FPA Professionals Congress: an opportunity to “Reunite, Reset” Early bird pricing closing soon

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The Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA)’s Professionals Congress in Sydney on 23 and 24 November will allow members to reconnect with their peers at the first in-person congress in three years. Attendees will gain valuable insights into the many changes taking place in the financial planning profession.

Now with a proposal put to members to merge with the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA), the FPA Congress will be the first major industry event held after the result of the vote is known. Whether members vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’, congress will be a critically important venue to discuss the implications for members and the profession.

With early-bird pricing closing soon, members are encouraged to register before 30 September.  AFA members are also invited to attend the FPA congress at FPA member rates.

Under the theme, ‘Reunite, Reset’, the congress will host a range of sessions designed to help financial planners better understand the issues facing the profession as well as provide practical tools and information enabling them to work more closely with clients and understand their changing needs, particularly in the post-pandemic environment.

Sarah Abood, CEO of the FPA, says since the last in-person FPA Professionals Congress in 2019, there has been huge change both in the financial planning profession and also in the broader community.

“As a profession we have seen a bewildering range of ongoing and proposed legislative change , and grappled with a substantial fall in the number of financial planners.  We’ve experienced a pandemic, a change of government, and a volatile broader macroeconomic environment which have all impacted how financial planners go about their work with clients.

“As well, the ways that clients think about their finances, their life goals and their priorities, have changed following the pandemic.

“The Congress provides an opportunity for an update on all these changes, and to learn from peers as well as benefit from global best practice.  As we mark our 30^th birthday as an association, and contemplate a new start joining our colleages at the AFA, the theme of Reunite, Reset is enormously relevant,” Ms Abood says.

FPA Chair, David Sharpe, says the FPA Congress will provide an opportunity for members to connect in person with their peers at a time when the profession continues to transform.

“As someone who runs my own practice in Perth, I see the FPA Congress as a great opportunity to reunite and share with colleagues so we can collectively improve the way we run our businesses and serve our clients.

“With a wide variety of sessions across the two days, there is something for everyone within the profession, whether you’re a principal, a paraplanner, an aged care specialist or an SMSF adviser,” Sharpe says.

The keynote presentation will be delivered by Professor Andrew Scott from London Business School who will discuss the latest thinking on longevity, what it means for us all as individuals and as financial planners, and what the broader economic, financial and social implications are.

In addition there will be plenary sessions from:

• David Sharpe and Sarah Abood on The Bright Future
• Matt Jones from Four Pillars on Grow Your Brand – business ideas from outside our industry
• Adam Spencer will lead a Q&A style discussion on “what will financial advice look like in 2030?” with the Hon. Bernie Ripoll, Professor Pamela Hanrahan, Sarah Abood and Tim Townsend
• Take Charge of your Future with Ben Crowe of Mojo Crowe – who has worked with with legends such as Ash Barty and Dylan Alcot

Breakout sessions will include:

• Quality of Advice review update from Michelle Levy
• The future of advice delivery
• How to ensure all clients are profitable
• Is technology the saviour of advice?
• Connecting with your clients in a post pandemic world
• Aged care advice – pricing, tips and profitability
• Helping to unpack ‘disability’ and its implications for clients
• Cyber attacks: prevention, protection and post-attack plan
• How your clients voted in the last Federal Election may impact how they now choose to invest
• How to ethically exit a client
• Legislative updates in financial planning from ASIC and Treasury
• Client engagement skills for a post-COVID world
• How to build life insurance portfolios
• Redefining financial planners of the future
• How to identify genuine SMSF needs for clients
• Delivering the advice of tomorrow
• How to convert more business through curiosity
• How beliefs can influence a client accepting your advice

A networking event on the evening of Wednesday 23 November will provide a opportunity for attendees to catch up with old contacts and make new connections, as well as help celebrate the FPA’s 30th anniversary as a member association.

For more details and to register for the FPA Professionals Congress.