Eavesdropping on a well-kept secret: the FPA NorCal event
Neel Kashkari, Michael Lewis, Bob Veres and a few others took a local event to a new level
4 min read- FPA NorCal conference emphasized economic challenges, unlike more optimistic peer events.
- Kashkari, Lewis, and Valliere warned about entitlement burdens and potential economic slowdown.
- Sessions covered diverse topics: technology, investment theory, tax, and life planning.
- Veres highlighted financial planning's shift from investment-centric to client-centric approach.
Brooke’s Note: California has the world’s eighth-largest economy and includes the headquarters of the largest IBD (LPL) and largest RIA custodian (Schwab). Facts that may be worth noting as you read Brent Burns’ conference review.
It deserves a less clunky, provincial name.
The FPA NorCal conference again delivered on its reputation as one of the premier advisor conferences. Although it is technically a regional event, there were over 600 attendees from all over the country on hand at the beautiful at the historic Palace Hotel in San Francisco last week from May 31 to June 1.
Unlike the upbeat National Association of Personal Finance Advisors national conference two weeks earlier, FPA NorCal focused on the hard issues facing the economy. See: NAPFA conference hits hopeful note as members look to the future
Hard-eyed view
NAPFA conference hits hopeful note as members look to the future
Neel Kashkari, selected by Henry Paulson selected to oversee the $700-billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, kicked off the show with an insider’s view of ’08 meltdown. Kashkari’s comments focused on the growing pressure that entitlements will put on the government that, if left unchecked, could lead to bankruptcy.
On day two, author Michael Lewis shared insights from his 2010 book The Big Short : Inside the Doomsday Machine based on his tour of bankrupted nations (Iceland, Greece, etc.) Lewis also decried the Wall Street firms that continue to offer perverse incentives to executives that lead to the risk-taking that was at the heart of the recent financial crises, sub-prime included.
Slow-down ahead
Greg Valliere punctuated the event with his insider’s view of Washington’s impact on the markets. Valliere sees a slowdown in recovery, in part because there is no political will to roll out QE3. He described an unprecedented sentiment currently in prevailing in Congress, particularly among freshman representatives, focusing on cost-cutting despite the adverse impact it may have on their re-elections. Echoing the warnings of Kashkari and Lewis, Valliere sees entitlements as the next great challenge.
Story Timeline
Breakout sessions covered a broad range of planning topics from technology to investment theory to tax to life planning. Highlights included perennial favorite Michael Kitces’ review of Modern Portfolio Theory where he laid out the mistakes made by many in the application of the theory.
Bob Veres described how financial planning
has evolved from an investment-centric to
a client-centric practice
The FPA NorCal Conference burnishes its little-gem image with big RIAs and other advisory progressives
Bob Veres provided insights into the future of the financial planning profession and how it has evolved from an investment-centric to a client-centric practice.
Amy Mullen took a look into the softer side of cash-flow planning, likening a budget to a cash diet where a spending plan is approachable and implementable.
The doctor is in
Dr. Carolyn McClanahan gave a physician’s-eye view of the changes in health care legislation, a hot-button topic for many of the speakers.
The local dynamic duo of Dave Yeske and Elissa Buie provided a look at the technology that drives their eponymous firm, including their novel use of the iPad 2’s video feature as a 2,400 mile intercom and their review process that reinforces the financial plan as the centerpiece of the client-advisor relationship.
Joel Bruckenstein, producer of the T3 conferences, showed how cloud computing will play an increasingly important role in advisors’ businesses and add to the ability build a truly virtual practice.
The conference sold out several weeks in advance, but those who were unable to attend could catch highlights via Twitter. Michael Kitces, Mary Corbin, Bill Winterberg, Cathy Curtis, Carolyn McClanahan – along with me and others – provided nuggets of information from the keynotes and sessions 140 characters at a time.
Brent Burns is President and Founding Partner of Asset Dedication, LLC. Brent’s deep background in empirical finance formed the basis for Asset Dedication’s modeling and analysis. His work with Asset Dedication began more than a decade ago at the University of San Francisco, where he partnered with co-Founder Steve Huxley as to study portfolio performance and the impact of withdrawal rates, inflation and market conditions.
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