Success Forum preview: FPA on track with new Canadian education track

(October 31, 2003) Advisors scanning the schedule for the Financial Planning Association’s (FPA) upcoming Success Forum 2003 will notice a distinct new addition to the educational lineup for U.S.-based annual convention: a dedicated track focusing on Canadian issues and angles.

The “Canadian issues” education session track — positioned alongside other tracks including “business solutions,” “estate and tax planning,” “risk management” and “investments” — offers everything from a look at the Ontario Securities Commission’s fair dealing model to strategies for assisting expatriate and non-U.S. citizen clients to retirement planning in Canada.

“Since Success Forum has long been the lucky recipient of strong Canadian support, FPA though that this would be a great way of providing additional value to our Canadian attendees,” Laura Garrison, the FPA’s director of international relations, told Advisor.ca.

The location for this year’s convention — Philadelphia — is also a convenient destination for many Canadian advisors making the journey southward.

The FPA developed this year’s special Canadian track in conjunction with Canadian Institute of Financial Planners, the recently formed Canadian association for CFPs. “Since both of our membership organizations have the CFP licensee as our core member, we were exploring ways that we could work together and the Canadian track is the idea that we came up with,” says Garrison.

Along with a contingency of Canadian advisors, this year’s Success Forum is expected to attract attendees from 21 different countries including Argentina, Brazil, China, Japan, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Attendance is expected to be around the 3,000-mark, according to an FPA spokesperson.

Success Forum 2003 officially kicks off this Sunday, November 2, 2003, and runs through Tuesday, November, 4, 2003.

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Be sure to check back to Advisor.ca’s News Zone during the entire first week of November for our reports from Success Forum 2003 in Philadelphia.

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Filed by John Craig, jcraig@advisor.ca.