Join the FPA of Puget Sound for the 2013 Symposium – Washington State’s most prestigious gathering of Financial Planning Professionals for the 10th year in a row. Registration is now open!

Where else can you find this many like-minded and successful financial planning professionals at one venue? The environment is unlike any other in this geographical location and you have the opportunity to network with some of your outstanding peers.

Why should you attend in 2013?

This is a great opportunity to learn. This year’s focus is “The Art and Science of Financial Planning.” FPA of Puget Sound is delivering top-quality sessions that caters to both the objective and subjective sides of our profession.

Most of the sessions will qualify for continuing education credit (CFP® CE and State of WA Insurance CE approvals are pending).

In addition to continuing education, your registration cost includes breakfast, mid-morning refreshments, buffet lunch and an after-hours social at the end of the day.

We provide you access to exhibitors who serve firms like yours throughout the year. They offer their expertise and valuable information you can use in your practice.

The Venue

Located at Pier 66 on the waterfront in Seattle, Washington, Bell Harbor International Conference Center features 180-degree panoramic views of the Olympic Mountains, Mt. Rainier, Puget Sound’s Elliott Bay and the Seattle skyline.

Bell Harbor is minutes from downtown Seattle’s Pike Place Market and shopping corridor, offering guests the opportunity to explore the city.

Parking will be validated ONLY if you park in the Bell Street Pier Parking Garage. Click here for directions to the garage. (PDF)

Lodging

If you are planning on staying the night before, a block of rooms has been reserved at the nearby Seattle Marriott Waterfront Hotel. Symposium attendees will receive a discounted rate of $169/night if they register by Monday, January 21, 2013.

To make your reservation, contact the hotel directly at 1-800-228-9290 or 206-443-5000.

Keynote - “Comedy, Economics and Climate Change”

Yoram Bauman, Ph.D., Environmental Economist and the World’s First and Only Stand-up Economist.

Yoram's talk centers on his three goals in life: to spread joy to the world through economics comedy; to reform economics education; and to implement carbon pricing (www.carbonwa.org). His humorous take on economics and politics---plus a short-and-sweet serious discussion of climate change and opportunities for environmental tax reform in Washington State---will leave you with lots to think and smile about.

Yoram Bauman, “the world’s first and only stand-up economist”, performs regularly at colleges, companies, and comedy clubs, and has shared the stage with everyone from Robin Williams to Paul Krugman. He has appeared in TIME Magazine and on PBS and NPR, and is the co-author of the two-volume Cartoon Introduction to Economics.

Yoram lives in Seattle, where he founded Non-Profit Comedy, a series of benefit shows. He has a BA in mathematics from Reed College, a PhD in economics from the University of Washington, and spends his non-comedy hours campaigning for environmental tax reform. In 2011 he spent 5 months in Beijing as a visiting scholar at the University of International Business and Economics. His website is www.standupeconomist.com.

Breakout Session - “Technology Trends & Best Practices” 9:20 to 10:20 AM

Sponsored by Balance Financial, Inc. – Devin Miller, CEO. Balance Financial, Inc.

Affluent Washington families can generally be summarized as well educated, active, hardworking technology aficionados who want the best and brightest managing and guiding their wealth management decisions. Advisors today must continually evaluate the experience they deliver to meet the fast changing needs of these sophisticated families. Nowhere today is this more important than with the use of technology and how it impacts the overall client experience your firm delivers. During our discussion, we will review some of the changing trends regarding consumer technology today and talk about how advisors can use technology to improve their firm. We will review current consumer technology trends, best practices from other advisors around the country and best practices from other industries about how to better engage with clients and deliver more efficient and effective services.

Devin Miller is an experienced entrepreneur primarily focusing on product development, consumer marketing, enterprise sales, Software as a Service and business management. Devin was a co-founder of Balance and oversees development of our product offerings and the overall company vision. Devin’s experience most recently includes serving as Head of Product Management at Finsphere Corp. where he was responsible for the PinPoint product from conception through commercial consumer launch. Devin has several patents pending primarily related to the use of analytics in financial services.

Breakout Session - “Tax Update from a CPA’s Perspective” 9:20 to 10:20 AM

1 CFP CE Credit Approved. 1 State of WA Insurance CE Credit Pending.

Kristi Mathisen, CPA, PFS, Managing Director of Tax and Financial Planning, Laird Norton Tyee.

In 2013 individual taxpayers begin paying new Health Care Act taxes on wages and net investment income. We’ll discuss those taxes, how they will be applied, and who will pay them. There are also changes for 2013 in the taxes we and our clients have traditionally paid: Social Security, Medicare, Income, Alternative Minimum Tax, and for some Estate and Gift Taxes. Further changes in taxes are also on the horizon. We’ll highlight the current changes and discuss how we can help our clients plan with the taxes we currently face as well as those that may be coming.

As managing director of tax and financial planning at the Laird Norton Tyee Trust Company, Kristi Mathisen develops protocols to identify appropriate tax and financial strategies that benefit clients. She is an attorney and CPA/PFS with more than 25 years of finance-related experience. A member of the Washington State and King County Bar Associations, as well as the Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Kristi is also an active member of the Seattle CPA Roundtable, Washington Women in Tax, and the Seattle Tax Group. She is a board member of the Washington Planned Giving Council and is a past president of the Estate Planning Council of Seattle. In addition, she serves on the Planned Giving Advisory Boards for both the King County Library Foundation and the University of Washington. Kristi is a graduate of the University of Washington Schools of Business and Law. Prior to joining Laird Norton Tyee in 2006, she was a shareholder of Bader Martin, PS., a Puget Sound area public accounting firm.

Breakout Session - “The Impact of Market Valuation on Safe Withdrawal Rates” 9:20 to 10:20 AM

1 CFP CE Credit Approved.

Michael E. Kitces, MSFS, MTAX, CFP, CLU, ChFC, RHU, REBC, CASL, Director of Research for Pinnacle Advisory Group

This session is designed for financial advisors who consult with clients about retirement planning issues. Participants will gain an understanding about how market valuation can affect long-term investment returns, and in turn how an evaluation of the current stock market environment - as measured by stock market valuation - can and should impact the recommendation about how much a pool of investment assets can sustain in retirement withdrawals.

Michael Kitces is a partner and the Director of Research for Pinnacle Advisory Group, a private wealth management firm located in Columbia, Maryland that oversees approximately $1 billion of client assets. In addition, he is the practitioner editor of the Journal of Financial Planning, and the publisher of the e-newsletter The Kitces Report and the popular financial planning industry blog Nerd’s Eye View through his website www.Kitces.com, dedicated to advancing knowledge in financial planning.

Beyond his website, Michael is an active writer and editor across the industry and has been featured in publications including Financial Planning, the Journal of Financial Planning, Journal of Retirement Planning, Practical Tax Strategies, and Leimberg Information Services, as well as The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, CNBC PowerLunch, NBC Nightly News and more. In addition, Michael has co-authored numerous books, including “The Annuity Advisor” with John Olsen (now in 3rd edition), the first balanced and objective book on annuities written for attorneys, accountants, and financial planners, and “Tools & Techniques of Retirement Income Planning” with Steve Leimberg and others.

Michael is one of the 2010 recipients of the Financial Planning Association’s “Heart of Financial Planning” awards for his dedication to advancing the financial planning profession. In addition, he has been recognized by various industry publications for his active work in the financial planning community, which currently includes serving as a member of the Editorial Review Board for the Journal of Financial Planning, national chair of the Financial Planning Section for the Society of Financial Services Professionals, and numerous other boards and committees for the Financial Planning Association and the Society of Financial Services Professionals at the local and National levels. Michael is also a co-founder of NexGen, a community of the next generation of financial planners that aims to ensure the transference of wisdom, tradition, and integrity, from the pioneers of financial planning to the next generation of the profession.

Breakout Session - “Data Gathering: An Inside-Out Approach” 10:40 to 11:40 AM

1 CFP CE Credit Approved.

Michael Kay, CPA, CFP, President of Financial Focus, LLC.

Participants will have the opportunity to experience the impact of financial life planning techniques as used in the data gathering process. Each participant will be provided with a hands-on opportunity to connect quantitative data to the aspects of clients' lives and their ultimate goals. This leads to better client relationships -- deeper and more trusting; greater retention; higher quality financial plans; and more efficient operational structure. My goal will be to support these concepts with examples, experiences and take away worksheets for future consideration and applicable follow up in creating a more robust data gathering process.

1. Learner will experience the positive impact of qualitative data gathering on the client relationship
2. Learner will see the connection between the quantitative information and qualitative data gathering
3. Learner will experience the enhanced quality of data and information, and how it results in a more effective financial plan

Michael Kay is President of Financial Focus, LLC, an Independent Registered Investment Advisory firm based in Livingston, New Jersey. An executive in the financial services industry since 1976, Michael is a Certified Public Accountant, a Registered Investment Advisor and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. After earning his BBA in accounting at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, he began his career as an accountant with a focus on tax, audit, financial accounting and forensic accounting. In 1985, he shifted his attention to personal financial planning, tax planning, investment strategy and wealth management as a Registered Representative of Securian Financial Services, Inc., where he remained until 2010 when he formed his own RIA.

He is the author of The Business of Life: An Inside Out Approach to Building a More Successful Financial Planning Practice. He is a member of the Loring Ward Advisory Board and serves as president of the Money Quotient Advisory Board. He is not only devoted to his industry, but he is also involved and committed to his community having served on both the West Orange Board of Education and the West Orange Planning Board in his New Jersey home town.

Breakout Session - “An Efficient Frontier for Retirement Income” 10:40 to 11:40 AM

1 CFP CE Credit Approved. 1 State of WA Insurance CE Credit Pending.

Wade D. Pfau, Ph.D., CFA, Associate Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.

I will outline a different way to think about building a retirement income strategy, which moves dramatically away from the concepts of safe withdrawal rates and failure rates. The focus is how to best meet two competing financial objectives for retirement: satisfying spending goals and preserving financial assets. The process described here focuses on allocating assets between a portfolio of stocks and bonds, inflation-adjusted and fixed single-premium immediate annuities (SPIAs), and immediate variable annuities with guaranteed living benefit riders (VA/GLWBs). This process incorporates unique client circumstances, bases asset return assumptions on current market conditions, uses a consistent fee structure for a fair comparison between income tools, operationalizes the concept of diminishing returns from spending by incorporating a minimum needs threshold and a lifestyle spending goal, uses survival probabilities to calculate outcomes, and incorporates client preferences to balance the competing financial objectives for the final choice among the collection of allocations that define the efficient frontier for retirement income. Results are presented for a 65-year old couple whose lifestyle needs require a 4% inflation-adjusted withdrawal rate from retirement date assets. Their efficient frontier generally consists of combinations of stocks and fixed SPIAs. Perhaps surprisingly, bonds, inflation-adjusted SPIAs, and VA/GLWBs are not part of the efficient frontier do not serve a useful role in the couple’s optimal retirement income portfolio.

Wade Pfau is a researcher on retirement planning strategies. he is a CFA charterholder and holds a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University. A monthly columnist for Advisor Perspectives, he has been published in journals such as the Journal of Financial Planning, Journal of Portfolio Management, Journal of Investing, and National Tax Journal. He works as an associate professor of economics at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo. His hometown is Des Moines, Iowa.

Breakout Session - “Discovering Opportunities in International Small Cap Equities” 2:20 to 3:20 PM

1 CFP CE Credit Approved.

Sponsored by Rainier Funds – Greg S. Ise, CFA, Senior International Research Analyst. Rainier Funds.

In the international small cap universe, there are close to 5000 companies representing close to 50% of the entire global opportunity set. The sheer size of this space limits market efficiencies and creates an opportunity for experienced active managers to generate excess returns. Learn more about the attractive attributes of this dynamic asset class.

Greg Ise is a Senior International Research Analyst. He started his career working as an analyst for UBS Investment bank in New York. Greg later served as the Senior Financial Analyst at Weber Shandwick Worldwide and as a research analyst at Osmium Partners LLC, a San Francisco-based hedge fund. Prior to joining Rainier, Greg served as the Vice President – Global Consumer Analyst for the Global Select and International Small Cap Growth funds at Allianz Global Investors in San Diego, CA. Greg holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He has a Master of Business Administration from the University of California at Berkeley and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Kansas.

Lunch General Session - Economic Update

1 CFP CE Credit Approved.

Tony Crescenzi

Mr. Crescenzi is an executive vice president, market strategist and portfolio manager for PIMCO. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2009, he was chief bond market strategist at Miller Tabak, where he worked for 23 years. Mr. Crescenzi has written five books, including his latest, “Beyond the Keynesian Endpoint,” which was published in November 2011, and a complete revision to Marcia Stigum's “The Money Market.” He regularly appears on CNBC and Bloomberg television and in financial news media. Mr. Crescenzi taught in the executive MBA program at Baruch College from 1999-2009. He has 29 years of investment experience and holds and MBA from St. John's University and an undergraduate degree from the City University of New York.

Breakout Session - “Creating Scale, Value, and Certainty in Your Independent Practice” 1:00 to 2:00 PM

John Furey, Principal, Advisor Growth Strategies, LLC

A growing need for scale, succession planning and the rise of alternative providers such as consolidators and national RIAs mean advisors need to enhance the value of their practice to ensure long-term success. John Furey, leveraging findings from a report from aRIA(the Alliance for RIAs) will lead a discussion that delves into the following key areas:

• Creating long term firm value and determining the worth of your business
• Exploring if non-organic growth strategies is a fit for your business
• Understanding the new competitive threats and opportunities that will impact advisors in the future

John Furey is the founder and the principal of Advisor Growth Strategies, LLC (AGS), a leading consulting firm serving the wealth management industry. AGS provides customized practice management solutions for independent advisory firms seeking to aggressively grow their business and for financial advisors in transition. AGS works with some of largest independent practices nationally and sophisticated breakaway advisory teams.

Prior to founding AGS, Mr. Furey was the Director of strategic business development for Schwab Advisor Services™, where he was responsible for recruiting new breakaway advisors and for the development of Schwab’s related sales and market capabilities. Mr. Furey is a recognized industry expert and a noted speaker at financial industry conference and events. He is the author of numerous research reports, white papers and articles and has been quoted in such publications as Barron’s, Investment News, Investment Advisor, Registered Representative and RIABiz. Mr. Furey earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and economics from the State University of New York and a master of business administration degree from Arizona State University. He also holds FINRA Series 7, 24 and 65 licenses. On the web at www.advisorgrowthllc.com

Breakout Session - “Business Owner Exit Planning” 1:00 to 2:00 PM

1 CFP CE Credit Approved. 1 State of WA Insurance CE Credit Approved.

Allan Vanderhamm, CPA, ABV, CVA, CM&AA, Certified Exit Planner. Bertson Porter & Company, PLLC.

This presentation will explain the comprehensive components included in an Exit Plan. You will learn about the collaborative planning and implementation process used to assist business owners in converting their ownership to cash, including the essential component of investing and wealth management.

Principal and Director of Business Transition and Valuation Services. Allan's practice focuses on designing and implementing comprehensive owner exit plans, completing successful merger and acquisition transactions, and preparing effective business valuations. Bachelor of Science in Business, Honor Society, University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business.

Breakout Session - “ERISA Update: Fees and Fiduciaries” 1:00 to 2:00 PM

1 CFP CE Credit Approved.

Charles H. Thulin, J.D. Partner, Ekman, Bohrer & Thulin, P.S.

US Department of Labor regulations present new compliance challenges for retirement plan investment consultants, investment advisors and investment managers. Learn about the Department’s expanded definition of “fiduciary” and fee disclosure regulations. Can you provide investment education to participants without becoming a fiduciary? How and what must you disclose about your fees and potential conflicts of interest? How can you help your plan clients understand their fiduciary obligations to review and act on the fee disclosures you and other service providers make to your clients?

Chuck Thulin is a principal of Ekman, Bohrer & Thulin, P.S., a Seattle employee benefits law firm. He advises employers, plan investment committees, investment providers and investment consultants on employee benefits issues, including ERISA fiduciary responsibility and plan governance. He represents fiduciaries and individuals in government investigations and ERISA litigation. He is vice chairman of the Fiduciary Responsibility Subcommittee of the Employee Benefits Committee, Real Property, Trusts and Estates Section of the American Bar Association. Mr. Thulin is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, and as a Washington Super Lawyer.

Breakout Session - “Effective Communication In Every Situation (Even with the Sticky Ones)” 2:20 to 3:20 PM

Keith Ferrin, President, True Success Coaching, LLC

As a financial planner you face all sorts of communication opportunities. Email, presentations, client meetings, phone consultations, and the list goes on and on. This session will show you a 4-step, scalable process that can be applied to all of them. The Complete Communication Process will save you time in preparation, increase confidence in delivery, and make sure that in each scenario you are positioned to land the message you want to land. We will also take a look at how this process can help navigate challenging scenarios, such as when the content is complex, the client is frustrated or confused, or miscommunication has already occurred.

Keith has spent more than a decade traveling throughout the United States and internationally as a speaker, workshop leader, trainer, and storyteller. He has worked with corporate executives, school teachers, pastors, salespeople, and teenagers.

Keith holds a Cum Laude degree in Psychology and a Masters of Education in Guidance and Counseling. He is the founder and President of True Success Coaching, llc. His passion is to help people live lives that are not only balanced, but fully integrated with their values and purpose. His desire is to help people live successful lives – internally, externally, and eternally.

As a facilitator and trainer for the Dynamic Communicator’s Workshop (Ken Davis Productions) he enables people to become better communicators, whether they are speaking to one person over coffee, training a small group, or presenting to an audience of 10,000. Keith is also associated with Kiros and CoachVille.

Breakout Session - “Global Macro Economics and The 2013 Investment Landscape” 10:40 to 11:40 AM

1 CFP CE Credit Approved.

Sponsored by Sierra Investment Management, Inc.

Frank A. Barbera, Jr. CMT, Co-Portfolio Manager at the Sierra Mutual Funds

In the early stages of his career, Frank worked as a Technical Analyst with John Bollinger at Financial News Network (which later evolved into CNBC). Following FNN, Frank moved over to The Business Channel as their On Air Market Analyst and Economist where he did two live T.V. shows per day between 1992 and 2000. After predicting the collapse of the Technology Internet Bubble in early 2000, he transitioned into the hedge fund world, where he managed a $100 million hedge fund for Bel Air Capital, and then from 2001 to 2010, the one billion dollar "Caruso USA LLC" hedge fund where he made consistent double digit returns and managed to avoid and anticipate the great recession of 2008.

Over the years, Frank has written on global macro economics for Financial Sense.com, and has appeared on CNBC, Fox Business News and been quoted in Barrons, Investor's Business Daily and a host of other investment journals.

Breakout Session - “Coordinating Care for Elderly Clients – a Panel Discussion” 2:20 to 3:20 PM

1 CFP CE Credit Approved. 1 State of WA Insurance CE Credit Pending

The session will include valuable information from each presenter on the services and resources available to seniors and those who may be incapacitated and how to access those services and resources. A case study will be presented to provide a concrete example of how a financial planner can assist their clients and their clients’ family members in situations where health, age, and capacity present challenges. This panel includes four speakers who have extensive experience in the field of eldercare.

Panel moderator Eve M. Stern is currently the principal of Propel Consulting firm dedicated to advancing health care companies to enhance the patient provider relationship with improved two way communication. Previously, she was formerly the CEO of SNAPforSeniors, the largest national data and Technology Company of community resource providers in the U.S. This resource data serving older Americans and their family caregivers is used being used in call centers of national non-profit disease companies such as Alzheimer’s Association and dozens of insurance companies, employee assistance and healthcare companies in the country. Prior to starting SNAP, Eve was SVP of Nedcor, a developer of online treatment option decision support tools for chronic illnesses which served over 30 million consumers. She has served on multiple non-profit Boards, is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and authored numerous articles in the field of marketing, caregiving and the intersection between health care and technology advancements. Eve has a nursing degree from Columbia University and a Masters in Health Care Administration from State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Barbara A. Isenhour is a Partner at Isenhour Bleck PLLC and received her law degree from the University of Washington School of Law. She has practiced law for over 36 years, focusing her practice on government benefits and estate planning. She is recognized for her scholarship in the area of government benefits and special needs trusts and regularly speaks to professional groups on these topics. She is a member of the Special Needs Alliance, a national invitation only organization of attorneys who specialize in the area of government benefits for persons with disabilities. Barbara has been named several times as one of the city’s best attorneys in Seattle Magazine and has been selected as a “Super Lawyer” in Law and Politics Magazine. She and her husband have three sons.

Marla Beck, a Certified Senior Advisor and retired CPA, is the founder and president of Andelcare. “Andel” in Czechoslovakian means angel or guardian. Founded in 2003, in just nine years Beck has taken Andelcare from being a startup to a multimillion dollar company employing more than 100 and providing over 12,000 hours of care a month. Andelcare provides companionship, homemaking, personal care, nursing services, hospice care, and senior care advisory and care management services. The main focus at Andelcare is to make it possible for the elderly, the disabled, and adults facing surgery and disease to maintain as much independence as possible while continuing to live with dignity in the comfort of their own homes, wherever that may be.

Marla was recently designated Washington’s 2012 Small Business Person of the Year. This recognition is awarded by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Marla is active in the Fred Hutch Magnolia Guild, Seattle Art Museum Supporters, Gilda’s Club, Women’s Business Exchange, Women’s President Organization, and The Rainier Club.

Nathan J. Riensche, CPA, CPG
Vice President of Finance at Ohana Fiduciary Corporation

Nathan (Nate) Riensche has been in the fiduciary business since 2006, and brought with him several years’ experience with Deloitte & Touche, a Big 4 accounting firm, as well as experience as Senior Corporate Tax Accountant for a large local corporation with multiple subsidiaries. He was introduced to the fiduciary business as Finance Director for one of the state’s largest guardianship agencies.

Now serving as Vice President of Finance for Ohana, Nate’s responsibilities include supervising the financial systems for managing client accounts and company accounting, overseeing all aspects of corporate and client financial accounting and reporting, managing all Federal tax return and State tax reporting requirements, overseeing all client investment account activity, and managing cases that require a higher level of financial expertise.

Nate’s Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Master’s Degree in Professional Accounting through University of Washington, along with his CPA certification, equip him to promote the highest quality of financial management in our fiduciary roles. In addition, he has been certified as a professional guardian since 2007, and maintains his certification through regular continuing education classes.

In 2006, Nate conducted a continuing education training for certified guardians on preparing for tax season. Other contributions to educational opportunities include:

• Introduction to Finance instructor at Seattle Times
• New Employee Orientation instructor at Deloitte & Touche
• Freshman Orientation instructor at University of Washington in 1998 and 1999

In his spare time, Nate has served as a basic and intermediate mountain climbing instructor since 2003, and a backcountry skiing instructor in 2006.

Afternoon General Session - “High-Impact Client Review Meetings”

1 CFP CE Credit Approved. 1 State of WA Insurance CE Credit approved.

Ed Jacobson, PhD, MBA

Periodic review meetings offer great potential for deepening client-advisor relationships, enhancing client loyalty, and stimulating referrals. This session presents a detailed framework for conducting High-Impact Client Reviews, in order to help advisors maximize the value of these meetings. The four phases of the Client Review Meeting (Kickoff; Quantitative; Qualitative; Wrap-up) are delineated, along with purposes, steps, tools, and outcomes uniquely associated with each phase. The centerpiece of the framework (and of the presentation) is the Life Abundance Portfolio, an instrument developed by the presenter to self-assess the individual’s abundance in seven key life areas. Client completes the Portfolio in each review meeting, thus permitting period-by-period comparisons (parallel to period-by-period financial portfolio comparisons), and discussion of changes in specific abundance areas. During the session, attendees complete their own Portfolio, engage in conversations about their highest scores (i.e., areas of greatest abundance), and learn how to productively discuss the client’s Portfolio scores (high, medium and low). As financial advisors have learned since the global financial crisis of 2008-09, client review meetings are the gateway to enduring client relationships. This powerful, practical session serves as the GPS route map to that destination, and attendees can apply this route map in their very next client review!

Ed Jacobson, Ph.D., is a psychologist, business coach, consultant and public speaker based in Madison, Wisconsin. Ed works with individuals and organizations to help them to identify, plan for and achieve important goals that truly matter. He focuses his practice on serving the financial planning community; he believes that planners make a profound difference in the lives of their clients and the wider community, and he enjoys contributing to this “Heart’s Core” work.

Ed's work in recent years has increasingly focused on the use of “Appreciative Inquiry” (AI) processes. He has introduced his application of AI to financial planning, calling this approach “Appreciative Financial Planning (AFP).” Appreciative Financial Planning involves the use of appreciative questions, conversations, and relationships – those that highlight and build upon the positive forces and strengths within and outside us -- to inspire financial planning clients to create and achieve fulfilling and rewarding “lives well-lived.”

In addition to his own coaching, consulting, training and public speaking, Ed serves the Kinder Institute of Life Planning as a mentor and trainer for financial life planners, and collaborates with Money Quotient, Garrett Planning Network, and Sudden Money Institute on a wide variety of initiatives, including webinars, workshops, and training sessions. Also, he coaches and consults with financial planning practices on various business and personal development issues including integrating an appreciative orientation throughout the firm, and transitioning to a financial life planning model. In addition, he customizes and conducts Client Appreciation Events and Staff Retreats for financial planning firms, as well as organizations in many other sectors.

Ed received a doctorate in clinical psychology from Indiana University and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School. For the last 30 years he has worked as a consultant, coach, and trainer, including 11 years with KPMG Peat Marwick in Chicago.

His book, Appreciative Moments: Stories and Practices for Living and Working Appreciatively is available through this website (for a signed copy, email Ed via the Contact Ed page) as well as through Amazon.com. He is currently at work on his next book, The Handy Book of Appreciative Questions for Financial Advisors, and looks forward to its publication in 2011. He offers a free, monthly teleconference for planners, called Open Mic™.

Wine Down Social

Sponsored by Lord Abbett

Join your colleagues for the popular Wine Down social from 5-7 PM. This is a great time to discuss the presentations that were given throughout the day. Also, it is a chance to get to know your colleagues over a glass of wine and light hors d’oeuvres. We look forward to seeing you at the Wine Down reception!

Registration

Discounts to Consider

This is the first year we are offering discounts as an incentive for you to attend this event.

Join FPA – If you become a Member of FPA before you register and enlist with the Puget Sound Chapter, we are offering a credit to lower your “Member” registration cost by $50. All you have to do is email the Chapter’s Membership Director upon completion of your registration to redeem your credit.

Co-Worker – If you register yourself and a co-worker, we will offer both of you a $25 discount. If three people from the same firm register, we will reduce each registration cost by $50. Limit three at any time. Enter the name(s) and e-mail address(es) of your co-workers in the Comments box during the registration website's check-out process.

Colleague – If you register yourself and a colleague for this event, each of you will receive a $25 discount off your registration cost. Enter the name, company and e-mail address of your colleague in the Comments box during the registration website's check-out process.

Refund Information

In order to cancel your registration and receive a full refund for this event, FPA of Puget Sound must receive written notification of your cancellation by 5:00 pm, Friday, February 8. Please email your cancellation notice to info@fpapugetsound.org. Cancellations received after 5:00 pm PST, February 8, and no shows, will be required to pay the full registration fee.