The Communicator. Cleveland Society of Financial Service Professionals. The President's Letter

Transcription

1 The Communicator Cleveland Society of Financial Service Professionals 2003/2004 Volume III The President's Letter Membership: Past, Present, and Future A Chapter President s Perspective As I speak with both our current membership and perspective members, there exists considerable confusion and misunderstanding about who we are and what we do. Perhaps I can provide some clarification. What makes these issues even more muddled is the expansion of our membership eligibility in recent years. For those of you who didn t notice the article in our October 2003 issue of the Society Page on mileposts for our society, let me highlight several of these: 1928 Founding of the Alumni Association of The American College of Life Underwriters 1931 We became known as The National Chapter, Chartered Life Underwriters of The American College of Life Underwriters 1940 Our name was changed to The American Society of Chartered Life Underwriters 1978 Name changes to American Society of CLU 1982 Membership opened to MSFS and MSM 1984 Name changed to American Society of CLU and ChFC 1996 Membership opened to RHU and REBC 1998 Name changed to our present name The Society of Financial Service Professionals (SFSP) 1999 Membership opened to CFP, CPA and JD 2002 Membership opened to CEBS As you can see, we have become a very inclusive organization. Our membership is open to accountants, attorneys, financial planners, health insurance, and employee benefit specialists in addition to the traditional life insurance practitioners. Hence, the Society s name had to change to reflect our evolving membership. Our local chapter, along with many chapters nationwide, has made a concerted effort to attract members from the noninsurance professionals to give us a more balanced membership. Although this is an evolutionary process, it is picking up momentum. If one were to look at the numerous designations that many professionals have after their names, the following would be eligible for membership in our society: CLU Chartered Life Underwriter ChFC Chartered Financial Consultant RHU Registered Health Underwriter REBC Registered Employee Benefits Consultant CLF Chartered Leadership Fellow MSFS Master of Science in Financial Services MSM Master of Science in Management CFP Certified Financial Planner CPA Certified Public Accountant JD Juris Doctor CEBS Certified Employee Benefit Specialist Although this is a rather lengthy list of professional designations, I am confident it will be expanded as further specialization occurs.

2 So what is our purpose or mission as a society and more importantly as a local chapter? In a general sense it is to help our credentialed members advance their professionalism so they may better serve their clients financial needs. How then is this done? At the national and local levels we seek to provide opportunities for continuing education, the ethical practices of our business, and networking among our disciplines. For some of our insurance-based members, one continual source of confusion exists between our society and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA). Both the Cleveland chapters of NAIFA and the SFSP have shared much in common for years. In fact many insurance practitioners who are eligible are members of both organizations. Having been a member of both organizations for over 20 years, I see that there are several distinguishing differences between the two organizations. First, CAIFA provides a significant political venue for its members to deal with the issues of the insurance and financial planning community. Second, membership in NAIFA and CAIFA is open to the insurance and financial planning community, while SFSP limits their membership to those having the professional designations listed above. This is not to say one organization is better than the other. In many ways they are similar to one another, but they are different. In conclusion, I hope this may have clarified some of the points that often are confused or misunderstood by our membership. Professional Development Director ~ Al Marano, CLU, ChFC Staying Ahead of The Curve The chapter leadership conference was held on March 13 th and 14 th. The major discussion was the future of membership and the continuous evolution to include all credentialed professionals. The following designations qualify for membership: CEBS, CFP, ChFC, CLF, CLU, CPA, JD (lic), MSFS, MSM, REBC and RHU. An eligible associate membership is available for those who have completed one or more courses toward a qualified designation. How Have We Evolved? * News You Can Use Complementary subscriptions to: Journal of Financial Service Professionals - an award winning, peer reviewed professional publication. (6 issues per year) Society Page - the Society s news magazine. (Published quarterly) Society SmartBrief - an electronic newsletter. (Published 3 times a week) Professional Networking Society members are part of a 25,000 strong network of financial planning professionals. Nine Professional Interest Sections National and Local Directories Sections Discussion Groups National Meetings Professional Development You can enhance your skills through national, regional, and chapter-level conferences, web casts, seminars and audio conferences. Almost all programs offer CFP, CIE, CLE, CPE, ICB, and PACE CE. Client Support Tools You have available quarterly client newsletters, brochures, and software. Member web site, - Our web site offers a number of useful features and information to chapters, members and other financial professionals. You can search

3 10 years of Journal articles. There are discussion boards, member directories, and targeted search capabilities. For example, there are more than 200 articles on buy-sell agreements. There s a 30-day free look for non-members. You owe it to yourself and clients to join your fellow members to attend and participate in our educational programs with cutting-edge topics and training. Membership Director ~ Bernie Garrah We are over half way through our membership drive for As membership chairman, I am very pleased with our progress. Our paid membership as of March 16, 2004 was 206. Our objective is 210 total members. The membership is growing and we have had several people who were members in the past, rejoin the Society and we are excited to see their renewed enthusiasm. We also have 10 brand new members! We are excited they have joined our organization and look forward to many more years of participation. One of our new members, Michele Keith, Esq., has already made a presentation at one of our educational programs! On behalf of the board and our membership, I would like to welcome the following members: Mary Harvey Charles Adler, Esq. Elaine Straub, MBA Kenneth Lear, ChFC Leo Rosner, CPA Erik Kneip Michele Keith, Esq. Leonard Pinover, CFP Patrick Hanratty, CPA, PFS, CFP, MBA James Aussem, JD As I mentioned in our last issue of The Communicator, our 3-year plan is to increase membership to 275 credentialed professionals. I again encourage you to recruit 1 new member or non-renewed member to consider the Cleveland Society of Financial Service Professionals. As our membership continues to grow, so do the opportunities we can use to help our clients and ourselves. Ethics Committee Director ~ Kristen Duale The American Business Ethics Award (ABEA) Attention members your help is needed! Do you currently work with a business and/or business owner who you feel exemplifies high standards of ethical behavior in their everyday business conduct? If so, nominate them for the 2004 American Business Ethics Awards (ABEA)! Each year, the ABEA is presented in three categories: large companies (with over 2,500 employees), mid-sized companies (with 250-2,500 employees), and small companies (with fewer than 250 employees). A company may be nominated for consideration by a customer, client, employee, consultant, vendor or any other person who believes the company's ethics program is commendable. Financial service companies and nonprofit organizations are excluded from award consideration due to their close association with the Society. If you would like more information or would like to nominate a company log-on to or contact the ethics committee chairperson of the Cleveland chapter, Kristen Duale, CLU, CFP at Nominations are due in to the Society of Financial Service Professionals by March 31, 2004, so don t delay!

4 Feature Article: Can Insurance and Financial Services Become a Growth Industry in Northeast Ohio? Many people in the know including the Greater Cleveland Growth Association have answered this question yes it will. They expect double-digit growth in the insurance and financial service industries, which necessitates the need to recruit, train and enhance the skills of the workforce that will propel this growth. As you contemplate the reality of this consider these Ohio facts and figures found in the Ohio Insurance Institute Report 2002: 281 insurance companies are domiciled in Ohio Ranked 8 th based on number of property and casualty companies domiciled in Ohio Employment of 98,980 excluding consultants and self employed agents Insurance represents 6.3% of Ohio s household spending Nearly $8.4 billion of insurance purchased by Ohioans in 1999 In 2000 $4.26 billion in wages paid to employees of the insurance industry in Ohio Not only are these impressive numbers for Ohio s insurance industry, but also consider these U.S. demographics, which bode well for the financial services industry: $3.4 trillion could be passed down to the baby boomer generation High net worth households are growing six times faster New insurance and lifestyle products are being created to take advantage of these trends With that kind of potential, how can we take advantage of it? Over the last several years one organization, Corporate College, has seized the opportunity to address our industry s needs. Corporate College, a division of Cuyahoga Community College located in Westlake, Ohio has begun forming strategic alliances to provide programming that will address the needs of the property and casualty, life, and health and financial services industries. With a facility planned soon for the east side, Corporate College s mission is to establish a premier educational and developmental institution for individuals and companies seeking training in insurance and finance. Specifically Corporate College s charge is to do the following: Create programs that inspire students to seek out careers in insurance and finance Establish a two year accredited program for insurance professionals Provide opportunities for continuous learning (certification and licensure) for those in the insurance and finance industries Implement a flexible career path for insurance and finance professionals with local opportunities for growth and development Create a board of advisors to provide input and support to this program Larry Sklenka, CLU, JD, and I have been involved in the early stages of formalizing the strategic plans for the Institute of Insurance and Finance at Corporate College. For those of you who were unaware of its existence, hopefully you will now know about the potential of the Corporate College. By creating an awareness of the Corporate College, hopefully you will begin to take advantage of this facility and its programs. In the future you may want to engage Corporate College in the following ways: Assist in its business plans Share your needs and requirements so they may be addressed Send employees to attend its program offerings Provide expertise and program instructors Provide funding to support its programs Consider internships in your organization Should you have additional questions about Corporate College please contact either Dr. Dennis Ulrich, Executive Director for Continuing and Professional Education at (216) or Scott Burke, Program Coordinator for Continuing and Professional Education at (216) Gary Lanzen, CLU, ChFC

5 For more information contact Kim at: 1120 Chester Avenue, Suite 470 Cleveland, OH Phone: Fax: