WASHINGTON: The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) Consumer Education Foundation has teamed with Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine and TD Ameritrade for a yearlong, coast-to-coast bus tour offering consumers free financial advice.
The Your Money Bus Tour set out from Jersey City, NJ, on September 29 and will visit more than 60 cities nationwide. The tour visits East Coast locations through November.
At each stop, local NAPFA advisers will speak one-on-one with consumers and hold symposiums and press conferences to discuss financial matters. A Web site, yourmoneybus.com, provides consumers the opportunity to ask questions and read blog posts from advisers.
“We're reaching out to people that have questions about debt, looking for ways to start saving, [and] eventually diversify portfolios,” said Michael Joyce, president of the nonprofit's board.
Kiplinger's Personal Finance is providing editorial coverage throughout the year and a link on its site to the Money Bus site.
Kevin McCormally, editorial director of Kiplinger's Washington editors, noted that the economic crisis makes the tour “exponentially important.”
“People have a lot of questions... that the financial planners can give real advice on,” he said.
TD Ameritrade is also a financial sponsor of the tour. All three organizations have worked together in the past. Joyce said that Kiplinger's added “name recognition” to the effort. McCormally noted the tour provides a branding opportunity, but emphasized it was a chance to help people.
Perception PR, AOR for NAPFA, helped with logistics and media outreach for the tour. The Rosen Group, which is on retainer with Kiplinger's, is also helping with media outreach efforts.
