Serving our community and profession

 At the Center we are dedicated to sharing and spreading financial literacy. Melissa Joy, CFP® and Julie Hall, CFP® recently took their professional expertise to the community by volunteering for the Financial Planning Association of Michigan. Each presented workshops for the Detroit Parent Network. 

Julie led a risk management workshop speaking to parents of school aged children that live in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park. Her message included ways to incorporate life insurance, disability insurance and property and casualty insurance into an overall risk management plan.  Julie said, “It was great to be able share my financial planning knowledge with a group of parents in Detroit who have not had the opportunity to meet with someone to discuss financial planning concerns before."

Also reaching out to parents, Melissa visited the parent support center at Marcus Garvey in Detroit Public Schools where she shared what she calls a personal Financial Fire Drill. “I visited on field day so the whole school was full of excitement and energy and the parents had been volunteering their time with their kids throughout the day," Melissa said. "It was great to meet so many moms and dads and the program instructors at Marcus Garvey. The financial literacy discussion was wide-ranging and real-world, just as financial planning should be. I’ll look forward to volunteering with this program again in the future.”

Nine Represent Center at Raymond James Conference

The Center proudly led two separate Top Advisor Sessions at the recent Raymond James National Conference.  Matt Chope and Tim Wyman (pictured left) led a discussion about growing your business.  Dan Boyce and Melissa Joy presented "Finding, Developing, & Implementing Junior Partners."  Over 100 peers attended each session.  

With the destination of Orlando, Florida, nine team members flew south to attend the National Conference May 21st through the 25th.  The four-day event welcomed over 3,400 participants from across the nation.  The conference fosters both professional and personal development through a variety of learning sessions which are presented by both peer advisors and specialized industry experts.  

A powerful benefit of attending conferences like this is the opportunity to hear ideas from others.  Center team members get to know people over the years and learn what new ideas and innovations are working for peers.

One area of growth highlighted at this year’s national conference was technology. Raymond James and the Center for Financial Planning are making major investments in cutting edge technology that will work to the advantage of both the advising teams and Center clients.

Members of our Center team in attendance included:  Sandy Adams, Dan Boyce, Matt Chope, Marilyn Gunther, Jen Hackmann, Melissa Joy, Laurie Renchik, Tim Wyman and Troy Wyman.

Live From Orlando: Top Advisors Tell All on Junior Partners

Registered Rep: by Diana Britton on May 22nd, 2012

Advisor panel speaks about adding junior partners at conference.The worst thing you can do when bringing on a junior partner is to immediately anoint them as heir apparent, said Daniel Boyce, FA and founding partner of the Center for Financial Planning in Southfield, Mich. “That is backwards in my estimation,” Boyce told attendees of Raymond James Financial Services’ National Conference for Professional Development in Orlando, Fla.

Any potential partner needs to earn their right to sit at the table with the partners, Boyce said. Give them the opportunity, but wait for them to step into that opportunity before you give them that reward.

Boyce, head of a $700 million AUM firm, joined other top advisors on a panel session discussing the dos and don’ts of recruiting junior partners. Boyce just brought on a new partner recently, Melissa Joy, who joined the panel to share her insights.

Boyce’s motivation in bringing on Joy was not to transfer clients over to her, as his firm already had an ensemble practice in place for that. The age differential was the motivator; he wants successors of different generations. Joy is in her 30s, he said.

Todd Sanford, branch manager of Sanford Financial Services in Portage, Mich., said his return on investment in bringing Scott Williams into his practice was so high that it would probably rival buying Apple a decade ago.

For Sanford, bringing on a younger partner was a tool for expanding the firm’s generation reach, as Williams could work with people with similar life experiences and serve younger people referred to the firm.

But you can’t just hire a junior partner the moment you need them, Sanford said. You’ve got to hire that person years before you need them.

Boyce said his role at the firm has changed over the years, to become a mentor for planners and staff. He says that role is probably the most satisfying for him, and it’s also the most important. Boyce says you can’t view your staff as an expense, but an investment.

“It’s the human capital that is your biggest asset and resource.”

Do you agree?

2012: Financial Planning Opportunities & Challenges

Client Presentation Now Available on Video!

The Center's informative library presentation "2012: Financial Planning and Investment Opportunities," given recently for clients and friends, is now available on demand as web-based video on YouTube. 

This presentation includes:

• a brief look back at the investment environment in 2011
• financial planning opportunities likely to be in the forefront for 2012
• updates on state taxation of pension income
• the investment outlook for 2012
• advice for keeping emotions at bay when making investment decisions

All six YouTube videos are available on the Presentations page of The Center's website.