NAPFA sees tower of power in ‘Power of Trust’ campaign

The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors is launching a “Power of Trust” branding campaign that will highlight its members’ strict professional standards, dedication to objectivity and commitment to investors.

The new marketing strategy is the outgrowth of a two-day meeting in San Diego in February where 40 former and present leaders of the association of advisers gathered to consider the long-term vision for the 28-year-old group. Details of the campaign will be presented to members in Salt Lake City this afternoon at NAPFA’s annual meeting, said Susan John, chairwoman of the association.

“This is the brand message for the next decade, looking out to 2020,” said Ben Lewis, spokesman for the group, which has about 2,400 members. “We looked at where we’ve been and where we believe the organization can go.”

Like the sizable marketing campaign launched in April by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc., NAPFA’s branding efforts come in the wake of an economic downturn that damaged the image of financial advisers who struggled to keep client portfolios above water.

Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission is considering whether to write a regulation that would impose a universal fiduciary duty on anyone offering retail investment advice, a requirement that investment advisers already meet. Broker-dealers are held to a less onerous suitability standard.

At the opening of the NAPFA meeting this morning, Ms. John called on members to sign a Financial Planning Coalition petition posted online last week that supports uniform standards of conduct for financial advisers. The FPC, which includes the CFP Board, the Financial Planning Association and NAPFA, already has about 3,300 signatories to its petition.