Vallierre was doubtful about the efficacy of "taking 1% or 2% of FICA and putting it into self-directed accounts." He added he would not be shocked if the top marginal income tax rate went from "35% to 37% or 38%." However, he voiced confidence that tax rates on dividends and capital gains would not climb above 15% before December 2008.
Moisand Named FPA President-Elect
Daniel B. Moisand, a Melbourne, Fla.-based planner who has been active in the Financial Planning Association and its predecessor organization for eight years, will serve as the organization's president-elect in 2005. Moisand, a principal at Spraker, Fitzgerald, Tamayo & Moisand LLC, has been a member of the FPA's board of director's since last year.
"I'm extremely honored to have been elected to this position," he says. "This is an exciting time for the financial planning profession, and I'm delighted to be part of it."
As president-elect, a position somewhat akin to the role of vice president, Moisand will be among three members of the FPA's executive committee, along with 2005 President Jim Barnash and Elizabeth Jetton, the current FPA president who will serve as chairwoman next year.
Among other responsibilities, executive committee members act as
spokespeople for the organization and play a key role in setting its
overall agenda. The 37-year-old Moisand joins the upper echelon of FPA
leadership at a time when
the organization is dealing with some burning issues.
In July, the FPA sued the Securities and Exchange Commission in an effort to derail the proposed broker-dealer exemption to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The SEC later decided to reopen the issue, with the promise that it will make a final decision by the end of the year. The lawsuit, meanwhile, remains alive.
The FPA, which wants brokers and advisors to be on an even playing field when it comes to regulation, is still waiting upon the SEC's ruling before deciding on how to proceed, according to Moisand. "It's a very big issue," he says. "The American public is pretty tired of not being able to distinguish between people who are serving them in a brokerage capacity and in an advisory capacity."
He also expects the FPA to be involved in other prominent issues that may arise in 2005, such as proposals to change the nation's Social Security system. "I think you can expect the FPA to be involved with a lot of issues along those lines," he says. "We certainly believe the financial planning community should have a seat at the table with any public policy discussions."
Moisand currently serves as the FPA board's liaison to the FPA Government Relations Committee.