What is NAPFA?

I won’t be writing a full blog post this week since I’m spending my week at the NAPFA national Spring Conference. NAPFA is the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. And it’s the best professional organization I have been a part of for the last 7 years.

Over my career, I’ve been in many organizations. Some I only joined because I was expected to be in them, but others I joined because I really found a community of like-minded advisors. One of the organizations I used to be a part of gave lots of continuing education opportunities, but they were really just sales pitches to get advisors to sell their new products to our clients, which I don’t do. Others provided genuine learning opportunities from thought leaders in financial planning.

What sets NAPFA apart from the crowd is that it is for fee-only advisors that want to be a fiduciary for their clients. In other words, they are the good guys. Many advisors call NAPFA the place where “real” financial planners hang out. Sales people are not welcome!

In fact, I tell anyone that is looking for a financial advisor that they should start their search on NAPFA’s Find an Advisor website. Then ask the questions that I covered in my Circle of Trust post.

I love learning, and I love brushing up on my skills. For the next few days I’ll be learning about managing investment risk, the latest laws on using trusts as account beneficiaries, what’s in store for the future of health insurance, and how to better serve my clients in an ever-changing world.

I’m excited to share what I learn with you!