Financial Planning Association president Tom Potts opened the organization's annual conference in Denver on Saturday by noting the amount of older planners looking to retire and the new infusion of younger individuals entering the business.
"Elder planners are thinking about their succession plans, the future of the profession and the legacy they'll leave," he said. "The younger advisors note that it's rare that they'll come out of school and hit the ground running. They need the resources and experience of the greater FPA community to assist them."
Potts said he still considered the financial planning profession to be an "emerging profession," and that "in order to go from an emerging profession to an established profession, it must demonstrate that it can be handed down from generation to generation."
This new generation of advisors, combined with the financial downturn, had the industry at what Potts referred to as an inflection point.
"We are poised to reach untold heights," he said. "But only if we're smart about choices moving forward."
He then ticked off some of the association's recent accomplishments, including "Financial Planning Days," which provided free financial planning to the general public earlier in the day.
