Senior Market Advisor October 01, 2007

Free Product Information

Feature

  • Fixed with a moving part

    By David Port

    Given the prevailing interest rate environment, it's not surprising that sales of all types of fixed annuities fell 5 percent in 2006, according to figures from LIMRA International. What some might find surprising is that while sales of book-value

  • Avoid the trap of trying to be too balanced

    By Staff Writer

    How do you get into the zone with ease and consistency - and maintain it? The short answer is balance. Think of when you have been in the zone. Likely, it was a time when you had the physical health and clarity of mind to address problems and

  • Marketing mistakes to avoid

    By Mike Werling

    Successful marketing is hard work. Most people will agree with that. But the payoff is well worth the extra effort. Advisors who don't have the expertise or the desire to handle their marketing efforts on their own certainly can find a number of

  • The value of LTCI

    By Paul Mccord

    The game may still be "life," but many of the financial rules have changed. For one, the retirement planning equation is now the lifetime planning equation. That's because costs, including those associated with long term care, may outpace the

  • 2007 Readers' Choice Awards

    By Staff Writer

    When it comes to keeping an eye on the pulse of industry product and service offerings, we figure there's no one more qualified to give us a report than our readers. After all, you are the ones who are out in the field choosing from these products

  • Fixing your sights on the future

    By David Port

    For a product that once was about as plain vanilla as a financial instrument could get, the fixed annuity is proving to be surprisingly controversial. Utility isn't the issue; advisors continue to tout fixed deferred annuities, both the traditional

  • The power of choice

    By John Boe

    In aviation, the word "attitude" is a term that refers to the angle that the plane meets the wind, if the wings are level with the horizon and whether the aircraft is climbing or descending. The pilot who fails to take responsibility for the

  • Technology that helps close the sale

    By Andy Stonehouse

    While the classic image of the hard-working salesman pounding the pavement and pumping fists to close the deal still holds some truth - one does have to get out and press the flesh to build rapport with prospects and maintain your client base - in

  • The rise, fall and rise of universal life

    By Joseph Finora

    Universal life insurance has made its mark as a flexible-premium, adjustable benefit policy with tax-deferred, account-accumulation features. While its flexibility allows policyholders to change the amount of insurance as their coverage needs

  • Uncovering the hidden truths in communication

    By Staff Writer

    How do people make decisions? Individuals learn from a very early age to make "mental maps" of the world in order to take in a seemingly overwhelming amount of information. In the process, the mental maps we have created become part of our

Special Section

  • The exploding $16 trillion IRA market

    By David F. Royer

    Stretching distributions from qualified and non-qualified retirement plans is a hot topic among financial advisors, marketing organizations and insurance companies, as the amount of qualified money in IRAs, 401(k)s and all other qualified accounts

  • An annuity alternative for legacy planning

    By Charles D. Osmond

    Financial advisors who work with individuals in the 50-plus crowd deal with it every day: people who fear their money will run out. Clients are growing more aware of planning missteps and becoming concerned with the threat of outliving their

Up Front

  • Ready to start on SMAX 2008

    By Brian Anderson

    Annual events tend to get better with age, as processes are continually refined to accentuate their best attributes while mitigating any negative ones. Such is the case with Senior Market Advisor Expo, which recently wrapped up its sixth

That's Life

  • The field of dreams

    By Philip E. Harriman

    "You make the most of your opportunities in baseball as you do in life."-- Ernie Harwell, legendary sportscaster With October upon us, many Americans are turning their attention to the Major League Baseball playoffs and World Series. I am always

Coach's Corner

  • Acknowledging a need will get the sales ball rolling

    By Kelly Shaw

    In previous columns, we have finished the discovery, identification, and qualifying steps to determine if we have the right type of clients that fit our practice. Now we move on to the crucial need acknowledgement step. If you are a one-call

Profitable Practice

  • A values-based approach to succession planning

    By Norm Trainor

    A number of years ago I had the privilege of spending an evening with the CEO of a 200-year-old family business. Over dinner, he described how they dealt with succession planning. The most important value in their family business is stewardship.

LTCI Insider

  • The added umbrella of inflation protection

    By Margie Barrie

    Q. I need some guidance about the inflation protection benefit. Adding this to the policy really increases the premium. Is it really necessary? And if it is, could you provide some guidelines about when to recommend the various kinds of inflation

Annuity Advisor

  • What "everybody knows" is not always right

    By Jack Marrion

    According to a Society of Actuaries study, roughly three-quarters of people surveyed felt they would live until age 80, but roughly the same percentage thought they'd be dead by age 85. I believe the reason for this groupthink, whereby everybody

Marketing Playbook

  • A winning promotional strategy

    By Jeffrey Dobkin

    Here's how to get your best prospects to call you, and the cost to you is $20. Send me the $20 and I'll tell you. It was a joke. Come on, lighten up. You can send me the $20 later. It does cost $20 a lead, but hey, they're your...

Ethics in Action

  • Googled to death: Keeping your reputation alive

    By Steven McCarty

    You've seen the articles. A financial professional makes a mistake and gets cited by the NASD, SEC or state regulator. A major newspaper catches wind, interviews the victims, and publishes a front-page story in print and online that shakes the

The Close

  • The importance of a diversified product offering

    By Dean Zayed

    Making difficult decisions today is necessary to bulletproof your practice from inevitable changes in the industry that can negatively impact your business. I am talking about the highest level of strategy that we need to engage in to protect our

Marketing to Women

  • Seminars: Why they work and how to use them

    By M. Faith Cuda

    Many advisors offer workshops and seminars for their prospects and clients. We all know that seminars are tools to educate and inform people about a subject. But have you considered seminars specifically for women? Women want to understand how to

Feedback

  • Social Security crisis no myth

    By Staff Writer

    I really disagree with Jack Marrion's column ("Debunking the impending Social Security ?crisis,'" Aug. 2007 SMA) and suggest the Social Security crisis is right around the corner.Imagine YOU borrow money from MY IRA and I know it will be paid

Seniors Speak Out

Vitals

  • LTCI guidelines from NAIC

    By Staff Writer

    While carriers are doing what they can to make long term care insurance policies easier to understand and buy, it still can be a daunting process for consumers who don't deal with the product every day.The National Association of Insurance

  • Free LTCI tools to be available

    By Staff Writer

    As many as 10,000 producers nationally are expected to take part in the largest grassroots awareness campaign encouraging long term care planning. As part of Long-Term Care Awareness Week (Nov. 4-10) the American Association for Long-Term Care

  • Annuities secure space in 401(k)s

    By Staff Writer

    Defined-contribution plans have become the norm for workers in today's employment environment, with Gen X and Gen Y having virtually no first-hand experience with defined-benefit plans.Many seniors still have a defined-benefit pension somewhere in

  • Updated activity guidelines for seniors

    By Staff Writer

    In a joint effort to update 12-year-old activity recommendations for older adults, the American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine issued revised guidelines.The full report can be downloaded as a PDF from www.acsm.org or

  • Reverse mortgages still gaining traction

    By Staff Writer

    As current and future retirees look for more ways to finance a comfortable retirement, reverse mortgages are gaining more time in the spotlight. No less a Hollywood icon than James Garner can be seen on TV speaking out in favor of reverse mortgages.

  • High commitment means high yield

    By Staff Writer

    Highly satisfied clients use more services and give more of their money to their investment firm, according to the latest "Full Service Investor Satisfaction Study"? from J.D. Power and Associates.And despite the ready availability of online

New Products

  • UL portfolio makes debut

    By Staff Writer

    Columbus Life Insurance Co. decided to make its introduction of universal life policies memorable by launching three products instead of just one. Under the umbrella of the UL portfolio are three products: Explorer Plus, Indexed Explorer Plus and

  • AIG adds indexed annuity

    By Staff Writer

    With upside potential and downside protection becoming the mantra for the new retirement reality, companies are creating indexed products that seniors will be drawn to. AIG American General is among the latest to introduce such an annuity. The

  • Premium bonus highlights new annuity

    By Staff Writer

    Sun Life Financial announced the debut of its first bonus fixed indexed annuity, SunDex Bonus. The main feature of the annuity is the boost it gives to a policyholder's ability to save more money. Premiums under $250,000 receive a 6 percent bonus