The joint FPA-ACLI information and training program, which will offer continuing education credits, should be available on the FPA's Web site, www.fapnet.com, by December, says the ACLI's Shannon Moser.
Agents and advisors say they already have started noticing a growing interest in LTC insurance.
Appointment
Roy Diliberto, board chairman of the Financial Planning Association, has been named head of the American National Standards Institute delegation, which is helping to develop international standards for the financial-advisory industry.
Correction
An article entitled "Cumbie's Turn At The Wheel" in the March issue of Financial Advisor magazine incorrectly reported that in 2010, planners without CFP licenses will no longer be eligible for membership in the Financial Planning Associa-tion. Non-CFP licensees can still remain members, but not in the FPA's financial-planning division.
Industry Issues Debated At FPA Retreat In Florida
Attendees at the Financial Planning Association's Annual Retreat at the Saddlebrook Resort north of Tampa, Fla., held a spirited discussion about key issues affecting the profession. These included the role of non-CFP licensees within the FPA, the status of corporate members within the association, the organization's legislative agenda and the integration of the chapters and societies of its two predecessor organizations, the International Association For Financial Planning (IAFP) and the Institute of Certified Financial Planners (ICFP).
What was particularly surprising was the degree to which members of both predecessor organizations voiced views that strayed significantly from what the orthodoxy of their former associations. Henry Montgomery, an advisor from Minneapolis who had served as ICFP president and who had opposed the merger, referred to the FPA as his last line of defense. He praised the association for taking a strong stance on the Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called "Merrill Lynch rule," which exempted wirehouse brokers from investment-advisor registration.
Several former ICFP members raised concerns about the role of corporate members and expressed fears that a few big companies with deep pockets could, in effect, use their resources to purchase influence at the association. However, the FPA is sending signals that it intends to be a practitioner's organization first, and officials are aware that if they stray from that course, members might defect.