Shannon Pike, the new president of the Financial Planning Association, says he cut his teeth by working at a local FPA chapter in Texas nearly 15 years ago.
Now, as president of the organization, he is going to try to align the work of the 91 local chapters, two state councils and FPA’s internal groups to increase their effectiveness and clout.
“FPA is 16 years old and we are talking about where we want to be in another 16 years,” Pike says. “That will take a lot of conversations among members.”
There are a number of national issues buffeting financial advisors, and Pike says he wants FPA to help advisors navigate through the uncertainties. In that vein, the association will return to Washington in June to talk with members of Congress and regulators about regulatory changes.
“There has been a lot of noise about what the incoming administration will do. No matter what Washington does or does not do, we will continue to beat the drum for a fiduciary standard for financial advisors,” he says.
FPA, the largest organization that represents financial planners, along with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc., has held seminars and launched educational efforts to prepare advisors to meet the new U.S. Department of Labor fiduciary standards for retirement plans slated to go into effect in April. Recent studies have shown that a majority of advisors are not prepared to meet the deadline.
“I have long believed that our communities are the single greatest strength of our association. The work we have been doing, and will continue to do, to align and integrate them will serve our association and our members well as we truly create ‘OneFPA,’” adds Pike. ”OneFPA is not a marketing catch phrase, but a bold vision on how professional associations need to operate to thrive.”
FPA will pursue four goals for the coming year: business success for advisors, professional education, community organization and advocacy, Pike says.
Pike is vice president of Tanglewood Legacy Advisors LLC in Houston. Tanglewood is an independent advisory firm that provides private wealth planning, investment strategies and exit planning services to entrepreneurs, executives and business owners.