FPA Has a New President

James Lee is now president of the Financial Planning Association, the organization announced Thursday. 

Lee will “collaborate with other national volunteer leaders and the association’s CEO [Patrick D. Mahoney] to advance FPA’s strategic priorities,” the group says. One of the FPA’s main goals is the legal recognition of the “financial planner” title through title protection, which it explained last year.

“FPA believes financial planning is a noble profession worthy of recognition and legal protection. Anyone representing themselves as a financial planner must be qualified to provide these critical services,” Lee said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to working with my fellow volunteer leaders throughout the FPA ecosystem to move this long-term advocacy goal forward this year and in the years to come.”

Lee is president of Lee Investment Management in Saratoga Springs, New York. He is a certified financial planner and also earned the chartered retirement planning counselor and accredited investment fiduciary designations.

He has served on FPA’s board of directors for the past three years and has been a member of the organization for over 20 years. Lee is a founding member of the FPA Council of New York and past chair of FPA’s Legislative and Regulatory Issues Committee (now the FPA Public Policy Council).

“FPA has been a catalyst in my volunteerism by providing ample opportunities to give back and support a profession that truly changes lives,” Lee added in the statement. “I look forward to using this platform as FPA’s president to encourage others to volunteer while we work to position financial planning as the next great profession.”