Introducing NexGen - the Next Generation of Financial Planners

I think it's time to discuss how NexGen could fit into the Young Financier's picture and vice versa. We will begin with an introduction of the concept, determine who is influential in this movement thus far, and complete the message with how we can play a role as the Young Financiers.

To give a background about NexGen, we would refer to the Financial Planning Association for inspiration. NexGen is the next generation of financial planners in the country (potentially the world someday). In the past, there had not been an avenue for the younger professionals to connect with one another in a formal fashion. The majority of the members of the Financial Planning Association were and are an earlier generation of professionals such as the Baby Boomers, Generation Jones, and the Baby Busters. There is nothing wrong with this, it just is the way it has been. The profession used to (and maybe still does) attract a career-changing individual, whereas now the trend seems to be toward those straight out of college wanting a career in financial planning. There are even colleges and universities who have degrees in financial planning, namely Texas Tech. Many students secure internships with financial planning firms that lead to full-time opportunities.

NexGen may have been underserved for some period of time, but a select set of individuals created an idea to do something about this. NexGen arose and now it is on to the growth stage of the organization. Michael Kitces, the Chairman of the group, was a key proponent in making this happen. Sabrina Lowell, the current President of NexGen, has been crucial in steering the ship for 2007. Mike Branham is the President-Elect and will chart the path for the following year. I read an article recently about Aaron Coates, another co-founder of NexGen. The professionals involved in this project are truly incredible and I look forward to getting to know them as NexGen progresses.

To get to how YF fits in the picture, I would like to give you a background of how we began. I had been attending the Financial Planning Association of Greater Phoenix meetings since June of 2006. I quickly learned that I was one of the youngest members in the chapter. It was great to speak with veteran planners in the industry, but I needed a deeper connection with others of my demographic with the similar passion for financial topics. Throughout the year and into 2007, I recognized individuals like myself who were recently out of school and working with independent financial planning firms as well as firms that support the financial planning process. I wanted to create an avenue where we could get together as a group to discuss various topics related to what we are doing in the field and develop long-term relationships to provide support throughout our careers. I identified about half a dozen individuals who stood out in this industry. Through conversations about what's possible, I generated interest within these people and created the Young Financiers. Since our first meeting in June of this year, I have discovered another half-dozen or so individuals who would be a great fit for our group.

NexGen has had annual conferences for the past couple of years, where young professionals from across the country traveled to attend an event to bring this group together. In fact, if I am not mistaken there were 120 members at the meeting this past July in Minnesota. On a national level, the group is picking up momentum. I believe the challenge now is to create a local and/or regional presence across the U.S. It seems as though the Young Financiers would be a good example of what the local presence of NexGen would look like. We would definitely like to pursue what this would look like. We are for the sharing of knowledge and providing assistance in the areas pertinent to our success.

I wanted to provide a few articles from national publications discussing NexGen:
NexGen: The Sequel from Financial Planning Magazine, September 2007
The Competition for Young Talent is Heating Up from FPA Solutions Magazine, October 2007
Young Rebel With a Cause from Investment Advisor Magazine, September 2007