FPA of Northern California

Fall 2017 Issue
President's Message
President-Elect
NexGen
Thirsty Thursday Mixer
Advocacy
Milestones
Appreciation Event
Career Development
Pro Bono
Upcoming Meetings
2017 Chapter Sponsors

Quick Links
Stay in Contact


President's Message - Jenny Hood, CFP®
Jenny Hood
Hello fellow FPA of Northern California members,

Welcome to the last quarter of 2017 and my last newsletter as the president of our association. As we head into fall, the changing of the seasons signals not only a change in the weather but a change of activities as well. At least it does for me. I enjoy the transition from the hustle and bustle of all of the outdoor summer activities into the bundling up and hibernation that fall offers. And with less than 90 days left of 2017, the cooler weather offers the perfect chance to reflect on how we can each finish out 2017 feeling accomplished. I have been humbled, honored and proud to see everything that the FPA of Northern California has accomplished thus far. I think we have done a fantastic job of reaching our goals for 2017 - increasing our engagement with sponsors and with members.

Since this is my last newsletter as president, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the 2017 board for all of their support and hard work. I have also appreciated each of our members that have contributed to the success of our chapter this year. Whether it was by attending a meeting, a mixer or other event, stepping up and volunteering, or bringing a colleague along. It is these small acts that add up together to create a big difference. And that is why I have tried to weave a sense of community throughout everything that took place this year.  Read more here

President-Elect - Matthew Page, CFP®   
Matthew Page
As you may be aware, our chapter recently started a study group for our members and sponsors.  The first meeting was held on August 23, 2017 in Sacramento.  We had about a dozen attendees and we discussed the article titled, "To Think...Like A CFP", written by the late Richard Wagner.  To summarize our discussion, many felt as though our profession has come a long way since the article was originally written in the early 1990's.  However, as a profession, we are still dealing with many of the same issues now that were mentioned in the article.  One issue that was brought up several times in our discussion was how to distinguish true financial planners from others in our industry.  Part of the problem from the public's perspective is that most of the licensed people in the financial industry call themselves financial advisors, but actually are doing more insurance or banking sales then advising.  The group agreed that overtime the CFP designation will hopefully become something the public seeks out before they pick out an advisor.

For our next meeting, we will be getting together in Roseville.  One of our chapter sponsors, Westlake, Grahl and Glover, has graciously offered the use of their office for our next meeting which will be held on Wednesday, November 1, 2017 from  
12 p.m. to 1 p.m.  This will be a brown bag event and we will be discussing a case study.  If you would like more information about the FPA of Northern California Study Group, please contact Matt Page at matt@lucasplanners.com.

View the case study

Click here to register

I hope to see you there!  
 
NexGen - Alexandria Cole 
 
Alexandria Cole
When did you take your CFP?

My name is Alexandria Cole, the NexGen Director for FPA of Northern California. I am dedicating this quarter's newsletter to all the CFP candidates taking their exam in 30 days. (PS that's me too!!)

I ask when did you take your exam because I recently had a discussion with other CFPs about what the going pass rate is these days and it made them ponder what the past rate was when they took the exam.

To give some context, for this past July 2017, the pass rate was 64.4%.

Check your year below at the CFP board's website:
https://www.cfp.net/news-events/research-facts-figures/cfp-examination-statistics#Historical

They have a lot of interesting statistics on demographics of who's taking the CFP and gives some current information on how the CFP is stacking up today for NexGen who are entering the profession for 2017.

As I started my journey into "Study Mode", the best way to get ready for the CFP exam was to set my environment up for success. That's right, I have everyone taking the test with me in November, whether that's my study group quizzing me, my mentors testing me or just my job understanding my stress level during this time. Everyone has to be on board if you plan to have the NexGen in your office succeed. Continue reading here  
         
Thirsty Thursday Networking Mixer - November 2nd 


This is a great way to interact with your peers in a casual environment!

Date:
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Time: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Location: Wildwood Kitchen & Bar, 556 Pavilions Lane,  Sacramento, CA

This is a no host event. No RSVP required.

Sponsored by:

 
Advocacy - Neena Moorjani 
     Introducing Secure Choice
 
Neena Moorjani
There is a new retirement plan in place for small business owners in California. Secure Choice, signed into law by Governor Brown a year ago, mandates that employers with more than five employees have to offer a retirement plan or facilitate their employees' enrollment into the new government managed retirement program.

This new government program, called Secure Choice, is a voluntary program - employees can opt not to participate - and contributions are made via the payroll mechanism. The payroll contribution begins at 3% of salary and there is an option to change contributions at any time with an escalation of contribution rates up to 8% of salary. Employees will have the ability to stop or change the rate at any time.

Up to the first three years of the program the contributions will be invested in U.S. Treasuries, or similarly low-risk investments. Participant fees would be low and their account would be portable. Mandated employers would be exempt from ERISA. Read more here
 
Appreciation Networking Event - What a Night!
Thank you to everyone who came out to our Past President and Sponsor Appreciation event at Seasons 52! And thank you very much to our Sponsorship Director, Launi Cooper, for sponsoring the evening. It was great to see so many faces and get to know everyone on a more personal level through our Ice Breaker game. The night also included a strategic discussion where we were able to get some helpful feedback on how to ensure we can continue to give value to our members and sponsors and support our chapter into the future. We are already looking forward to next year's event!
 

Some of our chapter sponsors who were able to join us.


Our presidents  past current and future.
 
Thank you to everyone who was able to join us for this event
 
   
Members Celebrating Milestones
 
10 Years  
Carmen Gunther 
Stanley Leong
 
15 Years 
Carol Parlin
 
20 Years
Larry Frank
 
30 Years
Jon Brandes 
     
  35 Years
Paul Booth 

 
 
Career Development - Chase Armer, EA, CFA, CFP®
Chase Armer
Volunteering as a Career Development Tool

Many of us are familiar with the 10,000 hour rule. The idea is that it takes 10,000 hours of persistent practice to become an expert at an activity. However, many financial planners in their early years as members of the profession can find it difficult to spend enough time in front of clients to get the practice they need to refine their client presentation skills. This is where FPA volunteer opportunities can help.

One of the areas where our local FPA chapter has excelled is our pro bono activities. While the focus of FPA pro bono is to help others and promote the value of financial planning, it can also be a great resource for planners seeking career development opportunities. One of the best opportunities for new CFP® Professionals is the FPA Financial Planning Day coming up on October 21st. This event is a unique opportunity for planners to spend several hours meeting with individuals with a wide range of financial challenges and questions. For some new planners, it is the equivalent of a week or two of client meetings in terms of the number of people helped, the variety of questions addressed, and the skills tested.

As a part of the FPA of Northern California's career development initiative, we encourage new planners and students to take advantage of our pro bono activities to refine their skills and get the practice they need to take their skills to the next level. If you have any questions about FPA volunteer activities and how they could benefit you, contact Chase Armer at 916-361-0100 or CArmer@PlannedSolutions.com.    
 
Pro Bono - Landon Tymochko, MBA, CFP®
   
Landon Tymochko
Woohoo! We are rounding the bend and heading for the home stretch of 2017! Isn't it great that fall is back! The temperature is starting to dip. Pumpkin flavored lattes are back. Stores are already selling Christmas trees!

2017 Financial Planning Day: Saturday, October 21st 9am - 3pm, West Sacramento City Hall


W ell, I probably don't have to tell you that our chapter's big pro bono activity is quickly approaching. The 7 th annual Greater Sacramento Financial Planning Day is happening on Saturday, October 21st from 9 am - 3 pm. If you haven't participated in past events, I'd encourage you to volunteer, or at least come check it out. And please share the event with others in your community that could benefit from the event.

Many of you enjoy this event as an opportunity to give back and share your expertise as a financial planner and subject matter expert. It is especially important that we offer this type of pro bono financial planning to underserved communities that would otherwise not have access to a qualified CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional.
Continue reading here 
   
Chapter Meetings   


Date: October 13, 2017
Time: 7:30 am - 10:00 am
Title: Status Update on the Secure Choice Program
Speaker: Brian Gould, Deputy Director, California Secure Choice Retirement, Savings Investment Board
Location: Rancho Cordova City Hall, 2729 Prospect Park, Rancho Cordova, CA
Details/Register

Date: October 21, 2017

Time: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Title: Greater Sacramento Financial Planning Day
Location: West Sacramento City Hall
Details/Register
Planner Volunteer Registration
Download Flier
Visit our Facebook Page

Date: November 1, 2017

Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Title: Study Group Meeting (MEMBERS ONLY)
Location: Westlake, Grahl and Glover, 9265 Sierra College Boulevard, Granite Bay, CA 95746
Details/Register

Date: November 2, 2017

Time: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Title: Thirsty Thursday Social Networking Mixer
Location: Wildwood Kitchen & Bar, 556 Pavilions Way, Sacramento
Download Flier Here
No RSVP Required

Please visit
www.fpanc.org for the complete 2017 Calendar of Events
  
Thank You to Our 2017 Sponsors!
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FPA of Northern California
PO  Box 188293
Sacramento, CA 95818
Phone (916) 443-4237
Email holly@fpanc.org
Website www.fpanc.org