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In This Issue
President's Message
FPA/NEO Nominations
Opportunity to Talk to Washington
Student Analysis of Symposium
CFP® Certificant Fee Incease
Happy Anniversary
FPA/NEO
Board of Directors
President:
Mark McCandless, CFP�, CPA

President Elect:
Molly Balunek, CFP�

Treasurer:
Patrick Hanratty, CFP�, CPA/PFS

Secretary:
Kevin Kroskey, CFP�

Trustees:
Mary Farrell, CFP�
Mario Gigante, CFP�, CPA, AIFA�
Ken Paull, CFP�
Pamela Sandy, CFP�

Chairman
Bill Russo, CFP�
Upcoming Program Dates


November 18
The State of the Profession
Panel event
Panelists:  TBA
Place:  Lockkeepers
2 - 6 p.m.
Watch for flyer for more information

NO PROGRAMMING
in
DECEMBER

January 21, 2011
The Impact on Financial Planning of Recent and Proposed Income Tax Changes
Presented by:  John Sestina

February 17
Topic:  TBD
Speaker:  LeRoy Brooks


Topics and Speakers are subject to change
Thanks to Our Sponsors
Gold Sponsors:
Capital Analysts Inc.

Charles Schwab Advisor Services


Silver Sponsors:
American Endowment Foundation

American Funds


Direxion Funds

Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services

Franklin Templeton Investments

KBS Capital Markets

Long Term Care Partnership

Ohio Tuition Trust

RS Funds

Sigma Financial Corporation

Trust Company of America

Join Our Mailing List
Northeast Ohio Underwriters to offer
4 CE required for
Long Term Care Training
presented by:
Mary Lavelle
J.L. Thomas & Co
and
Marie Edmonds, JD

November 17, 2010
12:30 - 4:20 p.m.
Holiday Inn Independence

Cost: 
NEOHUA Members $15
Non-members $25
Click here to register online

Insurance agents certified in 2008 to sell long term care insurance in the State of Ohio are required to complete an additional four hours of long term care training in 2010. The four hour CE training will continue to be a requirement every two years in order to write, or share in the commissions of long term care insurance policies in Ohio. Check with other States for non-resident agent LTC certification when writing long term care insurance outside Ohio. In addition to complying with the four hour long term care training requirement, where it applies, the course credits attendees with Four Ohio CE credits.


This course provides agents with an understanding of long-term care, services, providers, settings, the long-term care exposure, private and public funding, how to design a long-care plan, the elements of long-term care insurance, and Medicare's and Medicaid's role in long-term care. It also examines the government's response to long-term care including Health Insurance Portability Act of 1996, Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, State Long-Term Care Insurance Partnerships, Pension Protection Act of 2006, and the NAIC Models for the regulation of long-term care insurance.


Agents will improve their understanding about long-term care planning; how to identify long-term care exposures; and how to explain the difference between a long-term care insurance partnership policy and a non-partnership policy to consumers.


FPA/NEO November 2010 Newsletter

President's Message

by Mark McCandless, CFP�, CPA


"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."
-Winston Churchill

Last month our Chapter provided opportunities to help us make a living as well as to make a life by giving back to our community. At our Symposium, speaker Nick Murray  reminded us about the two words we need to forget when speaking to clients (standard deviation) and two words we need to remember (dignity and independence). His advice was essential in two meetings I had with clients the day following the Symposium. He also offered advice about what to say to prospective clients who don't want to pay for our financial planning services or listen to our advice. If you attended the Symposium you know what it is. If you did not attend, call me at 216.831.4900 and I will be happy to pass along his advice! Nick Murray has helped many planners to "make a living".


In terms of giving back to the community, we offered volunteer opportunities with the Akron Beacon Journal call in program, the IOUSA movie presentation and we also asked interested members at the Symposium to sign up to be made aware of future volunteer activities. We collected background data on your present volunteer commitments to aid us in gearing activities to our members' hectic schedules. We hope to offer more ways to help you "give" in a way that makes sense for you.


Please read the note from Pamela Sandy, CFP�, our Governmental Relations leader, about our November program. Pam and our Board of Directors have worked to put together a panel of experts to help you navigate through the ongoing challenges of our current economic and regulatory environment.


Finally, as you read this the election will be over and we will know what Congress will look like in January. What we won't know is what changes will Congress make and how those changes will affect you. Our Chapter, in concert with our national organization, will commit to keeping you informed in ways that can help you make a living at what you enjoy and make a life while doing it.
 

FPA/NEO 2010 Board Nominations
The following slate will be voted on at the November 18th FPA/NEO program meeting

Proposed Executive Committee:
President:  Mark McCandless, CFP�, CPA
President Elect:  Molly Balunek, CFP�
Treasurer: Kara Downing, CFP�
Secretary:  Adrienne Love, CFP�
Chairman:  Bill Russo, CFP�

New board members to be elected:
Karen Bordonaro, CFP�
Adrienne Love, CFP�

Board members who will be continuing their terms
Mario Gigante, CFP�, CPA
Ken Paull, CFP�
Pamela Sandy, CFP�

Mark J. McCandless, CFP�, CPA

Mark is a partner with RAV Financial Services. He currently serves the Chapter as President and has previously served at President-Elect, Treasurer and Program Director. His primary goals for our Chapter are to increase our involvement in Pro Bono and Financial Literacy activities as well as to create more Chapter involvement in educating legislators about the importance of financial planning and the fiduciary standard. Mark has volunteered with many organizations throughout his career and currently devotes his time as an assistant coach for the Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School speech team.


Molly Balunek, CFP�

Molly Balunek has over 16 years of financial planning and portfolio management experience and over 22 years in the financial services industry.  Molly works closely with clients to develop, implement and monitor their financial plans, including investment, cash flow, executive compensation and benefits, retirement, insurance and estate planning.  

 

She is active in national, regional and local financial planning organizations.  She has spoken on investment and financial planning issues to local investment groups.  In addition, she has been quoted in local and national publications on various financial planning topics.


 

Karen Bordonaro, CFP�

Karen Bordonaro, CFP� joined Demming Financial Services Corp. as an Investment Advisor Representative in August, 2009.   She has over 12 years of securities industry experience which included time spent with Merrill Lynch and UBS Financial Services, Inc. as a Financial Planner and Advisor.  Karen graduated from Pace University in New York City earning a BSA in Accounting and owned her own business providing financial services to small to mid size companies prior to entering the securities industry.   She is currently a General Securities Representative and Investment Advisor Representative with Coordinated Capital Securities, Inc. a registered broker-dealer and investment advisor.  She is also licensed to sell Life and Health Insurance.

Kara Downing, CFP�

Kara joined Spero-Smith Investment Advisers in late 2002 as an Assistant Portfolio Manager, where she was responsible for assisting the portfolio managers with various portfolio management projects, including trading (stock, mutual funds, and fixed income), account review, fulfillment of client service requests, and various investment and financial planning research projects. During her tenure, she has also served as the firm's Investment Analyst responsible for the research assistance on stocks and mutual funds for the firm's Chief Investment Officer and provided client reports for individual, foundation, endowment and corporate retirement plan clients.  In her current role as a Portfolio Manager, she is responsible for the implementation of individual client strategies based on their unique goals and constraints, as well as identifying financial planning issues and conducting client update meetings.  She also serves as the firm's Chief Compliance Officer.

Graduating cum laude from Bowling Green State University, Kara received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting.

Kara is a Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner and a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and Estate Planning Council of Cleveland.

Adrienne Love, CFP�

Adrienne Love, CFP� practitioner, is a Financial Planner with Key Private Bank in Mayfield Heights Ohio who offers sophisticated financial planning advice to advisors and clients.  Adrienne joined KeyBank in 1998.  She previously worked as a Portfolio Manager for the Investment and Trust Department where she advised client's on meeting their individual investment goals.  Adrienne received her Bachelors of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Finance from Ohio University and her Master of Business Administration from Cleveland State University.  She is a member of both the Financial Planning Association and Estate Planning Council of Cleveland.

Mario Gigante, CFP�, CPA, AIFA�

Mario Gigante is a principal at Cornerstone Capital Advisors.  He is also a faculty member of fi360 in Pittsburgh.  He is a board member for the FPA/NEO chapter.  He volunteers for various local charities and is actively in coaching his boys' sports teams.
Our Opportunity to Talk to Washington


On November 18th our local FPA chapter will present our second year-end "State of the Profession" panel event. This year's panel will discuss the ever-changing landscape of regulation in the financial services industry and the Financial Planning Coalition's push for the fiduciary standard of care. Read the August 31, 2010 press release here. - "Financial Planning Coalition Asks SEC to Require Fiduciary Standard of Care to Protect Retail Customers."

 

As part of our continuing effort to bring current and relevant information to our members, this year the board committed to bringing Dan Barry, FPA's Director of Government Relations, from his Washington DC office to serve as a guest panel member. We have a rare opportunity to tap into Dan's first-hand knowledge of the FPA and the Coalition's efforts to legislatively further the profession of financial planning.

 

This year we have seen the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (Dodd-Frank Act), which gave the SEC the authority, following a six-month study, to extend the fiduciary standard of care to brokers or dealers who give personalized investment advice to retail customers. The Dodd-Frank Act also resulted in the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Do you have any questions of Dan relating to these issues? Additionally, in 2011, investment advisers with less than 100 million under management, who previously were registered with the SEC, will have to transition and register by July 21, 2011 with their respective states and a new narrative form of ADV Part 2 will be required, with the intent of making the disclosure document more "readable and understandable" to consumers. And while all this was happening, Congress failed to address the expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the family of George Steinbrenner thanks them.

 

Now we have the mid-term elections upon us and the results will be known as we convene our panel on November 18th. Which political party will have the majority and how will those results change the FPA's legislative efforts over the coming year? This will be our opportunity to share our concerns and views with Dan, as the FPA begins looking forward to 2011.The Government Relations Committee will be putting together a "Questions and Comments Letter" for Dan, which we hope will allow our FPA/NEO members to have their voices heard on issues relating to the FPA's lobbying efforts in Washington. If you would like to include your questions or comments within the committee's letter, please email [email protected] before November 15th with your thoughts.

 

Please join us on November 18th. Along with Dan, we will we have a great line-up of local FPA members from different practice models who will bring their views and experience to the discussion. The financial planning profession is made up of an interesting and diverse group of professionals and these opportunities allows us to come together to share and learn from one another.

 

Pamela Sandy, CFP�

Government Relations Director

American Endowment Ad
Student Analysis of Symposium
by Justin Kemp, The University of Akron

The NEO FPA Symposium was an outstanding opportunity for financial planning professionals of all ages to network with colleagues, hear interesting speakers, interact with exhibitors, and sharpen their industry skills.  But the value of the symposium multiplies for young professionals and especially financial planning students looking to enter the workforce.  As a senior at The University of Akron majoring in financial services, the NEO FPA Symposium was an outstanding opportunity for me to get an insight to the industry and meet established professionals that could give me advice to kick-start my career.

The symposium offered great speakers lecturing on several current topics.  I was in Denver last weekend for the National FPA Conference, and just as it was in Cleveland, the fiduciary standard is a very popular subject.  Overall, the Symposium was an overly positive experience.  It gives students the chance to see what some of the current issues are in the financial planning world, but more importantly it gives young people the chance to meet and network with established professionals and build contacts that will last a career.  I have already learned that this business is based on relationships, and the NEO FPA Symposium gave me a great chance to start building meaningful relationships sooner than I thought possible.

Sigma Ad 11/1/10
CFP� Certificant Fee Increase


It's noteworthy that 4 of the 6 presentations at our October symposium included discussions of fiduciary responsibilities.  Our speakers had a common theme:  our industry is moving toward expanding and applying fiduciary standards, and away from financial planners who are not held to the same level of accountability.  As CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certificants, we distinguish ourselves from brokers and insurance sales reps by virtue of our fiduciary status.  But research shows that the public by and large, doesn't know the difference.  The CFP Board is undertaking a multi-faceted public campaign to raise public awareness of the value of working with a CFP� practitioner who truly puts the client's interests first.  In her role as CFP Board Ambassador, Connie Stone, CFP� is taking the message to local organizations, media and policymakers.  If you have ideas or contacts to share with her to assist in this endeavor that benefits all of us, please contact her at [email protected] or 440-247-4870.

 

For those of you who are interested in learning more about the potential CFP� certificant fee increase, please see http://www.financial-planning.com/news/cfp-fpa-glovsky-keller-2669140-1.html/ .  If you would like to ask questions or voice your opinion about the fee increase, you can e-mail the CFP Board at [email protected]

 

For links to the CFP Board's consumer advocate, publications and presentations, go to http://www.cfp.net/learn.

 

 
Direxion Wilshire Ad 11/1/10
Happy Anniversary

36 Years
Irwin C. Gemlich

32 Years
Sally Gries, CFP�

29 Years

David W. Demming, Sr., CFP�

28 Years
Lynda J. Gillinov, CFP�, MAI, SRA

27 Years
Alex I. Koler, CFP�

21 Years
Theodore T. Sadar, CFP�

19 Years
Leonard W. Ringenbach, CFP�

16 Years
Kevin H. Myeroff, CPA, CFP�, PFS

12 Years
Carl Camillo, CFP�

11 Years
Christopher L. Larkins

9 Years
Dallas N. Horn, CFP�

8 Years
Joseph Vitale, CFP�
Donald J. Tharp, CFP�, CAP, MSFS

7 Years
Gregory L. Gett
Jo Ann Desmarteau

6 Years
Mark Van Drunen, CFP�, MS
Michael A. Germo

5 Years
Mary Jean Skutt

4 Years
Jon J. Parkhurst

3 Years
Barbara J. Luczkowski, CFP�
Steven R. Clark
Jeffrey L. Davis, CFP�
Ed Vargo, CFP�, CRPC, CLTC

2 Years
John Palamar, Jr.
Matthew Orr, CFP�

1 Year
Richard A. Ahrens, CFP�