The rationale behind this change was they didn't want to be mixed up with an association that might represent off-shore tax-shelters. Evidently this is a problem for them.
Interestingly enough, there was no change in the mission - even though the term "Tax-Deferred" certainly covers a vastly larger number of product offerings.
The mission still seems to be protecting insurance agent's product sales in k-12 employer defined contribution programs. The theme for the upcoming conference in June is "Keep Choice Alive." There is a refusal to accept any behavioral research into the organization's mission (this is my opinion based on the evidence), the same old "offer as many products as possible" mission is front and center.
With that being said, a quick review of their upcoming summit is actually encouraging. There are several good sessions with many respected speakers (Michael Kitces being one of them). I don't see some of the normal sleazy sessions that I've attended in the past. I have to give Chris DeGrassi credit, the agenda looks good - even if the theme is mostly living in the past. Still, there are much better conferences for Advisors to spend their money on, but if you are in the DC area in June and have the cash - the conference looks like a nice place to be for a few days.
I maintain the opinion that the NTSSA (or the NTSA) is protecting a business model that is no longer viable and not in the best interests of millions of school employees, but they're more than welcome to continue attempting to convince people of it.
Scott Dauenhauer CFP, AIF, MPAS
