Someone’s Turning the Big Four-Oh This Year

By Jeff Jones, NAPFA Chair

The year was 1982. The city was Atlanta. The organization was known as the Society of Independent Financial Advisors. Those financial advisors had had enough of the world of sales, commissions, and the reputation that went along with being a financial advisor. They wanted to serve their clients as fiduciaries with a Fee-Only service model—a model that was clear, concise, conflict-free, and in the best interest of their clients. So in February 1983, they put pen to paper, and a 501(c)6 member association called the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors—NAPFA for short—was born.

NAPFA’s mission today is the living legacy of those founders’ dreams:

We are an engaged community of Fee-Only, fiduciary financial planners that provides education, professional connections, business development resources, and advocacy—all in support of members’ success.

Our vision aligns with what they wanted to achieve, which we still want to achieve:

As Fee-Only, fiduciary financial planning professionals, NAPFA members are the public’s trusted advisors of choice because they represent the highest professional and ethical standards.

Our mission and vision reside atop the four pillars of our core values as expressed in the NAPFA 2022–2025 Strategic Framework: “Advocacy, Client-Centered, Community, and Excellence.”

Where We Are Today

Since 1982, NAPFA has grown from 125 members to over 4,500 financial planners. Our membership ranges from some of the largest RIAs in the country to solo and mid-size practitioners, ensembles, students and academics, and retired members. Our members span 50 states across four regions. We gather as friends and colleagues to share at national conferences and regional symposia, as local study groups and MIX groups, and through online conversation circles.

We hold to our fiduciary oath and our code of ethics, and we fly that flag proudly. For 40 years, consumers across the country have looked to us to provide unbiased financial advice. Not only are we trusted by consumers, but our reputation also extends to Capitol Hill, where members of Congress express their appreciation and desire for NAPFA to lead on today’s key policy issues.

A Personal Note

I had the great fortune of sitting down with some of NAPFA’s founders during the 2022 national conference in Atlanta. They brought with them a treasure trove of historical information that included pamphlets, newsletters, and stories that were the precursor of this very magazine.

Their passion for NAPFA is as strong as ever. When I asked what they thought about the association’s success, one founder replied, “It’s been great, but how quickly can we get to 10,000 members?”

Thank You

So thank you. Thank you to those men and women who had a vision 40 years ago. Thank you to every volunteer who has contributed along the way. Thank you, members, for what you do every day to move this profession forward.

This year, we celebrate. Stay tuned for more information about what’s to come.

In the meantime, cheers to the next 40 years, but don’t get too comfortable. The work is not done. It will never be done.