January /February 2011

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

I am grateful to serve as the FPA of Orange County President for 2011. Working with our local chapter for many years now, I consider it an honor and privilege to be a member of this organization, and am proud to witness the ongoing development and success of our members and our chapter.

One of my priorities this year is to encourage the idea of a supportive financial planning community. Through a collective group of members that share a common goal of dedication to our profession we are able to do so much more than we could on our own. This supportive community must at its core include active participation, interaction and collaboration in order to succeed.

With that goal in mind, I would encourage you to be a part of our community by attending quarterly meetings and study groups, bringing a colleague and getting involved in your chapter. We need your help to make 2011 a year marked with success for all – including your clients, your practice, your fellow members and you, both personally and professionally. How can you participate to support our community? Here are some areas to consider -

• Volunteering at Pro Bono and Community Service events
• Working with Allied Professionals in Orange County
• Mentoring a Chapter Member
• Promoting Financial Planning with the local Media
• Educating our Membership
• Engaging our elected officials to Support our Profession
• Enhancing Communications and Connections for our Chapter Community
• Involvement with our NexGen or Student Chapter Outreach

CHAPTER ANNOUNCEMENTS


CFP® Ethics CE Requirement

The Quarterly Education Meeting on February 16th will include a two-hour session that satisfies the CFP Ethics CE requirement. . Click here for details and to register today!


Edward Mora, CFP® to Serve as 2011 Disciplinary and Ethics Commission Chairman

Edward Mora, CFP®, (FPA OCC’s chair for the Government Relations & Regulatory Affairs Committee) has been appointed to serve as the 2011 Chairman of the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (DEC), an independent body charged with upholding the value and integrity of the CFP® certification by enforcing CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct. To read more, click here.


Don’t Miss CFP® Certificant Connection Meetings in Orange County (8-9:30am)
& San Diego (5:30-7pm) on February 7, 2011

These gatherings of the CFP® certificant community give you a chance to meet face-to-face with CFP Board’s leadership. We will share updates on the latest developments at CFP Board and engage you in discussion about issues of importance to our profession. Most importantly, these events give us a chance to listen to you and your colleagues. Complimentary online registration and additional information about these events are available at www.CFP.net/certificants/connection.asp.


BRAG List

Are you donating some of your valuable time and expertise to help others in our community while at the same time, moving our profession forward? If you are, we want to recognize your efforts and provide FPA National with details of your accomplishments! And, the FPA OCC Board members want to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your generosity.

The process is easy! Just click here to access the BRAG List and provide the information requested from your event. If you would complete all the fields to the best of your ability, we would really appreciate it! Click here to open the Form.

By completing the form, you allow us to submit the information to FPA National so that our Chapter receives credit for your good works. Also, FPA National uses the information to develop the statistics they use with the national press and other interested parties. So, your generosity at the local level contributes to an overall positive reflection on our profession on a broader scale!

Should you have any questions, please contact FPA OCC's Director of the Pro Bono/Community Outreach Committee Julie Holmes-Grady.

CCH Special Report: Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 Highlights: Individual Tax Rates Capital Gains And Dividends Payroll Tax Cut Federal Estate Tax Bonus Depreciation Health Care Reform Mandates Reporting Of Uncertain Tax Positions Expanded Information Reporting New Foreign Tax Compliance Rules Retirement Funding Relief Tax Reform Proposals Click Here to Read More...

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

COMMITTEE FOCUS

Government Relations & Regulatory Affairs by Edward Mora, Director This is likely to be a very active year for the Government Relations Committee as we anticipate a flurry of activity coming from Congress, the SEC, the Government Accounting Office, and FPA activities in the State of California. Last November at the Chapter Leadership Conference in Denver, FPA National introduced the idea of forming a “CAL FPA” to the 14 California FPA chapters. CAL FPA’s purpose is to give us a larger and unified voice as we approach state elected officials in Sacramento. There will be side benefits that will enable the chapters to better coordinate other areas, such as Pro Bono or sharing speakers for local chapter education events. Our own Evelyn Zohlen has been appointed the first Vice Chair of CAL FPA, and is on the ground floor of creating this entity. It will be composed of one member from each chapter plus an executive committee.

Communications Committee by Kevin Henss, Chair The Communications Committee has been very active with the website team in finalizing our new chapter website. It will be premiered at our next Education Meeting on February 16th. Some of the new features are flash video, search capabilities, a site map, blog, web forms, quick links to the most popular areas of our site, and a consumer micro-site. Many of the design elements and key headings compliment the recently re-branded national website, www.fpanet.com. The flash slides on the homepage will allow us to incorporate photos of Orange County and our chapter members to give it more of a local feel and promote a sense of community. Upcoming events will be featured on the homepage making it more convenient than ever to register. Web pages of interrelated content will be cross referenced providing a more useful and convenient experience. Feedback on the new website or any aspect of the Communications Committee is always welcome, or better yet, join our dedicated committee and make your own positive impact on our chapter first hand. Please contact Kevin Henss at 949-929-3773 or khenss@sbcglobal.net

Pro Bono Committee by Julie M. Holmes-Grady, 2010/2011 Director Pro Bono Volunteers Offer Free Financial Advice at Two Community Tax Day Events in Early 2011: March 5th & 12th, 9am to 2pm For the second consecutive year, FPA OCC's Pro Bono / Community Outreach Committee is coordinating with an Orange County-based community organization to provide free financial planning advice to OC residents at two (2) Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) campaign events to be held in the upcoming 2011 tax season. If you are interested in helping FPA OCC get out into the OC community to provide free financial planning advice to our underserved communities, please check your calendars to see if either of those dates will work for your schedule and get back to Julie Holmes-Grady at jholmescpa@cox.net. We will need up to five (5) pro bono volunteers at each of the March events.

Current Volunteer Opportunities:
Contact: Julie Holmes-Grady

• Community Tax Days

COLLEGIATE CORNER

UC Irvine Extension’s Personal Financial Planning program, available fully online or in traditional face-to-face format (regular and accelerated), is registered with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. Students will acquire the job knowledge requirements to sit for the CFP® Board’s CFP® Certification Examination. UC Irvine Extension is the only school in the country to offer the FPA Residency Program each year. This intensive, week-long program bridges the gap between technical financial planning knowledge and understanding the financial planning process in the real-world. The strength of this unique program is drawn from experienced CFP™ practitioners who mentor participants throughout the week, providing valuable insight and expertise across the spectrum of client relationships and service. Anyone interested in becoming an instructor at UC Irvine Extension should first view our website at: Click here to read the guide. Click here for more information. Contact: For Personal Financial Planing Program: Francine Berg , (949) 824-4661 For FPA Residency Program: extension.uci.edu/fpa For Recruitment: Gina Cho.

PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE

From the current issue of the Journal of Financial Planning: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Investment Management Outsourcing By Amy E. Buttell In a landscape characterized by increased regulatory scrutiny, an uncertain economic environment, and more competition from newly independent rivals, more financial planners find their strength lies in building relationships with clients and devising an overall wealth-management strategy, rather than executing the nuts and bolts of that particular strategy. By leveraging their relationship-building skills and spending more time helping clients figure out what they need, planners enhance their value proposition. But to succeed in the wealth-relationship manager role, sacrifices must be made unless you want to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The casualty? Frequently, it’s investment management, a task that’s getting increasingly difficult and time-consuming in a universe rife with possible alternatives, where markets can crash one day and skyrocket the next. Adviser interest in outsourcing is apparent from the results of FPA’s 2010 Trends in Investing survey, which found that while 57.5 percent of advisers surveyed don’t outsource at all; the remainder outsource some or all investment management functions. Of those who do outsource all or some investment management, half began to do so in the past five years. Click Here to read more ...

MEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

One Thing Leads to Another...Get involved and make a difference! If we all just did ONE THING, imagine the impact we can have on our Chapter and on shaping our profession! 

Why do you serve? “I found that by serving the chapter and the community it ultimately served me through the friendships I’ve formed and the contributions made to the chapter’s future success." Board Member - Carolanne Chavanne, CFP®, Chapter President

Click here to view all quotes ...

The Orange County FPA Chapter Committees have the following "Do 1 Thing" opportunities:

Member Benefits, Steve Kiernan (Chair) - We are looking for someone to help design and manage a mentor program, which will take 8-20 hours to design then about 2-3 hours monthly to maintain.. Contact Steve at 714-835-7703. Email steve@anchorfg.com

Communications, Kevin Henss (Chair) - Monitor and contribute to our chapter’s facebook page. Contact Kevin Henss at 949-929-3773. Email khenss@sbcglobal.net

Public Relations, Ralph Adamo (Chair) - Needs a volunteer for some of the administrative items...maximum of 1 hour per week time commitment. Contact Ralph at 949.955.1188. Email Ralph@integrityiwm.com

Membership, David MacLeod (Chair) - Introduce yourself to someone with a red star on their name badge at our next meeting in November! Those with a red star have been a member of our chapter for less than 12 months.

NATIONAL NEWS

Read through the Capitol Update newsletter for the latest summary of tax, securities, pension, insurance and professional issues of importance to financial planners. SEC Extends Deadline for Advisers to Disclose Information on their Personnel Studies mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act slated for January release Budget Battle Impacts SEC SEC Certifies That Examination and Inspection Controls Effective Department of Labor Extends Deadline for Fiduciary Comments, Schedules March Hearing SEC Approves IARD Filing Fees Temporary Rule Regarding Principal Trades with Certain Advisory Clients

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