"Building relationships and exploring possibilities," is how Mark Johannessen described his agenda as FPA president on a recent visit to the Investment Advisor offices in Hoboken, New Jersey. Accompanied by the association's CEO, Marv Tuttle, Johannessen noted that he doesn't expect much to happen on Capitol Hill until the next Congress is seated in January, but that in the interim he and association staffers have been attempting to build relationships with key Congressional aides, legislators, and representatives of other associations with common goals, such as AARP.
Johannessen cited the recent blueprint proposals from Treasury Secretary Paulson as an example of something that won't see any real action for some time. "It may be the beginning of a framework for discussion, but whatever ultimately comes is going to be significantly different," he predicted.
The other item that's big for the FPA and was addressed by both executives is the establishment of a "standard of care" for financial professionals. There's been a significant amount of discussion about the issue on www.fpanet.org, and on a recent conference call, 395 members dialed in to take part.
