Does it sometimes feel like you’re in a crosshairs? Attacks on financial advisors and misrepresentations about the kinds of work you do for your clients seem to be coming at an ever quickening pace.

We have critics in many corners, whether it’s President Obama infamously railing against “snake oil salesmen,” a current series on National Public Radio questioning the value of advisors, or the Department of Labor swatting a gnat with a sledgehammer in the form of its thousand-page fiduciary proposal (which, by the way, in printed form may weigh as much as a sledge hammer).

Fortunately, as always, NAIFA has your back! Our advocacy team and grassroots organization are hard at work, educating members of Congress and federal regulators about the good work you do for your clients. We have produced materials like our “Securing America’s Future” report that explain to regulators, lawmakers, the media and the public how NAIFA members provide undeniably valuable products and services to their clients.

Despite claims to the contrary, not all consumers are best served by fee-only advisors, robo advisors or whatever the newest suggestion is from those who want to eliminate consumers’ choices. NAIFA experts and leaders have explained over and over in media interviews how consumers are best served when given a variety of options when it comes to how they receive advice and how they compensate their advisors.

Putting advisors in the best possible light is a benefit we provide NAIFA members and the entire industry. NAIFA exists to help tell your story, and to take on these challenges so that you can concentrate on what you do best – helping to secure the financial futures of 75 million American families.

It’s a great time to be an insurance and financial advisor. Americans need advisors more than ever, whether they are small business owners, employees, families or retirement savers. NAIFA knows that you are doing great things for your clients every day, and we are working diligently every day to ensure that is the message that rises above the attacks.