Practice Management Solutions March/April 2012 : Page 5

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE he ﬁ nancial majority of ﬁ rms still employ fewer than ﬁ ve people. planning We must develop a career path for profession, those entering the profession that is like the rest of the country, is graying. consistent throughout the country. Many have said that our profession is As the pioneers uniquely fortunate because planners are considering retirement, a large are able to ﬁ nd a niche that interests Paul H. Auslander, CFP® them and allows them to pursue their wave of young 2012 FPA President passions. We must also be cognizant of professionals is the fact that those entering the profes-entering the workforce. However, with sion have little or no experience and some 300 ﬁ nancial planning programs aren’t in a position to ﬁ gure out what producing hundreds of new planners that niche is, or should every year, our profes-be. Therefore, it’s up to sion faces a signiﬁ cant all of us—academics, problem: How do we students, new profession-build the infrastructure als, mid-career profes-to support these new It’s up to all of us sionals and veterans—to planners? We must work together to ensure place a greater empha-to work together that the next generation sis on establishing and to ensure that the of planners can ﬁ nd maintaining pathways next generation jobs that ﬁ t their career for these qualiﬁ ed aspirations. graduates to use their of planners can This is an exciting time newly acquired train-ﬁ nd jobs that to be a young person in ing and education. this profession. It is still a According to FPA’s ﬁ t their career relatively new occupational 2010–2011 Financial aspirations. pursuit, and we must be Planning Salary Survey, very focused on the career 87 percent of the paths of our new plan-students surveyed (who ners. If we can harness our experience, anticipate graduating from a ﬁ nancial planning degree or certiﬁ cation program creativity and eff orts to build a strong professional future for this up-and-coming between 2010 and 2013) will hold a group of very smart people, our profession bachelor’s degree upon graduation, and and our country will beneﬁ t. 61 percent will hold the CFP® certiﬁ ca-As I write this I know that many tion. Many individuals entering the people are developing creative solutions, ﬁ nancial planning profession expect and many more will come. I can’t wait to start in a junior ﬁ nancial planner or to see what develops as a result of our paraplanner position. This is a major collective eff orts. hurdle for a profession in which the CALENDAR OF EVENTS For a complete listing of FPA events, visit www.FPAnet.org/Professionals/Events T Conferences/Conferences. For Virtual Learning Center (VLC) webinars, visit www. FPAnet.org/VLC . All events are subject to change. MARCH 4–6 FPA Business Solutions 2012 Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Burlingame, Calif. www.FPASolutions.org APRIL 26–28 32nd Annual South Florida FPA Conference “ Presented by FPA of Greater Fort Lauderdale Westin Hotel Fort Lauderdale, Fla. www.SouthFloridaFPA.org MAY 5–8 FPA Retreat 2012 Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Gainey Ranch Scottsdale, Ariz. www.FPARetreat.org MAY 29–30 2012 FPA NorCal Conference, 40th Anniversary Event ” Palace Hotel San Francisco San Francisco www.FPANorCal.org JULY 27–29 2012 FPA NexGen Gathering St. John’s University St. Cloud, Minn. www.FPAnet.org/Professionals/Connect/ CommunitiesofInterest/NexGen SEASON PASS TO FPA CONFERENCES Get signiﬁ cant savings on FPA conference registrations throughout the year. Learn more at www.FPA net.org/Professionals/EventsConferences/ Conferences/SeasonPass. www.FPAnet.org/PracticeManagement March/April 2012 | Practice Management Solutions 5

President’s Message

The financial planning profession, like the rest of the country, is graying. As the pioneers are considering retirement, a large wave of young professionals is entering the workforce. However, with some 300 financial planning programs producing hundreds of new planners every year, our profession faces a significant problem: How do we build the infrastructure to support these new planners? We must place a greater emphasis on establishing and maintaining pathways for these qualified graduates to use their newly acquired training and education. According to FPA’s 2010–2011 Financial Planning Salary Survey, 87 percent of the students surveyed (who anticipate graduating from a financial planning degree or certification program between 2010 and 2013) will hold a bachelor’s degree upon graduation, and 61 percent will hold the CFP® certification. Many individuals entering the financial planning profession expect to start in a junior financial planner or paraplanner position. This is a major hurdle for a profession in which the majority of firms still employ fewer than five people. We must develop a career path for those entering the profession that is consistent throughout the country. Many have said that our profession is uniquely fortunate because planners are able to find a niche that interests them and allows them to pursue their passions. We must also be cognizant of the fact that those entering the profession have little or no experience and aren’t in a position to figure out what that niche is, or should be. Therefore, it’s up to all of us—academics, students, new professionals, mid-career professionals and veterans—to work together to ensure that the next generation of planners can find jobs that fit their career aspirations. This is an exciting time to be a young person in this profession. It is still a relatively new occupational pursuit, and we must be very focused on the career paths of our new planners. If we can harness our experience, creativity and efforts to build a strong professional future for this up-and-coming group of very smart people, our profession and our country will benefit. As I write this I know that many people are developing creative solutions, and many more will come. I can’t wait to see what develops as a result of our collective efforts.

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