I hope you were able to join us at this year’s 401(k) Summit in Las Vegas earlier this month. If you couldn’t make it, you missed out on quite an experience. The 2013 Summit was the biggest ever — with more than 1,400 people in attendance — and offered programming that many attendees said was the best they had ever seen. More advisors attended than ever, too. In fact, the percentage of advisors practically doubled from last year.
The other thing that a lot of people are still talking about is the energy level at the Summit. In the workshops, in the exhibit hall, at the early-morning breakfast briefings, at the packed general sessions — attendees were engaged and enthusiastic about being there. Many thanks to everyone who made this year’s Summit a smashing success: the sponsors, the speakers, the exhibitors, the ASPPA staff on-site — and especially every one of the NAPA members who volunteered to develop the program and host this great event.
The Summit was the first and biggest NAPA activity of 2013, but it’s far from the last. Here’s a quick glimpse of what’s in store for the rest of the year:
• NAPA webcasts — The first of four quarterly webcasts — on the latest developments in the world of target-date funds — is right around the corner, March 21. All four webcasts are free for NAPA members. For more information, click here.
• Online education — We’re hard at work on a new online educational program for advisors that’s set to launch in the fall. Look for more information about this program soon.
• NAPA Net, The Magazine — We’ll be launching a quarterly magazine in June. Produced by the NAPA Net staff, it will feature thought leadership articles, columns and a sourcebook section profiling advisor resources from our Firm Partners.
• DC Fly-In Forum — This small, exclusive gathering of elite advisors will be by invitation only, and will include high-ranking officials from the IRS and DOL and key members of Congress. There will be qualification requirements to attend. Keep an eye out for more information about the Fly-In soon.
The Forum, I believe, is an important sign of NAPA’s growing influence in Washington. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill and policymakers in the Obama Administration have come to acknowledge NAPA’s unique role as a professional group that’s working to improve retirement outcomes. They’re beginning to ask for our input because they know we have something important to say.
That’s a pretty remarkable achievement for a group that’s just a little over a year old. But not all that surprising — because NAPA is, after all, pretty remarkable.
