Abby Goes to the CFP Conference
I recently had the opportunity to attend the CFP Board’s first ever Connections Conference, and I cannot wait to share all about it! Before I get into the details, I want to explain how I got there. Last semester, I decided I wanted to make the Financial Planning Club at Kutztown University more active. This was my first year as President of the club, so I met with the officers and formed a plan for this school year. We came up with some ideas for speakers to bring in, and I did a google search of any local conferences for Financial Planners. The first one that popped up was the CFP Board Connections conference. At that time, the only details available were the dates and the location, Washington D.C. At this point, I also had no idea this was the CFP Board’s first time holding a conference of this kind. Since there were no other details at that time, I was not sure the probability of us making it to the conference, but I still added it to our list of ideas. When the officers and I met with our club advisor, Dr. Kramer, he mentioned the conference before I even had the chance to bring it up. I was excited that he was on board with making this a real possibility.
Over the summer, I would check the CFP Board’s website every week for updates. Finally, in the middle of June, the CFP Board opened registration, and it was way out of our school’s budget. I had put together an estimated budget for the trip which included hotel costs, travel, and a pending registration fee. The cost for fours students’ registration alone exceeded our budget for the whole school year. With little hope left that we could make this happen, I went on a limb and emailed the CFP Board asking if there was a student discount available for registration fees.
A few weeks later, I received an email from Kasey Kobs at the CFP Board. She said that a conference sponsor was paying for 100 students to attend the conference! I did not want to miss out on this opportunity, so I registered immediately. They were sponsoring up to four students per school, so we were able to bring all four officers from the Financial Planning Club. I was thrilled; this conference was becoming a reality!
I did not know it at the time, but we were the first students to register since I had reached out right when registration opened. At the end of summer, Kasey emailed me to let me know that another sponsor was paying for our hotel rooms as well since we were the first students to register! I was ecstatic; we were going to D.C.!
Fast forward to the conference: Throughout the conference, I attended two sessions on women in financial planning. I always feel inspired hearing the stories of successful women and what they have overcome to get to where they are today. I would say my favorite session was a panel discussion with Liz Miller, Audria Pendergrass Lee, Judith Lee, and Simone Lee. Simone Lee was the 100,000th CFP professional to get the accreditation! During the panel discussion, they touched on some interesting statistics. Statistically, women currently make up thirty percent of financial advisors. As women who outlive their husbands inherit more wealth, seventy percent will fire their financial advisor within a year of their husband’s passing. This will create an increasing demand for female advisors since clients wish to work with an advisor whom they can relate to.
Another great opportunity at the conference was the speed networking session for students. During this session, a group of sixty students were split into ten groups of six. There were ten tables each with a representative from a different company interested in hiring college graduates. We were given eight minutes at each table, and they wanted us to ask questions about the company to get an understanding of what they were looking for in candidates, get insight on their experience while working there, and any other questions we wanted to ask. It was interesting to get multiple perspectives from professionals in various roles.
Overall, I am eternally grateful for this experience, but it could not have happened without the sponsors and help from Kasey. I am so appreciative that the CFP Board made this opportunity available for students and facilitated the ability to engage with so many professionals in this industry. I think my biggest takeaway from the conference is just how important it is to make connections in this industry. Of course, I already knew the significance of building relationships and the benefits of knowing many professionals in your field, but I finally experienced it first-hand. All in all, this conference is an experience I will never forget, and I will take the knowledge I gained into various aspects of my future career as a CFP!
Ticket Number T008133
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