- Utilizing A Client’s ‘Protective Asset’ To Manage And Stimulate Growth
How whole life insurance can play an important role in a financial plan
by John Budd
A fundamental tenant of effective investment diversification is the selection of non-correlated assets within a portfolio. Assets such as large- and small-cap US stocks, international stocks, real estate, government and corporate bonds, precious metals, and other categories often perform differently from each other. They rise in value at different rates while others may be falling.
read more - Getting Ahead Of The Curve At Work
Helping employers address absence and disability
by Jung Ryu
No employer wants to be behind the curve when it comes to providing for its employees. But when business is strong and employees are busy, employers can be lulled into a sense of false security, confident that their operations are running smoothly.
read more - Leveraging Home Equity Against The Longevity Risk
Four underutilized strategies to help build wealth
by Don Graves, RICP, CLTC, CSA
With the current retirement income crisis facing baby boomers, advisors need every viable resource to help their clients and sustain their practice. Reverse mortgages have become one such resource. Historically, the financial services community has either dismissed the reverse mortgage or relegated it to use as a last resort. However, much has changed in the…
read more - Obeying The Law of Connection
Trust often begins with an emotional attachment
by Scott Hogle
In any government, society, or industry, there are invisible laws reflecting customs and cultural nuances that govern successful dealings between people and businesses. Knowing these laws, how to leverage them with integrity, and exercise them intentionally, can mean the difference between success and failure. It is the same in the field of selling financial services.
read more - The Millennial Monolith
How a generation’s ‘digital literacy’ can guide advisors to create viable benefits solutions
By Hector De La Torre
Though Millennials face many of the same workplace challenges that older generations encountered early in their careers, their digital literacy has equipped them with the ability to efficiently navigate, research, and collaborate to accomplish tasks and access information.
read more - A Conversation With Neil Sprackling
Next-Gen Underwriting
by P.E.Kelley
There was a time in the very early days of life-insurance underwriting, somewhere in the 1700s, when the only useful and predictive piece of data was age. And it affected a simple equation: as the certainty of death approached year by year, so was risk duly assessed.
read more - Driving Voluntary Benefits Adoption With Both Hands On The Wheel
How technology and innovation are paving the way to greater success in the group market
by Leonard A. Cavallaro
In the property and casualty insurance world, one of the more exciting developments is the swift advance toward driverless cars. In Silicon Valley and around the world, people who are paid to know attest that in a reasonable amount of time, much less than a generation, human drivers will likely be outlawed because of their…
read more - Long Term Care Enters The Mainstream
LTCi is meeting today’s worksite needs… Are you?
by Brian Vestergaard
Some familiar phrases caught my attention recently. I was at home with my family, who had the television on in the background, when I heard terms like, “caregiving options,” “aging in place” and “protect your family.” It turned out to be a commercial about long term care planning.
read more - What CEOs Don’t Know About Health Benefits is Hurting Them…
…and the rest of America
by Dave Chase
The United States has always been thought of as the land of opportunity – that here, with enough hard work and dedication, you can build a life for yourself that was once only a figment of your imagination. However, the odds of anyone’s American Dream becoming reality have steadily decreased year over year...
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Using Data To Match Carriers With Customers
Lessons from fintech applied to insuretech
by Chris Chen
I’ve seen this story before. Having worked in fintech since 2005, I witnessed the fintech wave forming, cresting, and eventually crashing into the financial ecosystem. If there is a fraternal twin to banking, it’s the insurance industry. Both industries are built on managing risk, capital, compliance, and distribution.
read more - High Levels of Stress Impacting Financial Advisors and Investors Personally and Professionally
What’s really causing it...and what can be done?
A new study released by the Financial Planning Association® (FPA®), Janus Henderson Investors and Investopedia reveals that 71% of financial advisors and 57% of investors are currently experiencing an increase in moderate to high levels of negative stress compared to 12 months prior.
read more - Prescription Without Diagnosis is Malpractice
Risk management is all about diversification, not only in asset allocation, but also in asset location
by Herbert K. Daroff, J.D., CFP®, AEP®
I received this question the other day from one of our advisors (names changed to protect the clients, the advisor, and me). Abigail is working as a therapist, currently as a sole proprietor. I have the following questions regarding her practice: How should she structure her business?
read more - Inside The Conscience of Today’s New Investor
The growing interest in ESG investing means consumers are looking for more information on the topics that matter to them
by Kelly LaVigne, JD
Lately it seems everywhere we turn, we hear conversations, see media coverage, and read stories about what’s new with environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing.
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