NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux: There's "no limit to what we can achieve"

Hersch: What strategies will NAIFA be employing in the year ahead to secure its advocacy goals?

Mayeux: What we always do in relation to advocacy is to educate lawmakers about the real world impacts of their policy proposals. We make sure that our members are aware of the impacts and have them relay their concerns directly to their elected members of Congress.

A true strength of NAIFA is that we have members in all 435 Congressional districts and many of these folks have maintained ties with their members of Congress — both in the House and the Senate — since they were local officials. That breadth of connections helps us to get our message across much more effectively than we could otherwise.

In addition, we continue to coordinate our advocacy efforts with sister associations and coalition partners — ACLI, AALU, GAMA and others. And we continue to communicate to the public and our members through infographics, videos and weekly blog posts that clearly define what the issues are and how they might impact our members and their clients.

Hersch: How is NAIFA evolving to better meet the professional development needs of its members and to attract new members? What changes have internal changes yielded to date?

Mayeux: Two things we've launched recently will, we believe, really enhance our professional development offerings. One was the July 1 [2015] relaunch of the LUTCF program, which we've spearheaded in partnership with the College for Financial Planning.

The whole curriculum has been upgraded and energized to help young and new advisors succeed as industry professionals. The dynamic curriculum builds on sales fundamentals, but also provides practical tips and tricks that can help members better understand their roles as advisors, the nuances of the business, and grow their client base.

The other initiative, launched in conjunction with the GAMA International Foundation, was the creation of our Advisor 2020 Workshops. These aim to help advisors grow their businesses and prepare their practices to meet the needs of the marketplace over the next five years.

To date, we've secured approval to offer the workshops for continuing education credits in 15 states — and more are on the way.

In addition, we plan to announce in early 2016 additional courses we'll be on-boarding in connection with the Association Laboratories study I referenced earlier.

Hersch: In respect to the 2020 workshops, how might advisors have to evolve their practices in coming years?

Mayeux: American society is changing. There are more non-traditional families and the population is more ethnically diverse. We're also seeing longer life expectancies, as well as improved technology to allow people to communicate faster and more efficiently than ever before.

All of these are changing the ways that Americans do business. We need to ensure that advisors stay on top of those trends and can address clients' preferred ways to stay connected, while also meeting the needs of a much more diverse marketplace.

Hersch: Can you speak to the skills, insights and learnings you gained in your last position as vice president of the Institute of Internal Auditors, as well as other prior experience that might help to inform your current work at NAIFA?

Mayeux: I'm an association professional. NAIFA is the fourth association I've served during the past 18 1/2 years. What I learned at the IIA and at prior associations is that, in order for an organization to succeed, it has to be member-focused. That's our first and foremost concern at NAIFA: making sure that we understand the needs of our members and that we're delivering products and services that will enable them to be successful in their careers.

At the same time, we have to be fiscally responsible. So as our members' needs increase, we have to develop the financial resources necessary to meet them. That's why we're expanding training and business developments programs that can offer new sources of non-dues revenue.

These are main-takeaways from my prior experience. At each of the associations I've run, we've operated the organization squarely in the black. And we've grown membership — in many cases, to an all-time high. I fully intend, with the dedicated team of staff and volunteers at NAIFA, to see the same thing happen here.

Hersch: How have developments buffeting product distribution in recent years — the aging of the advisor workforce, a perceived disinclination among millennials to join professional associations, and the growth of the independent advisor channel — impacted NAIFA's ability to grow the organization? How are you addressing these challenges?

Mayeux: The aging of the field force — most advisors are in their mid-50s — is definitely a concern. Our industry offers a career that can be very rewarding, both financially and emotionally. We have to find ways to tell this compelling story and encourage talented young professionals to enter the business.

As to millennials, they learn in a lot of different ways. Based on preliminary data from the Association Laboratory study, millennial respondents are saying they want face-to-face training — but not just face-to-face training. They also want the convenience of having some training and professional development content be delivered online.

They also want an opportunity to get together from time to time to compare notes, share ideas and connect with fellow professionals. So we have to find a way to repackage what we do and deliver content in ways that our members — our clients — are consuming that knowledge.

NAIFA enjoys a challenge. I'm optimistic that if we can get everyone on the same page, that there's no limit to what we can achieve. 

See also:

Taking stock of the DOL's fiduciary rule proposal

Global regulations: The vise on agents and advisors tightens