FPA’s New Board Chair Knows How to Play the Long Game

Brahim is eager to make significant progress in 2025 while acknowledging that this is a long-term advocacy priority likely to require years to come to fruition.

“With FPA's long-term strategic plan launch last year, FPA volunteer leaders and professional staff will focus on initiatives that grow the association’s membership and attract new talent,” Brahim said. “At the same time, we want to help members evolve from individual practitioners to successful business owners, advance on critical financial wellness programs, and make financial planning an aspirational career choice for the next generation.”

Here are some highlights from our conversation:

THINKADVISOR: How did you first get connected with the financial planning advocacy community? Has this always been an important part of your career?

PAUL BRAHIM: Yes, it really has. I first became a certified financial planner way back in 1995, and that process connected me to the two precursor organizations to the FPA. These were the International Association for Financial Planning and the Institute of Certified Financial Planners, which merged in 2000 to form the Financial Planning Association.

Those organizations and the FPA have been instrumental in my development as a financial planner. I am very comfortable saying that, without these connections, I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing today. I received so much mentorship, education and support. It really shaped my career and how everything has unfolded since.

That’s why giving back to this industry is super important to me personally. I’ve honestly found myself saying to people that I can’t believe I have the opportunity to lead this organization that has been so important in my own personal life. I’m very excited to use this finite period of time to have a real impact as the FPA board leader.

How has the finance industry’s view of financial planning evolved since your early days in the profession? You were pretty early to the game in getting your CFP mark in 1995.

At that time in my career, I was working for what was essentially a bond broker that was doing riskless principal transactions in fixed income for credit unions and insurance companies. Through what I learned while pursuing the CFP marks, I was able to introduce financial planning and fee-based asset management to that firm. It was pretty novel back then.

In very short order, that part of the business grew to become the firm’s biggest and most important business, and I went on to become its chief compliance officer. Eventually, I became the chief executive officer and chairman of the board, and I helped engineer the merger with Wealth Enhancement Group in 2020. Our planning capabilities and client-service culture were essential in that transaction, and we've been successful post-acquisition.

But early on in that whole process, you’re right, there weren’t very many other CFPs putting fiduciary planning at the heart of their work. It started to catch on pretty quickly, however, as people realized there was a viable compensation model that could make this work.

Today, the industry sees the opportunity in planning, but unfortunately, I also think there’s still a tremendous amount of confusion in the public about the difference between a real, fiduciary financial planner and other roles, whether that’s an insurance broker or portfolio manager. That’s why I believe so strongly in the FPA’s stated goal of raising the stature of financial planning to be on par with professions like medicine, law or accounting.

It’s a long-term goal, but one on which we are making steady progress.

To that end, looking at the year ahead, what are you hoping to be able to accomplish?

My hope is that, in my tenure here as president, I’ll be able to help us advance towards this ultimate goal. It’s obviously going to be a years-long effort, but I will feel successful if I can continue to set things up for the next president or presidents to advance us further and further along.

Making this a reality will take sustained effort to educate the public, lawmakers and regulators. That’s the biggest hurdle to get over, and I want to see it happen in my lifetime. I’m 65 right now, so I figure we have got 35 years or so to get it done.

The X factor here is that clients who already work with financial professionals are growing more sophisticated about what they want and need out of an advisor, and they are starting to understand the difference that comes with fiduciary planning. Today, it is actually becoming pretty common to hear two questions from potential clients: Are you a fiduciary? And are you a certified financial professional?

That wasn’t the case a decade ago. Honestly, it’s fun and exciting to hear those questions.

As you take on leadership of the FPA, do you worry about anything potentially derailing this sense of progress?

Well, worry is probably a strong word. But I do think a lot about the fact that you can go into a high school class and ask a bunch of 10th or 11th graders what they want to be in the future, and you still don’t hear the response “financial planner.”

You do still hear them say, “I want to be a doctor or a lawyer or an engineer.” So, we haven’t broken through yet as an aspirational career path, and I think that’s important to acknowledge.

I would personally love to see more financial education brought into the classroom, because I think that would spark more of a natural curiosity for this industry. That’s why I’m a supporter of financial literacy as a graduation requirement in high school.

We need to help young people see that this is a profession right where there’s a real and appealing career path — where you can have a direct impact on people’s lives and on society.

Pictured: Paul Brahim