This week’s first annual NAPA DC Fly-in Forum was a seminal event in the evolution of the plan advisor profession — the latest in a series of initiatives by ASPPA and NAPA to help the profession move to the next level.
Washington and the process it goes through to enact laws and promulgate regulations is a mystery to most plan advisors, who feel that they have little or no ability to effect change. It’s like being aboard a ship that goes from one port to another with no control over where passengers end up. Just as behavioral science opened up the doors to academia and scientific research, NAPA in general, and the Forum in particular, have given plan advisors access to the decision making process in Washington. Think of it as some influence over which port the retirement system ship can dock most safely in.
The first step by ASPPA in the maturation of the profession began in the early 2000s with the 401(k) SUMMIT, which was the first industry event to acknowledge that the profession of being a plan advisor actually existed. To most of the world — even many broker dealers — the idea that some advisors focus a substantial amount of their time and generate a significant percentage of their income from employer-sponsored retirement plans like 40(k)s was inconceivable. Yet more than 500 people showed up. Today the SUMMIT has become “the industry convention,” with more than 1,500 people — including 500 advisors — expected at the 2014 SUMMIT in New Orleans next March.
The second step in this process was the creation of NAPA, which celebrates its second birthday on Oct. 1. NAPA now enjoys nearly 7,000 members, most of whom are plan advisors, and more than 100 Firm Partners who have shown their support of the profession. In fact, the list of NAPA Firm Partners now includes so many of the major providers and broker dealers that the ones not supporting plan advisors through NAPA are conspicuous by their absence.
And through events like the Forum and the efforts of ASPPA’s government affairs staff, NAPA gives the profession a voice in Washington at a critical time for our industry and profession.
Next was the creation of NAPA Net on Oct. 1, 2012. The web portal and NAPA Net Daily has enjoyed strong support, with more than 20,000 unique monthly visitors and nearly 25,000 people opening the Daily every week — including key lawmakers and staff on Capitol Hill. Many professionals appreciate that the NAPA Net Daily saves them time by highlighting the important issues of the day in a succinct manner and with practical insights. But the Daily also gives a face and personality to NAPA, showing members how the association is working with policy makers in Washington to advocate on their behalf. Just as importantly, it provides meaningful, real-time insight into how the retirement planning ship is being steered, where it’s likely to go next, and how plan advisors can stay a step ahead. NAPA Net also provides a unified industry voice when storms threaten, like the Yale Law School letters or the PBS/Frontline program.
Finally, the Forum brought this whole process to the next level by bringing elite plan advisors to Washington, not just to hear from congressional leaders, but to benefit from from the Forum's unique two-step approach:
• hearing from Washington insiders, including members of Congress and high-ranking staffers and federal officials, about their take on issues critical to the industry, and sharing the industry's perspective on those same issues; and
• actually visiting with Senators and Congressmen and their key staffers in their offices to explain what plan advisors do and what we're concerned about.
It’s like gaining access to the captain’s cabin to explain how the direction he is steering the ship in is affecting the passengers and suggesting ways to avoid dangerous waters.
As one plan advisor put it, he goes to so many meetings every year that he almost missed the one that really matters in terms of actually affecting his profession. He called it “an investment in his practice.” And while his colleagues can read about what’s happening in DC as they try to keep up with the many changes their clients depend on them to track and report, this advisor can differentiate himself by explaining that through the Forum he has direct access to not only keep abreast of changes in Washington, but to actually affect them. While almost every advisor can create a four-color investment review, benchmark fees or offer access to top providers, very few can say that they actually meet with members of Congress and influence policy.
Though we have a long way to go, the first annual NAPA DC Fly-in Forum was another important step in this process of making sure this ship we call the retirement industry avoids dangerous waters. There’s a lot at stake.
