Dear FPA of Miami-Dade Members:

Great Summer Reading!

As we close out a very busy and successful quarter at the offices of the FPA of Miami-Dade, I wanted to take a minute to share three great book titles you maywant to have with you during your summer vacation. Not only are these books easy and enjoyable to read, they will also help you build your business!

The E-Myth Revisited, by Michael Gerber
In my opinion (as well as in my experience), most financial planners are, at heart, very entrepreneurial. Whether your paycheck is written by someone else or you collect fees from your clients, most of us are running our own business. The E-Myth Revisited shows how to work on your business even though you are so busy working in your business. By developing systems and then finding people to run the systems allows the business owner to work at their highest and best use. Gerber describes a situation where most people who start their own business are great “technicians” who spend most of their time doing the work they love, while at the same time ignoring the work they aren’t as skilled at – like running a business. Learn how to spot your “personality” and find those who will help complement your strengths and build a business rather than a job.

Endless Referrals, by Bob Burg
Most planners know how important it is to be involved in their local business community, but dread the thought of attending networking events. The reason?—because they’ve never learned the most effective techniques that turn conversations into relationships. Burg will teach you how to use “feel good questions” that will put the spotlight on the person you’re chatting with, and then the one question that will leave that person thinking what a great conversationalist you are! It has been said that each of us has a “sphere of influence” of 250 people. By adapting a technique that will increase the number of people who know you, like you, and trust you, your list of potential prospects will increase immensely!

Basic Economics, by Thomas Sowell
Not interested in charts, graphs and formulas, but want a better understanding of how the economy really works? Would you like a clearer working knowledge of how the U.S. economy is influenced by the global economy and vice versa? When your client asks how certain economies will impact their financial plan, you’ll have a well thought-out response – based on your own conclusion – after reading this book written in every day language.

Have a wonderful and safe summer and we hope to see you on July 31st at our next Chapter meeting.

Cordially,

David Moran, CFP®
President
Financial Planning Association of Miami-Dade

April, 2007

Letter from the President
David Moran, CFP®

Dear FPA of Miami-Dade Members:

One of my favorite sayings is attributed to Louis Pasteur who said, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” As the president of the Miami-Dade Chapter of the FPA I want to assure you that your Board of Directors is made up of “prepared minds” that continue to look for opportunities to serve you better. Let me take a minute to highlight three initiatives and programs that we are very proud of and invite you to become involved in.

Symposium
We have just completed our second annual symposium, “Boomers: What about Mom & Dad?” and the reviews were fantastic. The feedback we received reinforces our belief that if we bring top-notch experts together to talk about the issues that concern you, then we have a winning formula. That’s just what we did – from the Chair of the CFP Board and CEO of the FPA, to the CEO of the United Way of Miami-Dade, each one of our speakers brought interesting ideas and unique insight on how to more effectively work with the approximately 78 million Baby Boomers rolling into retirement over the next decade. Nationally-recognized experts in the field of geriatric care management and long-term care insurance outlined best practices to help planning professionals have the difficult conversations we face with our aging client base. And of course none of this would have been possible without the financial support of our program partners. including our Platinum Partner, Schwab Institutional Services. So, if you did not get the chance to be with us please don’t miss next year’s event as we have already begun the process of putting together another outstanding program that will focus on investment issues for the Boomer client.

Community Outreach
I’m probably more excited about this initiative than just about anything else we have going on. We’ve always felt that as leaders in our industry and in our communities it is our responsibility to develop programs and opportunities for those less fortunate than ourselves. With the help of FPA National we have created a program to reach out to the underserved population in Miami-Dade with basic personal financial education through organizations such as the United Way, Habitat for Humanity, and CHARLEE of Dade. Since the inception of the program late last fall, we have run several successful seminars which in turn have generated increased interest from other service-based non-profit organizations in the community. Currently we have a number of passionate volunteer presenters from the Chapter to help but we could always use more. The Chapter will provide speaker training, presentation material (including a script), handouts, as well as the audio visual equipment needed. All you need is a desire to help make a difference in someone’s life. Please contact us if you’d like to learn more; we’d love to hear from you.

Scholarship Program
At Symposium we announced the creation of a merit-based scholarship program named in honor of our late friend Martin Hughes, CFP®. The funds from the scholarship are designed to help defray the cost of acquiring the CFP® designation. We’ll be rolling out the details of the program, including application criteria, on our website so be sure to check back soon. In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more or get involved in our Scholarship Committee feel free to contact us.

It’s our belief that our organization is full of current and future leaders in this wonderful profession we call Financial Planning. Whether your specialty within the profession is investment management or insurance planning, we believe you are the future. Our organization is more than a membership organization – we are a service organization. We provide service to not only those who have the resources to pay for our advice, but to those who don’t. By involving yourself with your Miami-Dade chapter you’ll have continued opportunities to learn the technical skills required of being a great planner, but you’ll also have opportunities to serve your community in unique and interesting ways. Please take the time to call any one of us if you have ideas or opportunities you think will help us continue to be the voice of the community for those who need, support and deliver financial planning services.

Cordially,

David Moran, CFP®
President
Financial Planning Association of Miami-Dade