10th Annual Garrett Financial Planning Conference

I attended the 10th Annual Garrett Financial Planning Retreat in Eureka Spring Arkansas this week. This annual event is a financial planning conference for Garrett Planning Network members. The focus of the conference is continuing education with seminars and workshops run by highly regarded industry leaders such as Rick Ferri, CEO of Portfolio Solutions; Michael Kitces, Director of Research for Pinnacle Advisory Group; and Tom Gardner, CEO of the Motley Fool.

Financial Planning includes a wide range of topic areas and so as you might expect the sessions were also diverse. I attended 12 sessions that included investments, retirement planning, life insurance, annuities, marketing, communications and practice management. Each session broadened or deepened my knowledge is some way. And this is the point of the continuing education requirements set by the CFP® Board of Standards and by the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA). The Financial Planning Profession requires broad and deep knowledge that must also be kept current. It also requires a set of skills that go deep yet also integrates the many topic areas into a cohesive, comprehensive financial plan. Conferences and other educational events provide the forum to keep financial planners skill and knowledge in top form.

In addition to education the conference was also a time to meet with other like-minded fee-only financial planners and share our knowledge with each other. The Garrett Planning Network is a wonderful group of professional people who happily collaborate and share their knowledge and skills with each other. The members believe that by sharing with each other we continually improve the solutions we deliver to our clients, our practices, and our profession as a whole.

The Garrett Planning Network Inc. is an international network of fee-only financial advisors and planners. We are independent advisors and our goal is to make competent and objective advice accessible through hourly as-needed financial planning. Our financial advisors bring the shared wisdom of a broad based network with significant experience in financial planning and investment management.

We focus only on the needs of our clients which means:
* Our clients’ priorities come first! We work for our clients and only our clients.
* We have no limitation on assets or net worth.
* Fee only means that we do not sell products or accept referral fees.
* We may offer asset management for people that want it, but it is not required.
* Long term relationships are encouraged, but long term commitments are not required.