ATTENDING MY FIRST NAIFA LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

I attended a meeting in Washington DC for my trade association NAIFA or National Association of Financial Advisors and Insurance Agents.? This was a big deal because originally I had Packer tickets for the Chiefs game in Lambeau Field and everyone was excited Taylor Swift was coming to also watch.? I sold my Packer tickets and endured 8 hours of delays due to snowy weather.? I finally arrive to my hotel 1am, which was locked, so I was finally let in after making phone calls to the front desk. The meeting was once again held at the Westin Hotel just southeast of the White House. The meeting was a Leadership Conference and had several objectives.? It was my first time attending this meeting.? There were approximately a couple hundred NAIFA members from around the country attending. I was the only one who attended from Wisconsin since I will become the state president in 2025. ??I sat with members from Virginia, Idaho, and South Dakota.? The agenda was packed with many presentations and breakout sessions.

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First several sessions focused on organizational changes.? NAIFA is merging with the Society of Financial Services Professionals (FSP) and a nonprofit organization called Life Happens whose mission is to promote life insurance.? The executive leadership introduced us to our partner organizations, and I became motivated to hear that my benefits as a member of NAIFA will be enhanced by the professional development capabilities of FSP.? The ability to hear new applications of advanced financial planning will hopefully advance my career. We listened to a political consultant speak about his prediction of the 2024 elections.? In his analysis, it will once again be Trump vs Biden due to the extreme polarization they will draw votes in the primaries.? In my opinion it is hard to believe that this may be our only choice.? The consultant could not predict who would win however.? The Senate will probably flip to Republican, and the House will be close.? This reminded me of a political consultant I listened to in September 2016 who believed that Hilary Clinton would win the election by a wide margin.? So much for predictions. In the afternoon we had advocacy point papers briefed and in the evening was the installation of the new NAIFA President and an awards ceremony. On Tuesday I decided to walk to my meetings in the Hart Senate Building which was about a mile away.? The temps were in the low 40s, so it was nice and sunny compared to the much colder temperatures in Green Bay. I must admit I feel comfortable with the advocacy gig.? The first time I went I was very nervous.? These are our nation’s lawmakers and voted in by our communities.? But as I advocated more, it was often with young staffers who are the ones that are probably influencing the decision so it is crucial to establish a good rapport with them. I had 4 issues to discuss: 1. Enhance the 529 plan to allow for training programs and credentialing to be included for preferential tax treatment. 2. Do not cap the commission payment a Medicare insurance agent may earn. 3. Discourage the DOL (Dept of Labor) from adding more fiduciary regulations that have already been created by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). 4. Exempt financial professionals and insurance agents from job classification. I attended my meetings at Senator Ron Johnson’s office and later Senator Tammy Baldwin’s office.? Both meetings went well as I realize I am once again a cog in the political process.?

Hopefully, my confidence I exude will help push the issue.

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