The Young Financiers had the pleasure of hosting Michael for dinner after the afternoon chapter meeting. Some pictures are posted below of our experience at the Red Rim Bistro in the Phoenix Airport Marriott.
Michael got started with the meeting sharing about his background. He had mentioned getting started in the insurance field. That is where his CLU and ChFC designations were derived. He then moved to an independent broker/dealer for a few years, ending up in his current position as Director of Financial Planning at Pinnacle Advisory Group in Maryland. The firm is a fee-only RIA with $600+ million under management. Michael was able to describe his experience under the three different environments. They each seem to have their place in the industry, but Michael seems to like where he is at currently. Michael has transitioned over the years to more of an author and commentator in the financial planning industry with the various books he has published as well as "The Kitces Report", similar to Bob Veres' newsletter style but focused more on the technical aspect of the business. For more information about Michael and his activities, feel free to visit www.kitces.com.
Michael was interested in hearing about each of the Young Financiers' backgrounds. Many in the group were ASU graduates.
The Young Financiers' attendees were locked into listening to Michael's commentary.
A diner at the restaurant was nice enough to take a picture of the entire group present for Michael's get together.
The dynamics of the attendees were great because we actually had representation from a wirehouse or brokerage perspective for the first time. FPA of Greater Phoenix President Neal Van Zutphen had made a comment in the past about "cross-pollinating" the members with various models for doing business in the financial arena. The numerous parties involved could gain perspective and learn how things are done outside of their own philosophies.
As a result of Michael's graciousness to speak with the Young Financiers, our group thought it would be appropriate to provide a small token of our appreciation. We thought a gift with southwestern flair (a glass cactus and desert coasters) would be most relevant and memorable since Michael was a visitor from the East Coast.
Michael shared the history of how NexGen began. He said the movement had started at a FPA National Conference. A group of younger financial professionals got together at this event aside from the other activities occurring. They had modeled it after a financial group called the "Rat Pack". In 2006, they had the first gathering of NexGen at a conference in the summer. I believe there were 95 attendees. The FPA agreed to provide support to get this program up and running. In 2007, about 110 members attended the NexGen conference. They are expecting an additional 20-40 more for 2008's event, which is July 25th-27th in St. Cloud, Minnesota. More information can be found at http://www.fpanet.org/nexgen/. There were no representatives from Arizona last year, but we are planning to have multiple attendees from the Young Financiers this summer.
Thanks again to Michael Kitces for providing insight, perspective, and inspiration to the Young Financiers group. We are very appreciative and will continue to be the change as the next generation of financial planners in Phoenix, Arizona.
Our next Young Financiers meeting will be in April. We are looking to have a Technology in Financial Planning session where we will delve into the impact of technology on our business and create a best practices forum in relation to systems and processes. This will pertain to the efficiency of a financial organization.
