Vanessa Bucklin is a financial advisor based in Conrad, MT, that has built her flourishing practice using a three-pronged approach of trust in self, trust in the process of building relationships, and trust in paying it forward for future advisors.

NAIFA members are facing significant challenges as clients and their families go through a serious health crisis. All over the United States NAIFA members are experiencing an acceleration of the COVID-19 virus, and the hopeful news as more and more people are vaccinated. In this difficult trying time, we might ask how NAIFA members can fulfill our Code of Ethics, and which obligations have important application?

NAIFA has expanded access to the NAIFA Family Response Fund to benefit members of the association impacted by deadly winter storms in Texas. Officials in Texas and media reports indicate the extreme weather and associated utility outages have resulted in significant property losses and fatalities.

Trent Bryson has been a loyal NAIFA member since 2002 and manages his own firm, Bryson Wealth Management, in Long Beach, California. 

In 2000, Bryson was training for the Olympic trials in track & field for the Nike Farm Team in Palo Alto when Merrill Lynch recruited him through their development program.  Although Bryson was new to the industry himself, he grew up admiring his father’s career as a general agent for Mass Mutual. He explains, “I kind of grew up in the business and got an appreciation for him [and] the agents that surrounded him, so I grew up looking to my dad as a mentor.” It was also his dad who encouraged him to join NAIFA and eventually into leadership roles.

NAIFA-NY has selected a new slate of officers to serve on its Board of Directors for 2021. The board is comprised of NAIFA members who bring a wealth of industry and association experience to their leadership roles. They will chart the course for the chapter’s 1,100 members over the coming year with a strong emphasis on state government advocacy.

NAIFA has created a Speakers Bureau to provide high-quality presenters and thought leaders for events across NAIFA Nation. NAIFA will draw from the Bureau to offer industry-leading content at NAIFA’s annual Performance + Purpose conference; NAIFA Live – the association’s premier virtual monthly meeting open to members across the country; and other educational, motivational, and professional development events. NAIFA will encourage its state and local chapters to use talent from the Speakers Bureau for their events.

Daniel Irizarry has been a loyal member of NAIFA since 2012. He currently practices in Manasquan, NJ, with Allied Wealth Partners.

Although Irizarry was referred to the industry by another professional who mentioned he would be “perfect for this line of work.” The ability to control his own scheduling and operate autonomously in order to “maximize efficiency in [his] life and spend as much time with [his] family as possible while earning a modest living” is what appealed to him most.

NAIFA is pleased to announce that Lincoln Financial has approved the Life and Annuities Certified Professional (LACP) certification for use by the agents and advisors who provide its products. The LACP demonstrates a professional knowledge of life and annuity products and an ethical approach to sales.

NAIFA has released its NAIFA 2025 Strategic Plan, which establishes a roadmap to lead the association to new heights of success over the next five years. NAIFA 2025 sets priority goals and desired outcomes for association years 2021 through 2025 in three categories: Membership Growth, Brand Amplification, and Member Experience.

John Merrick and Alonzo Herndon were successful turn-of-the-twentieth-century entrepreneurs who recognized that Black families had a growing need for life insurance. They also saw that need was not being met in the Jim Crow South. Both men were born into slavery, Merrick in North Carolina and Herndon in Georgia. Both, coincidentally, made their first entrances into the business world as barbers who prospered and opened multiple shops.