Claudia Cypher Kane, a Roseville, Calif.-based independent advisor with Raymond James Financial Services, has taken over as the new president of the Financial Planning Association, and her top priority is to advocate for title protection for financial planners.
The FPA started pushing for title protection in July 2022, and left the Financial Planning Coalition that year to focus on that issue.
“We knew it was going to be a long process,” Kane said, and recalled advice she received at the start of their advocacy push several years ago. “It’s a whole lot tougher to unwind something you do wrong than taking the time to do it right.”
Kane took over as president on Jan. 1 after being named 2023’s president-elect in fall 2022. In a statement, she said the association had been an “influential force” in her career that shaped her financial planning practice.
Kane first entered the industry in 1985 at Merrill Lynch. Later, she joined MML Investors Services and Everen Securities. She joined Wells Fargo in 1997, where she stayed until 2011, according to her IAPD profile. She left Wells Fargo as a senior vice president of investments, according to LinkedIn.
She’s now the head of the Roseville, Calif.-based Beacon Wealth Strategies, which offers securities and investment advice through Raymond James’ independent brokerage. The firm specializes in “custom financial planning, retirement planning and divorce financial planning,” according to LinkedIn.
Kane previously served as the FPA’s treasurer in 2022, as well as a volunteer leader for the association’s finance committee. Prior to becoming president, she wrapped up a four-year term on the FPA’s board in December, and also helped lead the FPA’s Northern California chapter. Additionally, she’s helped with exam writing for the CFP Board and also served on the Investments and Wealth Institute’s Board of Directors.
Kane is succeeding James Lee, the FPA’s 2023 president, who was the head of the Saratoga Springs, N.Y.-based Lee Investment Management and a member of the FPA’s Board of Directors.
Kane said she remembered the group of FPA leaders bursting into applause when the group decided to narrow its advocacy focus on title protection, but they weren’t entirely sure how to do so. They’re continuing to meet with planners and others, and are hoping to bring on other partners.
Earlier this week, the FPA published its comment letter to the Department of Labor’s revised fiduciary rule (the comment period ended Tuesday). The FPA asked the DOL to release more implementation guidance with the final rule, clarify certain language and terms, and to extend the effective date for the rule with a “phase-in” approach to enforcement.
Kane said she hoped to strengthen relationships between the FPA’s central leadership and its regional chapters, and also hoped the association could continue its advocacy to get financial literacy into classrooms, calling it a “big priority” for the association’s members.
“Our youth are our future, and the more financially literate they are, the better,” she said. “We do a lot of it pro bono, but it’d be great to see it in the schools."