Belle Ives is a financial advisor and high school field hockey coach with a passion for supporting women and serving the LGBTQ+ community.

Ives entered the financial services industry by way of serendipity. Her father was a member of a gym in the same building as Northwestern Mutual’s Boston office. Knowing that athletes tend to be well-suited for financial services, her father’s gym acquaintances suggested Ives apply to work with Northwestern Mutual. It turned out to be a perfect fit.

Apex is NAIFA’s new signature event focused on providing innovative sales and marketing ideas to financial services professionals who serve individuals, families, and small businesses across the United States. The new brand reflects the concept of a “race to the top” to target those advisors who seek continuous improvement in increasing production and providing financial security to more Americans. The inaugural Apex event will be August 16-18 at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix.

NAIFA and Chalice Network™ have completed an educational and affinity partnership agreement, under which Chalice Network will provide the Marketplace and Succession Link to NAIFA members. Additionally, Chalice Network and NAIFA will collaborate on blog posts, webinars, and other content within NAIFA’s Business Performance Center that focuses on agency and firm-level practice management.

NAIFA is pleased to announce that Wall Street Financial, Inc. in Carlinville, Marion, and Bloomington IL, and a location in Memphis, TN, has become a NAIFA 100% Agency. Under the membership program, Wall Street Financial, Inc has enrolled all of its advisors as NAIFA members and enrolled them in NAIFA’s grassroots advocacy programs.

Angie Hughes, LTCP, is a 22-year insurance veteran and long-term care insurance expert with Producers XL in Salina, Kansas.

Hughes began her insurance career selling property and casualty insurance, but found her true calling in educating agents, advisors, and consumers about long-term care (LTC) planning. “No day is ever the same,” she says, and she thrives on sorting through the complexities of the LTC world to find solutions for her clients.

Technology might not seem like a likely tool a financial advisor can use to build client relationships. It almost goes without saying that older generations prefer human interaction versus digital services when it comes to their finances. And surveys have found that even tech-savvy millennials are more likely to get help with their finances from real-life advisors than from robo-advisors. 

So how can technology help financial advisors strengthen and add value to their relationships with clients—especially older clients—when it lacks the human touch? After all, a computer can’t hold your hand during a market downturn. 

But there is new technology that can enable advisors to build their businesses by giving them the ability to better assist aging clients and clients taking care of aging parents at the stage of their financial lives where they need the most help. That new technology is Carefull.

Join us on February 11, 2022, at 3 pm eastern for the special webinar "Home Equity and Roth Conversions."

The discussion will feature Harlan Accola, CRMP, National Reverse Mortgage Director of Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation, interviewing Jim Silbernagel, CFP, CEPS, LACP, LUTCF creator and host of Real Wealth^® Marketing, on how he has helped clients lower their tax burden using the equity in their homes. 

NAIFA has announced that it will hold its 2022 Congressional Congress in-person May 23-24 in Washington, D.C. The event will feature targeted advocacy training with briefings on legislative issues that affect members’ businesses and the clients they serve. Expert presenters will offer best practices for conducting Congressional meetings and tips for developing impactful long-term relationships with legislators.

A successful agent in the insurance business has built their business by making and keeping promises to their clients, staff, family, and themselves. However, an individual may decide to retire, their situation may change, or something else may arise that makes it necessary to cut back or stop their activity in the insurance business.

Finding ways to keep those promises means you need a good game plan for succession. There is far more to be considered than a simple financial transaction. Relationships must be transitioned and maintained. Let's examine a few items to consider as you build your game plan.

NAIFA is pleased to announce that its 2022 State Chapter Presidents have taken office as of January 1. State Presidents provide leadership for their states’ advocacy team, drive their states’ grassroots influence, build participation in NAIFA state legislative days and send state representatives to NAIFA’s annual Congressional Conference in Washington, D.C.