2. Taking it as a given that NexGen has made great strides, and has attracted the attention of many young financial planners as well third-parties anxious to partner with you, where would you have liked to have seen more progress? What areas could have been more fully exploited or taken advantage of, that perhaps were not as of yet?
Given potential negative connotations, I think I will stay away from the words “exploited” and “taken advantage of”. Like the financial planning profession, NexGen is still very young. While we have had some growing pains along the way, and probably will for some time, I don’t know if I have any real complaints with what we haven’t done yet. NexGen will continue to grow and expand its voice. This will allow us to make an impact on financial planning as it continues to expand and establish its reputation as a true profession.
3. As new president, what would you say are your three top priorities or agenda items?
1. Establishing a course consistent with the values and visions of our membership- Our leadership is currently drafting formal bylaws that we hope will chart the growth and direction of NexGen for the foreseeable future.
2. Continued growth of our membership base, and the partnerships that have been the lifeblood of our organization.
3. Helping this organization facilitate and foster the conversations that will lead to growth and opportunity not only within NexGen, but within the financial planning community as a whole.
4. Have you made the decision yet as to rules for membership? If so, what are they, and if not, what are you anticipating will be the qualifications?
Membership is a hot topic for NexGen leadership, and one that we take very seriously. Firming up the membership criteria is part of the bylaws process that is currently underway. We have definitely considered the impact of changing some of the current requirements. I think what most people think of when they ask this question is the requirement of our members to be members of the Financial Planning Association.
Our organization remains committed to the FPA, and are looking for creative ways for NexGen and FPA to work together to expand our reach. We will likely eliminate the Associate Member category and simply have one membership base of equal rights and benefits. We will continue to require members to be younger than 36 years old, and hope that those of us that are quickly approaching that age will come up with the next iteration of NexGen where we can collectively share and teach.
5. On a more practical level - do you see NexGen with its own web site, apart from the FPA site? Do you see NexGen with its own conference aside from FPA, or will you continue the direct link to them?
We are working diligently to answer some of the technology questions. Our current use of the Yahoo Groups site for our online conversations has worked well, but we want to have a broader web presence. We are looking at options for a website that allows us to communicate news and information in a central location, and hope to share our findings soon. FPA has offered to let us use the technology they have available, but we have not ruled out a need to carve out our own web space in the future.
As for the conference, we already have our own show. FPA provides support logistically and financially, but the conference content and planning is driven by NexGen members. As a fledgling organization, having the support of FPA has been critical in allowing our past two conferences to take shape. We plan continued growth and innovation for this conference moving forward.
6. In your opinion is NexGen an off-shoot of the FPA or is it its own entity, apart from the FPA?
NexGen is an organization of financial planners that share common goals and values. We are considered an FPA Community of Interest, and our relationship with FPA is based on a congruence of values within both organizations. There has been a lot of discussion about our relationship with FPA, and to be truthful, I am interested in learning more about the negative perception some have communicated.
I have enjoyed conversations about this issue over the last few months, and plan to have many more of them in the months to come. I can tell you that NexGen would almost certainly not exist in its current form without the support we have received from FPA. Their commitment to our existence and growth has given us the tools we have needed to succeed. This success has garnered a lot of interest in financial planning communities outside of FPA, and it will be our goal as NexGen leadership to evaluate the best methods of bridging any perceived gaps that exist.
7. How do you see NexGen's association with the FPA evolving over the coming year, or years?
I think relationships that don’t evolve eventually die. FPA remains committed to the growth and success of NexGen, and the relationship between FPA and NexGen is based on shared values and a shared vision for the future of the financial planning profession. As long as those values and vision remain closely tied, I expect our successful relationship with FPA to continue unfettered.
8. Are there any points where NexGen and the FPA differ?
FPA has a diverse membership, and NexGen is no different. FPA and NexGen members naturally disagree on some issues amongst themselves, so it would seem likely that we have, do, and will continue to debate and discuss many of the issues that will shape the future of the financial planning profession. Without such debate and disagreement, the profession becomes stagnant and progress stalls. But I can tell you that major differences, the type that would cause a rift or sever ties between the two organizations, have not surfaced to this point.
9. What makes NexGen unique?
Our uniqueness comes from our membership. This truly is an impressive collection of knowledge and ability. What is amazing is the willingness of all involved to share information with others. This type of sharing only happens within groups that are truly committed to advancing a bigger cause, instead of focusing on their own motives and individual careers.
10. How do you see the landscape for young advisors/planners in 2008? Where do you see them coming from? Where will they get the majority of their training? What will be their major challenges?
The number of accredited financial planning programs at Universities and Colleges across the US continues to grow. Each year these programs graduate more talent, and these young planners will continue to make up a larger percentage of the incoming advisors and planners going forward. Over time, an elevated level of knowledge early in one’s career will be the norm based on the educational opportunities that exist today.
Practical training will still have to happen at the firm level, but less time will be spent teaching the ‘basics’ of financial planning, and more time will be spent mentoring young planners on how to work with clients and on adapting to the human side of what we do. The major challenge for graduates will be to distinguish themselves from the throngs of other graduates with whom they will compete for jobs, while the major challenge facing the firms (and the profession as a whole) will be to create the space and structure for these incoming planners to grow and thrive.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4 Questions with Jude Boudreaux, 2008 Vice President of NexGen
1. What is your role this coming year within NexGen
Vice President
2. What are your goals for NexGen in '08 - where do you see it going?
Growth and institutionalization. Id like us to formalize positions and procedures.
3. How do you see the landscape, overall, for young financial services advisors/planners in '08 changing, if at all - will it get easier? Still very challenging? Do you think independent firms and/or RIA's will be seeking to hire more young planners, advisors and para-planners in '08 or will there continue to be significant barriers to entry?
We need to continue on the path that allows young planners to enter the business in a capacity other than sales. Young lawyers don't start thinking about business development for 3-4 years and I would hope our business heads that way. Young lawyers also know exactly what is required to become a partner also, and that is a huge issue for planners 3-5 years in.
4. Four is in two parts.
Part I - I know that from talking to some industry people that they see these older planners potentially bringing on younger advisors, on salary (say 25k in year one 30k in year two), straight out of school, turning over the bottom part of their book to them and training them with that. Then, turning them loose in year three, and perhaps even including a partnership schedule (or a point in the future when they can buy the senior partner's book). What do you think about something like that?
Part II - Most young planners still won't be coming out of collegiate programs for a while, so where do you see the bulk of training coming from? Who bears ultimate responsibility (other than the advisor) for training? The firm/employer? The B/D? The FPA?
I think there are advisors who are going to try to do it that way, and that's a big challenge in my opinion. I think that the career paths to come into our firm should be a bit more well defined than this, and since I haven't come up with a better conception, I think it would look something like a law firm's track. A new associate isn't expected to come into the firm and start selling new clients on their services, they are expected to work hard for 2-3 years, and then start to bring in some clients over the next 3-4 years.
If they do what they're expected to do, then around year 7 they become a partner in the firm, and get the benefits that go along with that (ownership, etc). I think that's probably more realistic for our business. Even now, 7 to 8 years in for me, it's still hard to "sell" planning services. Hopefully that makes sense.
As far as training, I think that the BDs or insurance companies can train on some of the technical parts, but that's a very small part of the equation. The best "training" that I get is going on appointments with my business partner to see how he handles client meetings, addresses their questions, responds to them, etc. There's also another aspect that I think is often overlooked and that is self-education. There are limitless self-study options in our business, and honestly it doesn't take much to set yourself apart in that area.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6 Questions with Steve Holdsworth, NexGen’s 2008 Secretary
1. Where do you see NexGen going in 2008 and what would you, personally, like to accomplish in your leading role?
In 2008, we plan to finalize NexGen’s By-Laws. We will build on our partnership with the FPA by holding our third annual conference, FPA NexGen 2008, in July and establishing a NexGen web space under the FPA’s Communities of Interest. Likewise with 2007, I can see our membership increasing by 100+ members in 2008.
Personally, I plan to continue to grow our membership so we can build on the success we have had with membership involvement online. At the beginning of 2007, NexGen had approximately 100 members and 60 of those members were on the NexGen Yahoo Online Board, which is where members only connect with each other between the annual conferences on best practices, issues, trends, ideas, etc. NexGen now has approximately 200 members and 140 of those are members of the NexGen Yahoo! Online Board.
A personal goal is to work on getting more of our members actively involved especially those who are not members of the online board. As a member of both the By-Laws and Website Committees, I would like to accomplish the plans mentioned above in these areas. Lastly, I believe it is critical for NexGen Leadership to do what we can to build the bridge between the planning generations (pioneer and young planners) to achieve NexGen’s vision (see below).
2. How do you see the landscape for young financial services professionals in 2008? Do you see it changing much, if at all? If you see changes, what will facilitate them?
I believe the landscape in 2008 will present many opportunities for young professional advisors. Opportunities such as advancement, development of clearly defined career paths, participation in succession plans or partnership, and implementation of formal training programs within RIA firms will increase in 2008. Driving all of these opportunities and change that will likely continue to increase over the next five to ten years are the pioneers of the profession retiring with the rest of the baby boomers.
3. What do you think is NexGen's biggest mission?
I believe NexGen’s biggest mission is to achieve our vision statement of “ensuring the transference of wisdom, tradition, and integrity, from the pioneers of financial planning to the next generation of our profession” in order to advance financial planning and clearly establish financial planning as a profession.
4. How do you deal with the serious lack of training for young reps in the independent channel as opposed to the involved and comprehensive programs offered by the major wirehouses and to some minimal extent, by banks and insurance company B/D's?
RIA firms need to implement a formal and comprehensive training program internally in order to be successful long-term at growing and retaining young professional advisors. The biggest challenges are the length of time and human capital spent to appropriately train young advisors. For those reasons, this should be a critical area of responsibility for founding principals of the firm, since leadership and transference of wisdom come from top down.
In addition to building on technical knowledge from university programs or financial services industry experience, young advisor training should include practice management techniques, communication, relationship, and trust building skills, and a process for marketing themselves to contribute to the growth of the business when appropriate. These development opportunities for young advisors should also be empowering, stimulating, include increasing responsibilities and client interactions, which will develop personal maturity, critical thinking and decision making skills, and will hopefully earn the respect of partners and clients alike.
Young advisors also need to understand and be able to articulate the firm’s values, culture, operations, service model, and plans for growth. In the case of young solo practitioners or smaller firms that do not have the scale to support formal training programs, professional conferences, practice management seminars and classes, study groups and mentors should be pursued.
5. Where are the young reps and advisors going to come from? Do you see them coming straight from new programs offered at such universities as Texas Tech and Baylor or still from insurance company B/D's and to a lesser extent, from wirehouses?
Yes, there will be advisors from the securities industry but to a smaller degree. However, we will continue to see an increasing amount of young advisors that are university trained with degrees and certificates. RIA firms will seek these young advisors for their raw talent, work ethic and technical knowledge. I believe we will also see an increasing amount of mid-career professionals that have changed to the financial planning profession. While these mid-career professionals need to obtain the technical financial planning knowledge, my experience has been that they often times already possess sought after competencies and relevant experience that founding partners are looking for. In addition to professional advisor roles, these mid-career professionals could also pursue Chief Financial, Operations or Compliance Officer roles within the firm right away or within a short period of time.
6. How can NexGen help to make young advisors more successful?
NexGen is the community for young advisors. NexGen helps young advisors be more successful by fostering the transference of wisdom, experience and mentoring from the pioneers of the profession and founding principals of RIA firms. NexGen benefits young advisors by supporting, advising and encouraging one another in our professional advancement. NexGen provides a forum for young advisor members to explore issues common to them, sharing diverse perspectives and finding resolutions to issues. The FPA NexGen Conferences, NexGen Yahoo Online Board, and meetings at other professional conferences give young advisors an opportunity to connect on best practices, discuss issues and trends in the profession, and share ideas on anything from how to handle a client situation to what type of technology do you use. All of these benefits I believe will help a young advisor be more successful.
TAi
Officer Bio’s:
Michael A. Branham, CFP® is a Financial Planner at Cornerstone Wealth Advisors, Inc. He interacts with clients daily on their retirement planning, income tax, cash flow and estate planning needs and also plays an integral role in implementing the firm’s investment portfolio strategies. Along with his work for clients, Mr. Branham’s responsibilities at Cornerstone Wealth Advisors include a variety of operational and management duties.
Mr. Branham attended the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. He began his career as a Financial Advisor at Waddell & Reed before leaving to become a Financial Planning Associate and then Senior Financial Planning Associate at Cornerstone Wealth Advisors, Inc. He earned his Certified Financial Planner™ certification (CFP®) in April 2004, at which time he was promoted to his current position of Financial Planner.
In addition to his duties at Cornerstone, Mr. Branham is active with the Minnesota chapter of the Financial Planning Association (FPA). He currently sits on the MN FPA Board of Directors as Director of Career Development. Prior to joining the Board he served on the Ethics and Government Relations committee from 2001-2005. He also attended the FPA Residency Program, an intensive, one-week financial planning mentorship program, in Lake Arrowhead, CA in October 2004.
Mr. Branham was born and raised in the Twin Cities area. He currently lives in Burnsville with his wife, Julie, and his 3 children: Tyler, Alea, and Zachary. When not working he enjoys time in his children’s school as a volunteer for Junior Achievement, as well as spending time in the wilds of northern Minnesota and at local rinks watching his kids play hockey.
Jude Boudreaux, Mr. Boudreaux joined Bellingrath Wealth Management in 2005 after spending six years building a diversified finance career with two large financial institutions - Janus Mutual Funds and the MassMutual Financial Group. His experience at the two firms allowed him to acquire FINRA series 7 (general securities representative), series 24 (general securities principal), series 6 (investment company products/variable transactions), and series 63 (uniform securities agent state law) licenses. Mr. Boudreaux also served as Agency Supervisory Officer for the MassMutual Financial Group, further enhancing his background in the supervision of investment transactions and registered representatives.
Mr. Boudreaux is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Practitioner, granted by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance from Loyola University New Orleans and is currently pursuing a Masters of Science in Financial Services from the American College in Bryn Mawr, PA. He is a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA), the New Orleans Estate Planning Council, and the Society of Financial Service Professionals. Mr. Boudreaux will also be serving as the 2008 Vice-President of the FPA NexGen Community, a consortium of young financial planners designed to advance the future of the financial planning industry. Mr. Boudeaux lives with his wife Karen in New Orleans, LA.
Steve Holdsworth, MBA, CFP®, CLU®, is a principal and a Director of Client Services and Financial Planning for Legacy Wealth Management, Inc., an employee owned wealth management firm located in Memphis, TN. He is in charge of one of the firm’s three client services teams and he is a member of Legacy Wealth Management’s Board of Directors. He is also responsible for assisting new and existing clients with their comprehensive financial planning and portfolio management needs.
Steve is the 2008 Secretary for the NexGen Group. He is a member of the Financial Planning Association, the Estate Planning Council of Memphis, National Committee on Planned Giving and the Planned Giving Council of Greater Memphis. He received his MBA specializing in Financial and Estate Planning from The University of Dallas in 1999 and BBA in Finance from The University of Texas at Arlington in 1995. Steve is also an instructor for Kaplan Financial through Christian Brothers University’s - Certificate in Financial Planning Program teaching the Fundamentals of Financial Planning & Insurance Planning and Capstone Cases in Financial Planning courses.
He can be reached via e-mail at steve@legacywealth.com
Links:
Click Here to read our original article on the origins of NexGen by John Hintze