I returned home last night from the NAPFA Practice Management Convention in San Diego where I led a breakout session on Financial Therapy.  I also spoke on “The Killer App of Life Planning” where I explained my financial planning process.  This was the first time I had presented at a NAPFA conference.  I had a great time and I hope those who attended my sessions found them insightful.

Between the presentations I took in enough classes to put me over 80 hours of continuing education for the year.  The most interesting session dealt with the needless and costly plethora of regulations coming my way as a result of the mountains of legislation passed by Congress to further regulate the financial profession.  This won’t result in the public being any more protected from thieves than before, but it will mean that those of us who are honest, hard working advisers will have to charge more for our services to comply with the new regulations.  

I will be home for a whole 10 days before my next trip to Estes Park, CO, where I will attend the national Nazrudin Retreat, a think tank where the brightest minds in financial planning will be in attendance.

I’ve traveled to an educational event four out of the last five weeks.  I am ready to give my brain a break!

Last week I was at the national convention of NAPFA, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors.  This is the association of financial advisors made up exclusively of advisors who are fee-only, meaning they do not sell financial products.

Some of the more interesting sessions I attended included a half-day on Roth Conversions, another half-day on the new health care bill, and a half-day on analyzing annuities.  In addition, I attended presentations from Chris Davis of the NY Davis fund,syndicated columnist  Jean Chatzky, and Gary Bradt, a psychologist. Continue Reading »