“I came out of it a totally different person,” Jania Stout bluntly states.
As past president of the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA), the effect of her tenure on her personal and professional health has been overwhelmingly positive.
A former two-sport collegiate athlete, Stout, managing director and co-founder of Hightower Fiduciary Plan Advisors, tossed aside traditional excuses (too busy with starting a business, I’ll wait until the kids are older, etc.) to “get after it,” resulting in an incredible 55-lbs. weight loss.
“I got so many requests from friends, coworkers and clients who were seeing my journey and asking about keto diets, so I started a keto group on Facebook,” Stout tells Ross Marino, CEO of Advisor2X host of the OUTCOMES Podcast. “I was thinking maybe 20 or 30 people would join. We have 150 members now.”
Anyone who knows her isn’t surprised by the impact she’s making and professionally, she’s on every industry award list and graces the covers of industry magazines—401(k) Specialist included.
Her industry advocacy meant she was a part of this year’s Fly-In Forum in Washington D.C. to educate and lobby legislators on 401k-related issues, yet since it was done remotely due to the pandemic, it didn’t actually involve “flying in.”
LISTEN TO MARINO AND STOUT HERE
“The Fly-In has always been one of my favorite events,” she adds. “It really gives us the opportunity, as advisors, to see what’s happening. We heard from Rep. Richie Neal, D-Mass., and the Department of Labor. On the second day, we actually had virtual meetings on the Hill, including with the office of Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md.”
“What I think I heard you say is that you don’t have to know how all these committees and different things work, it’s advisors getting involved in the industry with [NAPA] and going out to make a difference for the people around them,” Marino notes. “Just dive in and go for it.”
Key points in the conversation
- Hear about Stout’s journey to become the president of NAPA and get the inside scoop into how the committee member path works.
- What was it like testifying in front of the Ways and Means Committee, and does anyone on the Hill really listen?
- And what did she focus on as a female president of NAPA?
“If you shy away from things that make you scared or nervous, or you feel you’re underqualified for, you’re never going to grow,” she says, a comment that perfectly encapsulates not only Stout’s attitude but the conversation as a whole.
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With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
