Are Insurance Companies Safe?

By Sam Deleo
Tucker Advisors Senior Content Specialist/Editor

They have been called the debt managers of the world. But just how solvent and safe are insurance companies?

Shortly after The Great Recession began unraveling in 2008, many people feared insurance companies would suffer the same fate as investment banks like Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns, Wachovia and Washington Mutual. After all, no one could have predicted those banks would fail, either. Apart from those old enough to remember The Great Depression, people had never experienced such a far-reaching financial downturn.

As Time Magazine pointed out with a story in October of that year, insurance companies operate differently than banks. For one, they are tightly regulated and they are regularly audited. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners assists state insurance regulators in, according to the agency’s website, protecting consumers and ensuring “fair, competitive, and healthy insurance markets.” The agency began in 1871, and for the last 150 years, has assisted the public interest by providing oversight of the insurance industry.

Regulations require insurance companies to contribute to state funds that protect policy holders, as well as to maintain large sums of cash and short-term investments at all times. With longer-term investments, insurance companies cannot take the same kind of risks that banks can. As Time reported in 2008, insurance companies on the whole placed only about 10 percent of their investments in real estate and mortgages, risk categories that inflicted significant losses to banks that were more heavily invested in them. The one insurance company that required a bailout, AIG, suffered its heaviest losses from its financial services division, a business segment that most insurance companies do not have. Its insurance division remained solvent and protected.

While the AIG case was an outlier, it still raised legitimate red flags among the general public. And the truth is that there have been many instances of smaller insurance companies fading into oblivion. What would happen if a large insurance institution like AIG failed?

As Time wrote in 2008 about such a possibility, “Even if a company were to fail outright, consumers are protected much in the way that routine bank deposits are guaranteed by the FDIC.”

Safeguarding against a potential failure is the Insurance Guarantee Fund, which every insurance company is legally required to pay into, and which is also managed by state-sanctioned insurance guaranty associations. These associations are charged with protecting policyholders and claimants in the event of solvency issues with insurance companies, and can even step in to take over servicing the policyholders of companies that fail. They are legal entities backed by the insurance commissioner in every U.S. state.

Unlike banks, insurance companies can’t reward executives from reserve revenue or apply it toward the nebulous category of operating expenses. That “excess” money must be legally dedicated to the claims of policyholders. As an added protection for policyholders, a failing insurance company cannot access federal bankruptcy laws to escape liability for its debts.

Of course, no company or individual is immune from financial setbacks or crashes. But then, if that is the reality of the situation, why not use the relative comparative solvency of insurance companies to one’s benefit?

That is exactly what some of the largest corporations in the world have done in recent years. Below are 10 stories that present a trend of corporations transferring the liabilities of their pension plans into the safety of indexed annuities with insurance companies.

Free Guide: High Profile Use of Annuities

Corporations Move Pensions into Annuities with Insurance Firms

1. “GM Unloads $26 Billion in White-Collar Pensions; Could Union Workers Be Next?”
Forbes; June 1, 2012
https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2012/06/01/gm-unloads-26-billion-in-white-collar-pensions-could-union-workers-be-next/?sh=20357ddd3213

2. “Kimberley-Clark buys annuities to cover pension risks”
Business Insurance; Feb. 23, 2015
https://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20150223/NEWS03/150229961

3. “Molson Coors transfers $900 million in pension liabilities”
Pensions & Investments; Dec. 4, 2017
https://www.pionline.com/article/20171204/ONLINE/171209946/molson-coors-transfers-900-million-in-pension-liabilities

4. “DuPont to pump $30 million into pension plans in 2019”
Pensions & Investments; Feb. 12, 2019
https://www.pionline.com/article/20190212/ONLINE/190219954/dowdupont-to-pump-430-million-into-pension-plans-in-2019

5. “Eastman Chemical buys annuity to transfer $110 million in pension liabilities”
Pensions & Investments; Feb. 23, 2021
https://www.pionline.com/pension-risk-transfer/eastman-chemical-buys-annuity-transfer-110-million-pension-liabilities

6. “Centrus Energy kindles annuity deal for $30 million in pension liabilities”
Pensions & Investments; March 19, 2021
https://www.pionline.com/pension-risk-transfer/centrus-energy-kindles-annuity-deal-30-million-pension-liabilities

7. “FedEx to ship $500 million to pension plans”
Pensions & Investments; July 20, 2021
https://www.pionline.com/pension-funds/fedex-ship-500-million-pension-plans

8. “Lockheed Martin offloads $4.9 billion in pension liabilities”
Pensions & Investments; Aug. 3, 2021
https://www.pionline.com/pension-risk-transfer/lockheed-martin-offloads-49-billion-pension-liabilities

9. “CTS unloads pension liabilities with annuity purchase”
Pensions & Investments; Aug. 4, 2021
https://www.pionline.com/pension-risk-transfer/cts-unloads-pension-liabilities-annuity-purchase

10. “Macy’s purchases annuity to transfer $256 million in pension assets”
Pensions & Investments; Sept. 7, 2021
https://www.pionline.com/pension-risk-transfer/macys-purchases-annuity-transfer-256-million-pension-assets

Why would these corporations have taken these actions with billions of their pension dollars, which they’re liable for, if they didn’t believe in the solvency of insurance companies? They have made the determination that, while risk can never be ruled non-existent, it can absolutely be minimized.

This trend is causing ripple effects in the general public, especially among those who are getting closer to retirement age and want to protect their savings from market volatility. The same financial instruments that these corporations are using to shield their pensions from risk with insurance companies—indexed annuities—are sought after by retirees for the protection of their “private pensions,” or retirement savings.

As is the case with the public pensions of corporations, individuals can use indexed annuities to create their own pensions and receive a predetermined monthly income throughout their retirements. It’s the same basic income stream that pensioners receive from corporations who moved pension funds into indexed annuities. Private policyholders of indexed annuities enjoy the same protection from risk as these giant corporations.

There are even ratings agencies that help consumers navigate which insurance firms are generally thought to be the most solvent. As detailed in a story from Forbes last year, “Insurance companies are rated on their financial strength by independent agencies that each have their own rating scale and standards. The five rating agencies are:

1. A.M. Best, which rates companies on a scale of A++ to D-

2. Fitch, which rates companies on a scale of AAA to D
   3. Kroll Bond Rating Agency, which rates companies on a scale of AAA to D
   4. Moody’s, which rates companies on a scale of AAA to C
   5. Standard & Poor’s, which rates companies on a scale of AAA to D
   The highest ratings are given to companies that the ratings companies believe are in the best positions to meet their financial obligations.”

    

   The Insurance Information Institute is another source of consumer-centric information about the insurance industry. The institute recommends that people reference more than one rating agency in their searches, since ratings can fluctuate from agency to agency. Some insurers will also list their ratings on their websites, though they may not be the most current rating.

   Policyholders also have the ability to change insurance companies if they wish, so it’s important to keep updated on any downgraded rating reports. Middle-of-the-pack ratings should not be a cause for concern, but policyholders may want to take proactive steps if their insurance company receives a low-end rating.

Regulators and auditors monitor the insurance industry more than almost any other industry in the world. That’s important. But how does it assist a financial advisor’s practice? For starters, it provides advisors with concrete evidence to explain to their prospects and clients that all risk is not the same. Surprisingly, many people who are invested in the market do not grasp this basic truth.

The stock market is a fantastic tool for investors to realize growth. To think that insurance tools like indexed annuities carry a comparable risk as stocks, as some people errantly believe, is insanity. They are not even remotely equal in risk. In fact, the indexed annuity is a comprehensive risk slayer.

Advisors do themselves a disservice by not letting their prospects and clients know that insurance companies have long been trusted as the most solvent firms in the financial industry; that some of the wealthiest corporations in the world trust their money with these insurance companies.

These corporations understand that, as the world’s risk managers, insurance firms are better-equipped to manage long-term pension liabilities. The tools most of these businesses use to protect billions of pension dollars is the indexed annuity. Why wouldn’t a client want their life savings to enjoy the same protection? The financial advisors who can best inform people about financial risk, and the most effective ways to minimize it, will enjoy a lasting edge over their competitors.

For more information on indexed annuities and an exclusive interview with Tucker Financial’s Darren Petty, click here.

References

Notes:
For more information about the insurance industry or to receive a downloadable white paper on addressing indexed annuity concerns, email Kyle.Savner@TuckerAdvisors.com or Jason.Demers@TuckerAdvisors.com.

Sources:
1. Time Magazine (http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1849023,00.html)
2. NAIC.org (https://content.naic.org/)
3. Investopedia.com (https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/insurance-guaranty-association.asp)
4. Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/advisor/life-insurance/company-out-of-business/)
5. Insurance Information Institute (https://www.iii.org/)

– For Financial Professional Use Only. Insurance-only agents are not licensed to offer investment advice.

5 Financial Advisor Branding Tips You Can Implement Today

By Jordan Collins
Tucker Advisors Senior Digital Marketing Specialist

Table of Contents

Click the links below to jump to a client appreciation event page section specific to your needs.

Create a professional email signature

Connect your offline materials to your online presence

Professionalize your email address with your domain

Create a website contact form

Create a prospect list with online tools

Everyday there are new online tools created and marketed to businesses claiming to drive more leads and grow your prospects. With such a crowded marketplace it is hard to know what tools are necessary and what tools just aren’t the right fit.

For financial advisors, it is important to use mechanisms that allow you more time to meet with clients and write business. At Tucker Advisors, we believe in marginal gains. It’s not about finding a silver bullet that doesn’t exist. It’s about making daily improvements that will make an impact over time to provide consistent value to you and your clients. That’s why we’ve put together 5 ideas for you to implement today!

Create a Professional Email Signature

What is an email signature?

An email signature is a content section at the end of your emails that will be added to each email you send. Below is an example of an email signature:

Many people will use email signatures to include contact information, links, images, and text. With each email that you send, you are also sending your contact info and web properties. It’s up to you to decide what information you’d like people to access in your signature, including your social media sites, phone number, and website address.

The Importance of the signature

Signatures can create extra traffic to your calendar invites, website, and touchpoints in a convenient environment for contacts to access you and your information. If your email is forwarded, those emails will also include your contact information if someone is providing a referral. This is another opportunity to show prospects that you are a polished advisor who is ready to help.

WriteThat.name looked at 700 million emails processed through their contact management solution and found that only 52% of users had email signatures. Here’s the infographic for the study:

What to include in your signature

As you can see, there is a lot you can do with your signature but not all of it will fit what you do for your audience. 

Take a minute to think through what pieces would be good for your emails and what wouldn’t. We would highly suggest not making your entire signature an image, as it may be turned to an attachment by some email providers. This will create display issues and not show the information you’d like. It is okay to have text links in your signature, as these will not be changed by email service providers. Convenience is the primary concern of your signature before optics and layout.

Good email signatures provide pertinent information that will always be easy to display. For starters, including your email address, website, your calendar invite, and a professional photo of yourself should do it.

Lastly, if you are going to include time-sensitive information in your signature, be sure to set a reminder to change your signature when the time is right. You don’t want all of your communications going out with an old date or event attached to an unrelated message. For the most part, you’ll want to stick to evergreen content.

How to Change Your Signature

There are countless email service providers and email clients that people use on a daily basis. To try and simplify this process, we will walk you through a high-level version of the process, then provide links to how you do this process using different services.

1. Go to your account settings and find where your signature can be edited
2. Input any information, images, and/or links you’d like to share
3. Save your signature
4. Activate your signature from the options in your account settings

This simplified version of the steps isn’t explicit or platform-specific but it’s enough to get you started. For more information on how to change your signature, see the links below for specifics.

Gmail

Yahoo

Outlook

Hotmail 

Comcast Xfinity

AOL

iCloud

If written instructions aren’t your preference, see YouTube for extensive, step-by-step instructions.

Connect Your Offline Materials to Your Online Presence

Business cards date all the way back to the 17th century in Europe. Even our forefathers knew that leaving your information with someone would be a helpful communication tool.  The business card has gone through a great number of iterations since then but the conventional wisdom remains. If you want someone to get in contact with you, make it easy!

Whether you have a stack of business cards or a full print package, your materials should take your prospect to where you want them, your point of sale. For many advisors, getting someone from your business card to your appointment calendar is crucial. This is where your marketing spend can make your life easier. 

When you create your print materials, be sure to include your website, your email address, and any other important online information that will help your prospects. 

Pro Tip: Use evergreen content! Don’t use an email address or calendar link that won’t be the same in 6 months. If you don’t want it going directly to your inbox, create an inbox like “admin@yourretirementspecialist.com.”

When you create new materials or print something, you should always think about who your audience is and what contact information should be included. If it is a current client, linking to your website and including contact information is a must. If you’re talking with a prospect you’ll definitely want to include a way for them to make an appointment and your contact information.

Another way that you can take people directly to a webpage is to include a QR code. A QR code will take a user from their phones’ camera directly to the webpage the QR code is associated with. This is something you can easily print on a paper, guide, or other physical material that can take people to your online presence.

All in all, you want a prospect or client’s offline and online experience to be seamless and easy to use. This will encourage them to refer others and access information with ease.

Professionalize Your Email Address with Your Domain

Why you should customize your email address

At one point or another, you’ve probably sent professional email through a personal email account. There’s nothing wrong with this but there are drawbacks. Email scams and automation have made it difficult to find out what information is important and what isn’t. Email service providers have become more and more astute about filtering these messages, but they don’t always get it right. One way to stick out from the crowd is to professionalize your email address with your domain. Instead of your email address being @gmail.com or @yahoo.com, it would come from your website. 

Example: financialadvisors@TGIFinancial.com

Seeing a custom domain in an email address provides context for where the email is coming from and why they are reaching out. The email address lets you know that the person reaching out is from TGI Financial and they are a business before you open the message. When you receive an email from fred9382@gmail.com, there’s no telling whether it is spam, a scam, or an old buddy from high school. 

Skip the guessing game and inspire trust in your messages by using a professional email address. You are more likely to get professional responses and signal to users that you are open for business.

How to get a custom email address

If you don’t already own a domain name for your business, you’ll need to start here. Choosing the right domain name for your business is important for a number of reasons but this article should give you a brief overview on how to do it. Once you have your domain name, your domain host will have options for you to create mailing addresses. This process differs depending on who you choose as your domain host, so we will list the processes with links below:

GoDaddy

HostGator

BlueHost

There are more domain hosts out there but most of these processes will have the same steps with slightly different steps. If your personal email address has a lot of business inquiries coming in, we would suggest forwarding those messages to your new address and updating your online presence to reflect this email address for users. This way, your mail is still all in one place.

Once you have an administrator or staff members, be sure to add them to your custom domain email addresses. Be sure to create at least one email account that is not dedicated to a specific person’s name, as this will be a good email address for your website’s contact forms and general inquiries.

Once you have created custom email addresses with your host, test that each email address is working by sending test messages. If you run into issues, follow up with your domain host support for more information.

Create a Website Contact Form

It’s great to have prospects visit your website but it’s better for them to leave you a message. In the modern era, the answering machine has been replaced by the website contact form. The best way for you to capture leads and prospects using your website is by capturing contact information. If your website doesn’t have a place for visitors to give you this information, it’s not going to happen.

To start, add a contact form to your website’s contact or homepage. Your homepage will receive the most traffic of any pages, so this is an important place to include a contact form near the bottom of the page. You can also link buttons on the homepage to take people to the contact form. The contact form doesn’t need to be front and center on your homepage, but it should be available should your visitor choose to get in touch. 

Once you’ve edited the page to add a contact form, you’ll want to fill out all of the details of what is mandatory and optional for your form. 

Pro Tip: Don’t require a phone number on your form. Studies have found that this one field can impact conversions by up to 47% and many people will not give their real number if you do.

The next step is to test your form. Depending on the contact form or plugin you choose, you’ll need to configure and test that if someone fills out the form, it does show up in your inbox. For this reason, some will use a plugin while others will only need to fill out the contact box in your page builder. 

Contact forms are crucial to your online success because they are a window for prospects to turn into a lead. Your website could have the best presentation of your business possible, but without a simple way for them to reach out, it can only produce brand awareness. With a contact form, you have the opportunity to create new leads.

Create a Prospect List with Online Tools

Finding viable prospects is one of the hardest jobs for a financial advisor. Companies know this and have entire business models built around selling contact information.

Pro Tip: Most bought lists are not compliant with mass email providers’ terms of service agreements. Sending out messages to a bought list that hasn’t opted-in to receive messages from you can get your Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or other ESP account blacklisted.

With all of these hoops to jump through, you may be thinking “how can I contact new prospects?”

One strategy is to get your library card. Yes, we meant that last line, your library card.

Many libraries have free access to tools outside of just checking out books. Reference Solutions by Data Axle (formerly ReferenceUSA) is the leading source for business and residential data in the United States. Libraries across the United States provide access to information within Reference Solutions at no extra cost if you are a local card holder. 

See your local library’s website for information on what data they have access to. This way you are saving on your budget and still have the ability to get reliable data from a quality source.

–

There you have our 5 financial advisor branding tips you can implement today. We hope that these suggestions are helpful in your prospecting and will continue to build your financial advisory practice for the future. For more information on digital marketing, check out our article on how to track direct mail campaigns.

Sources: 

www.codetwo.com

www.writethat.name 

https://ahrefs.com/blog/

www.designerdaily.com

www.dreamhost.com

www.vtldesign.com

www.Blog.gimm.io

www.wisestamp.com

www.smallbusiness.chron.com

If you are looking for more ways to market your financial advisory practice, see this presentation from Tucker Advisors CMO Justin Woodbury.

If you would like more information on digital marketing strategy, visit here.

For Financial Professional Use Only. NOT INTENDED FOR VIEWING OR DISTRIBUTION TO THE PUBLIC. Insurance-only agents are not licensed to offer investment advice.

Indexed Annuities: The New Retirement Pensions?

By Sam Deleo
Tucker Advisors Senior Content Specialist/Editor

Defined-benefit plans. Those of us who are older might remember them better as “pensions,” but in 2021 they seem about as common as a rotary phone. (Sorry, but we don’t have time to explain what that is.)

Investopedia.com reported in a story last year that only 17% of U.S. private-sector workers still have access to pension plans. With many of the plans still in existence, employers have placed a freeze on funding them, which is often the beginning of the process to eliminate the plans altogether. In other words, the large majority of us can no longer rely on our employers to fund our retirement plans. We are on our own.

The Pros and Cons of the 401(k)

The most common replacement of the defined-benefit plan has been the defined-contribution plan, or, the 401(k). The 401(k) often offers a traditional pre-taxed account and a post-taxed Roth account, with both sourced in a blend of stock and bond options the employee must choose and maintain with the appropriate risk tolerance until retirement.

Some of us are lucky enough to work for employers that match a percentage of 401(k) contributions. However, in recent years, that benefit has also become rarer. Ultimately, it is up to the employee to secure their future income from the 401(k) choices they make. And as James McWhinney at Investopedia writes, that’s far from a certain outcome:

“After the money hits the account, it’s up to the employee to choose how it’s invested—typically from a menu of mutual funds—and the vagaries of the stock market to determine the ultimate outcome. Maybe the markets will go up, and maybe they won’t.”

The 401(k) plan does offer advantages over pensions for employees. For one, it can be a better instrument for growing retirement savings. Also, workers no longer need to worry about whether their employer can fund the pension or will declare bankruptcy to escape liability for it. But, without pensions, employees also can’t predict an exact monthly income for their retirement. In a 401(k), the income they plan on for retirement rises and dips with the market, and they must hope that none of the “dips” turn into downturns or crashes while they’re preparing to retire.

Free Guide: High Profile Use of Annuities

What Does an Indexed Annuity Do?

Even if market risk isn’t your thing, playing it safe has its own problems. With interest rates for bank accounts, CDs, money markets and even bonds lower than the current rate of inflation, workers will actually lose money year to year by investing in those savings instruments.

So, what is the most efficient tool for creating your own retirement pension? While there are more elaborate and hands-on approaches, more and more retirees are finding the solution is to fund an annuity with a portion of their 401(k).

“One user-friendly version of self-funded pensions is the indexed annuity,” said Tucker Financial President and CFP, Darren Petty. “It functions much like a ‘cash-balance pension plan,’ a defined benefit plan created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974, except the annuity version is funded by the employee at or near retirement, usually with a portion of their 401(k) balance.”

An indexed annuity is an insurance vehicle that can guarantee a reliable monthly income over the lifetime of the policy holder, with the remaining balance payable to owner’s beneficiary(ies). The cash balance can grow at a stated interest rate, much like a bank CD, or it can have greater growth opportunity if the owner chooses an indexed option. This “links” the annuity cash value to a stock index like the S&P 500. When the market grows, the annuity cash value grows. When the market declines, the annuity doesn’t lose value because it isn’t directly invested into equities. To be fair, these annuities aren’t to be compared to a stock portfolio in terms of overall growth opportunity, but they can earn a respectable rate, all without market risk.

Why Are Corporations Moving Pensions into Annuities?

When you consider that indexed annuities de-risk principal and can guarantee a reliable monthly paycheck, it’s easy to understand why retirees are finding them to be attractive pension replacements. Even major corporations, such as GM, FedEx, DowDuPont, Lockheed, Molson Coors, Kimberley-Clark and others, have transferred their pension funds into annuities. These corporations understand that insurance firms act as the world’s risk managers and are better-equipped to manage long-term pension liabilities.

Critics of annuities claim they carry high fees, and this is particularly true of variable annuities, which have fees ranging from 2% to 5%. The lower-cost indexed annuity typically comes with a 1% or less annual fee, depending on the retiree’s deferral period (years until retirement). Others say you can make more money by investing in stocks. It is true that you might grow money faster in stocks or mutual funds, but creating your pension income at retirement is still the goal of this growth. Another common critique is that indexed annuities “tie up your money,” but in fact, most offer between 10% and 20% liquidity each year. “This (liquidity) is far more than you should ever access,” said Petty, “when you consider that all distributions are fully taxable if the annuity has been funded by 401(k) dollars.”

Indexed annuities are not for everyone, and they may not be for you. If you’re still well within your accumulation years, you can take greater amounts of risk in the market. For those who are, say, less than 40 years old and have the time to recover any potential loss from riskier market investments, it may be wise to wait before investing in an indexed annuity. And, if you are a very high-net-worth investor who does not require secure monthly income for retirement, an indexed annuity is likely superfluous.

But the recent trend toward indexed annuities as an alternative to other retirement income solutions is not an accident. People want the security of the old pension plan. They’re finding they can come very close to recreating that financial period of history with a carefully selected indexed annuity.

We spoke with Darren Petty a bit more in depth about what he sees as the similarities and differences between the old pension plan and today’s indexed annuity, as well as other possible methods of creating this kind of income.

Q: How can retirees most efficiently receive pension-like income throughout their retirement?

A: There are several options within just the categories that are appropriate for retirement income. You have dividend-paying stock portfolios, laddered-bond portfolios, rental income or annuities. Within these categories, we look at four main things: income, growth, liquidity and tax efficiency. So, within those four categories, the most efficient for those who don’t want to be tied to managing their investment constantly during their retirement is the self-funded annuity. It provides reliable income, respectable growth, sufficient liquidity and tax efficiency. The fifth, bonus aspect is that it requires no monitoring or maintenance. Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of dividend-paying stocks for retirement income? A: The advantage is that you can get stock growth and receive a monthly income when the sun is shining, so to speak, and the tide is high and all boats are floating. So, in an expansionary economy, they’re great. In a recessionary economy, the stock value goes down and its dividend often disappears. As Warren Buffet said, “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.”

Q: What are the pros and cons of annuities for retirement income?

A: Some of the cons are that they can’t compare to your stock portfolio. The growth potential can be disappointing if compared to a high-flying stock. They are also not 100% liquid. The advantages contrast the disadvantages. While your annuity will not experience outsized growth, the vehicle has no downside risk, which makes it appropriate for an income-producing asset where moderate gains that never experience a market loss are sufficient. Also, 100% liquidity is an insane request on a 100% tax-deferred vehicle.

Q: Can you talk about the key differences between employer pensions and self-funded annuities?

A: If you have an employer pension, the advantages are that you don’t have to allocate or manage the investment. Your retirement income is easy to calculate, and it’s a clear trajectory. In a 401(k), as we’ve discussed, it will be a bumpier ride but you’ll be able create your own pension that you own and control. And an indexed annuity will likely be a large part of that creation.

Q: How much of a retiree’s income should be “guaranteed,” i.e., how much of the 401(k) should be used to fund an annuity?

A: I think that is a very practical question for people. So, this should be a reverse-engineered calculation where you subtract Social Security benefits from your required annual retirement income, and fund an annuity to cover the difference. For example, if your goal is $100,000 in annual income, and $50,000 of that is in Social Security benefits, you would fund an annuity for the other $50,000. That may require anywhere from 40% to 70% of your 401(k), but that’s the purpose of 401(k)s, to fund retirements. Our approach is that we’re trying to leave as much outside the annuity as possible but still make sure that the client has zero lifestyle risk. That’s our goal, to keep as much of your investible assets out of the annuity while still securing your monthly retirement needs.

For decades now, the financial industry has presented indexed annuities as products. Some financial advisors used them in ways that did not maximize their advantages for the client. So, advisors themselves are somewhat to blame for indexed annuities only now receiving their due as powerful financial instruments when used the right way to fund retirements.

Determining the correct amount for your “annuity pension” is something a good financial advisor will help you with by providing a context for a comprehensive financial plan. The indexed annuity can play a crucial part in any financial portfolio that seeks a balance of growth and security. Even more exciting, when used the right way, indexed annuities can serve as a worthy substitute to the pension era that retirees once enjoyed.

Notes

For more information about indexed annuities or to receive a downloadable white paper on addressing annuity concerns, email Kyle.Savner@TuckerAdvisors.com or Jason.Demers@TuckerAdvisors.com.

Sources:
1. Investopedia.com
2. MedicareWallet.com

– For Financial Professional Use Only. Insurance-only agents are not licensed to offer investment advice.

Client Appreciation Events: A Guide For Every Financial Advisor

By Jordan Collins
Tucker Advisors Senior Digital Marketing Specialist

Table of Contents

Click the links below to jump to a client appreciation event page section specific to your needs.

Why throw a client appreciation event?

Client Event: What makes a good one?

Defining the objectives of your event

Measuring Success

Client event examples

Client event follow up

Why Throw a Client Appreciation Event?

As a financial advisor, you have a lot of business to take care of. Between meeting with prospects, building your business, and finding the right solutions for clients, the calendar is incredibly full.

Why throw a client appreciation event if there are so many more important things to be done?

If this is something that’s crossed your mind, we have some important information for you. Throwing a client appreciation event can create trust with current clients, lead to referrals, and give you common ground with your local community. These values can’t be understated when you are looking to build your business.

Not only will an event put you on the top of their mind, it will also show that you are offering value that is supplementary to your advice. In the digital age that we live in, it is crucial to humanize yourself and connect with clients. If you are looking for a guide to throw an event, you’re in the right place. We will arm you with tips for your event and a robust guide download.

What Makes a Good Client Event?

The first step to a great event is choosing dates that people are able to attend. Planning for a date where there aren’t major holidays, poor weather conditions, or a large local event is important to increase participation from clients. We don’t just want our clientele showing up, we want their family and friends to attend! When scheduling an event, you also need to take lead time into account. If you send out invitations with only 2 weeks notice, you’re unlikely to have a lot of attendees. If you send out invitations with 8 weeks notice, you are much more likely to find that people are free for the night.

Inviting friends and family is a great way to put attendees at ease socializing and mingling with others. For many adults and kids, going to an event alone can be a large source of anxiety and will detract from your attendees’ interest in coming. Another reason you want additional guests is this is a great opportunity to introduce yourself to potential referrals. You never know who could be joining your event! Put your best foot forward as your event could be an olive branch to provide value for them.

If you have a staff, bring them in on your plans early. Planning, inviting, attending, and following up are all important steps to ensure a seamless experience. Many events involve eating, drinking, and activities and you’ll need all the help you can get to pull it off. With that in mind, be sure that you account for the number of people attending. This is where your staff’s invitations and follow up can help you anticipate how big or intimate your event will be.

If you are a smaller office, we’d suggest playing to your strengths and doing something small like a round of golf or hiring a chef for an intimate home-cooked meal. There are times where less is more and the right environment will be more effective.

Lastly, you can go as big or as small with your event as you’d like but one thing you don’t want to do is plan poorly. Your value to clients relies on the idea that you are able to strategize and plan for their future. If you can’t plan a party, it will not reflect positively on your ability to plan their finances.

Defining Your Event Objectives

You may be asking yourself “why am I defining objectives if this is just a client event?” The answer is because your event represents you to your attendees. If you want to build trust, you’ll have to know what you’re trying to accomplish.

In our research, we’ve seen two sets of objectives. You have your soft-skill objectives and your hard-cost objectives. An example of a soft skill objective is to meet five people that you didn’t know at the beginning of the night. An example of a hard cost objective is to receive referrals from current clients.

As you can probably tell, finding a balance of the two is crucial. You aren’t throwing this event to go table by table and review balance sheets, but you are a financial advisor whose clients are getting together for a night of fun; at some point, a financial question will surface.

This is an opportunity for you to show your expertise and how you’re a grounded community member just like everyone else. You shouldn’t sell or pitch at this event, as it is not the right time or place. If you’d like to say a few words thanking everyone for coming or giving out business cards to have someone contact you, this is far more appropriate. You want to build excitement and get more people to attend your next event! Don’t make your valued guests feel like they’re being sold.

Measuring Success

Measuring the success of your event is rooted in how you defined your pre-event objectives. If you set the objective of having more than 10 attendees, you have a very clear idea of whether you reached your goal. The big idea is that without setting goals, you won’t know if you were successful.

You will want to sit down with your staff and define what success looks like so each member knows and understands their role. If the only goal you set is to delight your guests, you’re on the right track. Remember that this is not a one and done event in the same way that you are not a one and done advisor. Be a great host, show the value of your work, and your clients will talk positively of you.

Client Event Examples

This is not an exhaustive list of every possible client event but we hope this will give you ideas for what your community will enjoy. Remember that you want to choose an event activity that will fit your goals. If you want people to be socializing and talking, don’t choose an event where they’re encouraged to be quiet or not speak.

You will also want to think about what your attendees have in common. If there’s a common thread between them, there may be a unique opportunity to personalize the event. As a host, you want to create an atmosphere that will lend itself to open conversation, making memories, and having your guests inviting friends to the next event. Choose wisely! There are more event ideas in the PDF download.

• Dinner & Dancing
• Golf Excursion
• Hawaiian Luau
• A Day at the Races

Client Event Follow Up

Before the end of your event, be sure to thank your attendees for coming. Once your event has concluded, handwrite a personal thank-you note to each couple who attended. If you are writing to a referral, be sure to mention the name of the friend who brought them and thank them for attending.

Do not procrastinate and wait until weeks have passed to send out your thank-you notes. You want the event to still be at the top of their mind. If that means writing some of them in advance, take the time to do it. If you are following up with a phone call, be authentic and personal. Track how your communications go and benchmark them against your other events.

Once you’ve completed a number of events, you will have an idea of how to test and tweak your event planning to reach more people and position yourself positively with your clients and prospects. For a more thorough guide to client appreciation events, be sure to download the Tucker Advisors Client Appreciation guide shown below.

If you are looking for more ways to market your financial advisory practice, see this presentation from Tucker Advisors CMO Justin Woodbury.

If you would like more information on digital marketing strategy, visit here.

For Financial Professional Use Only. NOT INTENDED FOR VIEWING OR DISTRIBUTION TO THE PUBLIC. Insurance-only agents are not licensed to offer investment advice.

WILL I HAVE TO BECOME A FIDUCIARY? 

By Sam Deleo
Tucker Advisors Senior Content Specialist/Editor

If you’re a financial advisor, you have likely heard about the Department of Labor’s recent fiduciary rules. The larger question for the industry as a whole remains, where will these rules take us next?

The word “fiduciary” refers to any advisors who must legally prioritize their clients’ interests above of their own. When advisors are not fiduciaries, they follow what is called the “suitability” requirement, which is basically an ethical call to follow the same prioritization of interests.

According to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) website, the identification of a fiduciary follows ERISA standards and the five-part DOL test, based on the assumption that anyone who offers investment advice for a fee, commission or other compensation, will be regarded as a fiduciary.

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Five-Part Test for Status as an Investment Advice Fiduciary

For advice to constitute:

“investment advice of a fiduciary, a financial institution or investment professional who is not a fiduciary under another provision of the statute must:

1. 1. Render advice to the plan as to the value of securities or other property, or make recommendations as to the advisability of investing in, purchasing, or selling securities or other property,
   2. On a regular basis,
   3. Pursuant to a mutual agreement, arrangement, or understanding with the plan, plan fiduciary or IRA owner, that
   4. The advice will serve as a primary basis for investment decisions with respect to plan or IRA assets, and that
   5. The advice will be individualized based on the particular needs of the plan or IRA.”

The DOL text goes on to say that a “financial institution or investment professional that meets this five-part test, and receives a fee or other compensation, direct or indirect, is an investment advice fiduciary under ERISA (Title I) and under the Code.” Additionally, “Title I of ERISA and the Code each contain provisions forbidding fiduciaries from engaging in certain specified ‘prohibited transactions’ involving plans and IRAs, including conflict of interest transactions, unless an exemption applies.”

While this update has not enforced any further regulation on the financial industry, many believe that day is coming. We recently interviewed Lloyd Domingos, Senior Director of Operations for Tucker Asset Management, about the current regulatory landscape and what he sees unfolding as we move forward.

1. Could you give a brief summary of what the current regulations mean for advisors?

Lloyd Domingos – Basically, the current rule, in a nutshell, would force insurance-only agents to act as fiduciaries—not get paid as a fiduciary, but to have the obligation to act as one. So basically, they’re going to turn you into a fiduciary whether you like it or not. But, if you don’t get your Series 65, you’re not going to get paid as a fiduciary. And you could potentially write less business, because clients will perceive that you’re not a holistic advisor, that you don’t perform the complete duties of an advisor in an all-encompassing way for your clients. Now, they haven’t begun enforcing the new definition of “fiduciary” as part of the rule. But that is supposed to begin on Dec. 20, 2021.

2. What does the IRA rollover exemption mean for advisors?

Domingos – This doesn’t mean that you can no longer roll over an IRA. But, if doing so would earn you money, you will likely need additional disclosures, documentation, policies and procedures, and annual review requirements. Again, this action cannot just help your pocketbook, it has to be in the best interest of the client.

3. How do you interpret the DOL’s “best interest” standard?

Domingos – It has to be the very best interest of the client. It can’t just be the “suitability requirement” anymore. It can’t be an action that is very good for the client, but not “the” best. Who is going to determine what this best interest is? The SEC? The client? The DOL? We don’t know that yet.

4. What are the key points advisors need to beware of in order to be in compliance with the present definition/regulation regarding IRA rollovers?

Domingos – I thought RIA in a Box provided a good summary of these points:
The new prohibited transaction exemption, which was affirmed by the Biden Administration on Feb. 16, 2021, “provides RIA firms with two options as relates to IRA rollovers:

1. Provide only general investment education regarding rollovers. Here, the RIA firm would not need to avail itself of the new prohibited transaction exemption; or
2. Provide investment advice regarding rollovers that affects compensation. Here, the RIA firm would need to utilize the new prohibited transaction exemption, with requirements including advice subject to the ‘Impartial Conduct Standards’ and a series of other disclosure, documentation, policies and procedures, and annual review requirements.”

5. There has been a lot of talk in recent years of potential new regulations for advisors, which some say could happen by December 2021. Could you comment on some of those possible changes?

Domingos –  I don’t want to speculate too much here. But the path the industry has been on over the last five to 10 years has definitely been one of more regulations, more processes and more standards to follow, not less. So, if anything, my opinion is that it will get harder to do business and not easier.

6. What do you see as the key areas of concern for advisors moving forward?

Domingos – Familiarize yourself better with the definition of “fiduciary” so you know it backwards and forwards, because it’s your livelihood. And take steps, whatever you deem necessary for your practice, to ready yourself for what might be further regulation, or at least more explicit regulation.

7. Why do you think the regulatory environment has changed and may continue to evolve?

Domingos – While many investment advisors and insurance agents truly have the best interests of their clients at heart, unfortunately, there have been the Bernie Madoffs of the world that have heightened the regulatory environment. That story, because of its sensationalism in the media, became somehow representative, when in fact, it really isn’t at all. But that’s just kind of the nature of how many of us react to big media stories like this, so people also likely expressed concerns to government agencies that they might not have expressed before, as well.

8. Are there steps that advisors can take now that will safeguard them from the potential new regulations?

Domingos – I don’t want advisors to think that if they get a Series 65 that it will cure all ills, but having a Series 65 means that you are already held to be a fiduciary in the eyes of the SEC. And most of these regulatory standards are part and parcel of what you already do, because you’re already held to that standard. Most Series 65 advisors’ compensation is fee based. That appeals to consumers, and rightfully so. If the consumers’ balances grow, so does the compensation for the advisor, because their fees are proportionally based on the client balances. But if the balances decrease, so does the balance for the advisor. So, everyone is in step. Neither party benefits while the other doesn’t. There’s a direct correlation.

9. What are the consequences of an advisor simply doing nothing now and waiting to see what happens?

Domingos – Worst-case scenario, you could find yourself going out of business. This could be the precursor to even more extensive regulation. Again, that’s why the Series 65 is important.

10. What assistance is out there for advisors who want to be prepared moving forward?

Domingos – There are educational materials and courses out there that advisors can find by searching online pretty easily. As an example, for advisors who qualify, Tucker Asset Management regularly hosts Series 65 Training Courses that advisors can take. We provide the classes and we pay for many of the costs associated with obtaining the Series 65 license. There is help out there for advisors.

We acknowledge that this is far from a comprehensive summary of the current regulations in our industry, and encourage you to research these issues on your own. It will be time well spent for your business.

We plan to closely follow this fiduciary definition and the regulations that may affect it later this year. Ignoring these issues as a financial advisor is no longer an option. The consequences can dramatically affect both the ways we do business and the potential success of those efforts.

Notes

For more information or assistance about fiduciary regulations, email Kori.Brooks@TuckerAM.com.

Sources:
1. The U.S. Department of Labor
2. RIAinaBox.com
3. ThinkAdvisor.com
4. MSN.com

– For Financial Professional Use Only. Insurance-only agents are not licensed to offer investment advice.