Momentum. Championship-caliber sports teams have it. In politics, victorious candidates have it.
And in the retirement industry, NAPA has it. Barely a year old, we’re now nearly 3,800 members strong, and growing daily. We have the support of 67 institutional partners. That makes us one of the fastest growing membership organizations in our industry’s history.
What’s driving this rapid growth? I think the answer is simple enough: Until now, there hasn’t been a broad-based professional association devoted to the plan advisor community—one that:
• delivers business intelligence beyond what’s available on the web;
• offers a robust network of industry experts and thought leaders; and
• provides a voice in Washington that’s heard loud and clear.
Business intelligence and networking? Check. With the Oct. 1 launch of the NAPA Net web portal—along with the new NAPA Net Daily e-newsletter—we’ve created that one-stop, advisor-centric destination that our community has lacked. The portal helps you tap into the best minds in the business; connect with peers and colleagues; locate an adviser or a trusted resource; find an upcoming conference, webcast or CE opportunity; keep up with the latest industry news and trends; and much more. Every advisor who is focused on the retirement plan space, as well as everyone who works with advisors, should use NAPA Net regularly.
A voice in Washington? Check. We’re working hard to get our point of view across. For example, at the beginning of October, NAPA leadership held two days’ worth of face-to-face meetings with DOL officials and key congressional staffers—explaining to them the issues that concern us.
Lastly, a couple of reminders about upcoming NAPA events: First, there’s a free webcast for NAPA members set for Oct. 16, “404A Revisited: Opportunities for Advisors.” For more information, click here. And second, it’s not too early to make plans to join us next March at the 401(k) Summit in Las Vegas. The 2013 Summit will be rebranded as the “ASPPA/NAPA 401(k) Summit” and in 2014 it will become the NAPA 401(k) Summit. Catchy, don’t you think?
I’ll be back with another NAPA update next month.
Marcy Supovitz, CPC, QPA, QKA, AIF, ChFC, CLU
NAPA President
