, the more they can help you. Just like your clients – you want personalized – not generic advice. If I can answer any questions, please contact me at njohnsonjones@gmail.com or visit www.compliancemaze.com. Thank you!

Geoff Davey, FinaMetrica

Hello. I’m Geoff Davey, co-founder of FinaMetrica, a psychometrics-based risk profiling software company. Prior to founding my company, I was a financial planner for 20 years.

In this current market environment, I believe that the number one thing advisors should be thinking about is how to turn the negatives of the past 12-18 months into a positive for themselves and their clients, and into opportunities to convert prospects into clients.

Risk has been very evident recently and many would be unsure about where they stand and what they should be doing. Now is a good time to be doing a risk-based review with clients.

The best place to start a risk-based discussion is with an objective assessment of your client’s risk tolerance - and for couples, individual assessments of both. They and you need an objective starting point now that the turmoil has subsided. They and you need to be confident that their new plans are soundly based, and risk tolerance is a critical base point.

Prospects won’t need any persuading that their risk tolerance is important as is your understanding of it. Your ability to demonstrate expertise in risk tolerance assessment will be a big marketing plus.

The industry standard approach to risk tolerance has always been theoretically flawed and these flaws came home to roost in the Global Financial Crisis.

The only way to make a valid and reliable assessment of a client’s risk tolerance is with a properly-constructed, plain-English, psychometric test - everything else is rubbish!

Take this best-practice opportunity to reinforce relationships with existing clients and build relationships with new clients. If you’d like to learn more about psychometric-based risk tolerance assesments, visit www.riskprofiling.com

Scott Hanson, Hanson McClain Retirement Network

Hi. I’m Scott Hanson, CEO of Hanson McClain Advisors and co-founder of the Hanson McClain Retirement Network. I’ve been a financial professional for almost 20 years and have seen a lot of change in the industry during that time.

The #1 thing that I feel advisors should recognize is that if they don’t have a market niche that they are focused on, they are dead in the water. While that may sound like an extreme statement, I am quite certain that our industry is much like the medical profession. We all know that the general practitioner is a dinosaur. Specialization is the name of the game in medicine, and it’s the wave of the future for financial advisors.

Niche marketing not only enables you to become well-versed in the needs of your chosen market segment. It also allows you to build systems and processes into your practice that help increase your efficiency and improve profitability. This is especially true if you serve the mass-affluent, whose needs, for the most part, are not highly complex.

In my firm, for instance, we focus on employees in the telecommunications and utilities industries. We make it our business to know the details of the companies’ retirement plans so that when the employee retires or when an offer for early retirement is on the table, we can help them make the best decisions and complete the necessary paperwork. Because of the depth of our expertise, we have been able to connect with employees prior to their retirement, providing education and building relationships so that we are the advisor of choice when an individual is ready to make the move. We view what we are doing in these companies and industries as “ground-swell marketing” - a few people in a company get to know us and word spreads rapidly. Employees eagerly attend our retirement education seminars because they know that what they learn will apply directly to their situation. This approach has enabled us to keep the pipeline full, which, as you well know, is the key to a thriving practice.

Whatever niche you choose to serve, whether it’s based on client segmentation or technical expertise, you want to be sure that you are proactive in learning all there is to know about current and perspective clients’ needs. If you’d like to learn more about how we do that at Hanson McClain, visit www.moneymatters.com, or read about one of our network members, Patty Larrimore, in What's Next, the cover story in the September issue of Financial Planning magazine.

There are no secrets to what we do. But, like anything else, it’s all in the execution.

Jim Barnash, Stride Consulting Inc.

Hello. My name is Jim Barnash. I’m a CFP and former president of the FPA. I sold my practice in 2001 and now run a consulting firm called Stride Consulting Inc. We focus on helping advisors realize sustainable business models geared for where the industry is headed.

Financial planners need to closely examine their value proposition for their business. What model they are in doesn’t matter. But if the main value proposition and revenue source is asset management, good luck with that! The vast majority of financial planners aren’t asset managers, they are asset gatherers; but they have led their clients to believe that asset management is the most important service they as planners provide.

Instead what financial planners should be focusing on is the only offering of value and differentiation they have -- their personal advice! A financial planner’s advice is born from the personal experiences they have learned through life, their personal beliefs and values, their experience with client situations from the past and the knowledge they have accumulated over the years. This is the value proposition they should be creating.

Financial planners need to change the client experience and they can do so without becoming therapists. Adding a few new offerings such as mind maps, behavioral financial advice, real time financial plans with client involvement; these will change how their clients experience the planner and the services. Clients will share this experience with friends, family and colleagues. The wonderful feelings they came away with will begin a flow of referrals to their practices.

I will be at the FPA Business Solutions Conference March 1-3 2010 in Dallas where I – as well as a host of other subject matter experts and leading lights – will be focusing on delivering Practice Management Solutions to the attendees. So if you’re interested in digging in to the tactical and the practical – the art and science of Practice Management is what we’ll be focusing on at FPA Business Solutions 2010.

Learn more about me and my firm at www.strideus.com

Jill Hollander, Financial Connections Group

Hello, my name is Jill Hollander. I am founder of Financial Connections Group in the San Francisco Bay Area. I've been a fee-only financial planner and investment manager since 1993.

Marie has asked the question "what is the number one thing that financial planners should be mindful of as we move into 2010, and beyond?”

I think the number one characteristic we must have is adaptability. The dictionary says To Adapt implies a modification according to changing circumstances. A scientific definition is “the behavior that enables an organism to function effectively.”

Haven’t we all had to decide how to adapt? And function effectively for our clients based on recent dramatic events?

We decided to view last year as an opportunity.

One of the ways my firm adapted to the events of last year was to introduce periodic conference calls. Initially, we did not have the means to create this event so our technology grew in the process.

Our clients appreciated the commentary provided. We are able to “touch” them in an efficient manner, always encouraging them to come and see us. It is difficult to gauge how much is too much communication so it loses its effectiveness. It’s a little like Goldilocks trying to find the porridge that is “just right.”

With so many people having the foundation of their financial future shaken, we took the opportunity to modify and fine tune our hourly financial planning practice. We joined the Garrett Planning Network and blended our model and theirs. We hired a planner who just passed the CFP exam to help us with this offering. While it temporarily reduces our profit, we feel it is a down payment on a future revenue stream while helping people during this difficult period.

Going forward, I think our clients need us to be the voice of reason—to separate fact from fiction, knowledge from noise.

I think the trick to moving into 2010 and beyond is to challenge your own philosophy. And, if we continue to believe it is appropriate going forward, stick to it. However it is also necessary to stay flexible as the world around us does change and adapt to those changes that seem applicable to your clients. We have to be able to separate the latest fad or trend in favor of adaptability that promotes our clients’ well-being.

It’s never dull being a contrarian!

If you'd like to dialogue further, my website is www.financialconnections.com

Carol Anderson, Money Quotient

My name is Carol Anderson. I’m the founder and president of Money Quotient, a non-profit organization that conducts research and develops life planning tools and training for financial planners.

My advice to all financial planners, as you look to 2010 and beyond, is to focus your intention on providing the very best in client-centered financial planning service and advice. And, the place to start is to evaluate the strategies you currently use to nurture your client relationships, and then to research and identify the most effective “tools of engagement.”

In contrast to “rules of engagement” that define the circumstances for entering into battle, “tools of engagement” are designed to create interest, focus thinking, and influence cooperation. Within the financial planning profession, we can also think of tools of engagement as ways of communicating that develop client trust and commitment. For many, the answer has been to integrate a life planning focus into their client meetings and interactions. An examination of Adult Learning Theory can help us to understand the wisdom of this approach. Malcolm Knowles (a pioneer in the adult education field) described adult learners as being “relevancy oriented.” In other words, they will not seek or utilize new information until they understand how it relates to their own lives.

Likewise, in financial planning relationships, clients won’t be totally committed to the financial planning process until they “see” how it relates to their individual needs, circumstances, and aspirations. This is not to say that financial skills and knowledge have become less important in serving clients well, but it is the client’s life that must take center stage in the financial planning dialogue and process. Now, with the current market uncertainty, it is more important than ever to build trust and commitment in your client relationships by understanding your clients' true values and priorities.

You can learn more at www.moneyquotient.com

Marie Swift, Impact Communications - Closing Comments

This has been a wonderful session. What a variety of great ideas! Thank you to all of our Thought Leaders -- and to all of you who took time away from the exhibit hall (and your lunch!) to be with us today. It is truly an honor to be here with all of you.

During FPA Anaheim: Be sure to stop by Booth #651 - the Industry Thought Leaders booth - and do continue the conversation at http://www.twitter.com/fpAssociation and http://www.fpatwitterlive.blogspot.com.

FPA Twitter Live! with Industry Thought Leaders

Join marketing communications guru, Marie Swift, and 20 industry Thought Leaders for a new and exciting session - FPA Twitter Live!

Each Thought Leader will have two minutes to answer the question: "What is the number one thing that financial planners should be mindful of as we move into 2010 and beyond?"

This session will be in the FPA Learning Center in the Exhibit Hall.

Sunday, October 11, 2009
1:15 PM - 2:00 PM
Live Presentation

Be on time as this session will move FAST, from one Thought Leader to the next, and you won't want to miss a single thought. Who will join Marie Swift on stage at the FPA Twitter Live! session? Show up and find out!

Twitter Feeds and Blog postings will occur in real time Sunday October 11, 2009.

Can't be there in person? SIGN UP NOW to follow @fpAssociation on http://www.twitter.com. You'll get live Twitter feeds, in real time, direct from the conference room floor.

Watch http://www.twitter.com/fpAssociation for snippets of their wisdom and links to relevant information.

We'll also be posting blog entries and video clips here on http://www.fpatwitterlive.blogspot.com.

Conference information here: http://www.fpaannualconference.org

Full schedule of conference events here: http://www.fpaannualconference.org/ProgramSchedule/Sessions/FullSchedule/

Spread the word!