By:
Frankie Corrado, CFP®
Something Happened at the 2017 ACP Annual Conference
Heading into the 2017 annual conference of the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners (ACP), there was much on my mind. My firm, Blue Blaze, is growing out of its “boutique” shell with our eyes on ambitious impact and industry re-defining value to clients. As a newly elected member to the ACP Board of Directors, I was intent on bringing my energy, ideas, and work ethic to face the challenges of the organization. And to top it off, this was my second year as the conference chair. Our conference is revered by the outstanding member-financial planners that make up the relatively “unknown” non-profit, whose core mission is to deliver the highest quality financial planning services while eliminating the conflicts of interest that permeate throughout the industry.
Where We Were
It was more than a little ironic that our conference was held in the shadow of a large Merrill Lynch sign. After all, we ACP advisors feel and act very differently about our work, and we are constantly dumbfounded at that highly corporatized, product-based business model and how it has been so successful. Why do the folks who charge more to do less, keep adding clients...especially since the advice and services they do deliver are not always in line with what is in the best interest of the client? (Skeptics of this point only need to look at the big banks’ resistance to any fiduciary rule.)
The ACP Annual Conference is a place for our tribe of fiduciary warriors to gather, share, and learn with and from each other. This year’s conference, held in San Antonio, was another highly successful meeting that exemplified why we take time away from work and our families each year to meet. And this year, we spent a lot of time talking about something new -- a way of providing service that recognizes our commitment to using our financial acumen to fuel dreams and lead people towards their goals. We talked about financial life guidance.
What We Did
Holding to our longstanding tradition, the conference’s major value is largely powered by the membership, as demonstrated by the many member-driven presentations and panels sponsored by leaders and future leaders in the field. Panels and presentations covered both current, hot button issues, as well as long term, forward-thinking and planning-focused concepts. Hot-button topics included student loan repayment strategies (there are many), best practices on designing retirement portfolios (bond ladders are a great start), providing advice around real estate using a new ACP tool (most people think their rental properties are great...most people don’t consider all the factors that go into the phrase “return on investment”), and creating real alpha for the client through smart, planning-focused tax strategies. The forward-thinking sessions were equally profound. What happens if your advisor becomes ill or dies suddenly?
ACP members rolled out a new way to make sure that an advisor’s clients are still taken care of in an unfortunate event of their absence. One session looked at firms within ACP that are experiencing sturdy growth and probed for details of their “secret sauce” (which they gladly gave away - we are all family!). Others focused on critical client-facing processes that we all use, such as on-boarding a new client or the best use of technology. Even my father, Frank, hosted an intimate “Under the Trees” session where he was able to share with others our own firm’s journey toward Life Planning with the Kinder Institute as being “what we do”. And it’s not just the conference sessions where these ideas were shared. There was plenty of time throughout the conference for members to network and socialize to build deeper bonds and grow closer as an organization.
Why This Matters
Why is this important? I think it’s important (and it’s one of the reasons why I happily and gratefully accepted the challenge of joining the ACP board) because when we’ve done what we set out to do, there will be an entire network of ethical, values-based financial life guides and firms available and able to help people with goals that focus on their optimal life...not just their bottom line. And it’s important because I truly believe that there is no group of people better suited to make this happen than us at ACP.
Many of the firms in ACP are small - perhaps one to five people in size. But since we share core values and hold strong bonds, it’s almost like we have a 155-person company that we can rely on if we needed. For younger advisors in the organization, they have access to bright and experienced planners who have seen a thing or two. For more experienced planners, they can not only learn from their counterparts, but also develop relationships with the younger planners who they might look to sell or transition their own practices to one day.
Those of us who attend conferences really develop a rapport with fellow planners, allowing us to feel more comfortable reaching out and saying, “Hey Bob! It was great seeing you in San Antonio. I remember you telling me about some of the experiences you had in {name of complex situation} and I have a client facing a similar situation. I had some ideas I was going to bring up with them, but wanted to bounce them off you and get your take - would that be ok?” First, Bob would be thrilled we called on him because ACP advisors love to help each other out. And, the feedback that Bob can provide us will either confirm what we had in mind or even add some additional things to think about.
We will transform the field of financial planning because we already know the value of helping each other and making our common goals and the goals of our clients our priority. And we have seen, time and time again, when we do this, we prosper and grow in ways we cannot predict.
I came into the ACP conference with much on my mind. I left feeling a deeper level of trust, respect, and admiration for where the organization and its members are heading. Simply put, ACP represents the future of financial planning. We may still be small, but we are red hot coals that have been heating up...it’s only a matter of time before we ignite.