Month: October 2020

Tax-Conscious Investing Resources

October 13, 2020

With continued market uncertainty and the looming election, clients are reevaluating their financial strategies and Advisors may consider the possibility of a shifting tax landscape in the coming years. To help clients interested in mitigating their tax bill, ESI Illuminations has over 75 Tax-Managed/Tax-Aware model portfolios. With minimums as low as $25,000, ESI Illuminations brings Tax-Conscious Investing to clients of all sizes. 

Quick Sales Idea
The Investment Evolution campaign asks the simple question, “Has your investment strategy kept up with your life?”. Tax-conscious investing is a great topic to use as follow up to this campaign, especially considering our current uncertain tax environment. 

Resources and Knowledge Builders
From Russell Investments

  • Four Ugly Truths You Need to Know Before Capital Gains Season Arrives “A common issue advisors face today is that the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened uncertainty over the economy and finances.” Click here to read the full article from Russell.
     
  • Your words matter! Especially when it comes to TAXES.
    “This is a milestone kind of year for me, so forgive me if I’m starting to get a little nostalgic. My triplets are going into middle school next year, my wife and I have been married for 15+ years, and I’m just finishing up my 15th year at Russell Investments, which converts to 50 years in wholesaler years. Whether it’s communicating with my kids, my wife or advisors and their clients, a few things ring true to me—our words matter, and expectations are everything.” Click here to read the full article.

Tax Conscious Investing Prospecting Resources
If you are interested in using the tax-conscious investing concept as a prospecting tool, here are some resources you can utilize.

Prospecting Emails
Available on the Prospecting Emails section of the National Life agent portal, the following prospecting emails are available:

 
Social Media
You’ll find social posts under the tagline “Taxes” in the Hearsay Content Library.

Strategists Resources
There are currently 10 Third Party Money Managers who offer Tax-Conscious/Tax-Managed portfolios. Many of them provide marketing materials around the concept of tax efficiency. Contact them directly or access marketing materials directly through the ESI Illuminations site.

Tax-Conscious Mutual Fund Managers

  • American Funds
  • Brinker Capital
  • Morningstar
  • Russell
  • Envestnet PMC

ETF Managers

  • BlackRock
  • Vanguard
  • Envestnet PMC
  • Symmetry
  • CLS
  • Morningstar
  • 3D

Other Timely Topics – Volatility
From Russell Investments

  • Do your client portfolios carry hidden baggage?
    “After ten years on the road, I finally bought a new piece of luggage and discovered that my act of consumerism and client portfolios have a lot in common. Have I piqued your interest?” Click here to read more.

 From Envestnet:

  • No One Could Predict How Advisors And Their Clients Would React To The Recent Market Sell Off
    “Early on, the COVID-19 pandemic had a sharp impact on the stock and bond markets, and, in turn, advisor and investor decision making. The following analysis includes key insights related to how advisors and their clients specifically reacted to the sudden market sell-off when the pandemic first hit the United States. In past sell-offs, advisors were largely reactionary, with a short-term focus. This time was different.” Click here to read the full article.

 From Morningstar Managed Portfolios:

  • Staying the Course Versus Timing the Market
    “Stay the course” is a nautical phrase that has been popularized by world leaders, primarily in the context of battle. According to Stewart Alsop’s 1973 memoirs of a conversation with Winston Churchill, the British prime minister contemplated toward the end of World War II: “America, it is a great and strong country, like a workhorse pulling the rest of the world out of despond and despair. But will it stay the course?” Click here for the full article.

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Approved, Restricted and Watch List Funds Updated

October 13, 2020

The Q3 2020 Approved, Restricted and Watch List funds have been updated and are available online. 

Prior to offering alternative mutual funds, ESI reps must complete an education requirement.  To access the course and exam through the FIRE website:

  • Go to https://learning.firesolution.com
  • At FIRE’s login screen, enter your username and password.
  • If you don’t know your username, you may contact FIRE’s support at 1-866-ASK-FIRE or support@firesolutions.com
  • Once logged in, click on Store, then Course Catalog and select Alternative Mutual Funds.  The fee for the course and the exam is $12.50.

After successfully completing the exam, email a copy of the course certificate to esitrading@nationallife.com  Once the completed certificate has been processed by ESI, you will receive notification from ESI Licensing that you are able to begin trading alternative mutual funds through brokerage platform.

For those that have the CFP® designation, the course completion does qualify for continuing education credit.

If you have any questions, please contact ESI Business Development at 800-344-7437.

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Reminders on Use of Social Media

October 13, 2020

Getting Started with Social Media
LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook business pages, are the only permitted social media and must be connected to Hearsay. Hearsay is a social media management tool to help ensure regulatory obligations are met and provides marketing tools and the ability to post pre-approved content from their library.

To create a LinkedIn profile: 

  1. Complete the LinkedIn Profile Review Request form. (if you already have a LinkedIn account please submit for review, you do not need to take it down prior to review).
  2. Send to your Office Manager to email to the ARU.
  3. Once your LinkedIn profile is approved by ARU, you may publish the profile.
  4. You will then receive an email to connect to Hearsay.

To create a business Facebook profile: 

  1. Have a LinkedIn profile approved by ARU and connected to Hearsay.
    1. Complete the Facebook Business Page Review Request form
    1. Send to your Office Manager to email to the ARU.
    1. Once your business Facebook page is approved by ARU, you may publish the page. 
    1. Connect your profile to Hearsay

To create a Twitter business page: 

  1. Have a LinkedIn profile approved by ARU and connected to Hearsay.
    1. Complete the Twitter Business Review Request form.
    1. Send to your Office Manager to email to the ARU.
    1. Once your Twitter page is approved by ARU, you may publish the page. 
    1. Connect your profile to Hearsay.

Prohibited Social Media
Using any other social media for financial, or securities and investment advisory activities is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Using unapproved social media sites for promoting, discussing, or soliciting customers for annuities, variable life, securities, or investment advisory products or services.
  • Having business profiles on unapproved social media such as:
    • Creating an Alignable account
    • Using WeChat for business
  • Having business info on personal social media such as:
    • Posting business information on SnapChat
    • Retweeting a business post on your personal Twitter
    • Posting or promoting business content on your personal Facebook page.

Hearsay
Posts on social media are to be managed within Hearsay.

  • Including posts that are not business-related helps to ensure that any content required to be reviewed is captured.
  • All new content and changes to existing content, including deleting information, must be reviewed and approved by ARU through Hearsay prior to making the change to the site. 

You may delegate another person to have access to your Hearsay to assist you with managing your social media under the following conditions:

  • Notify Deb LaRose in the ARU (dlarose@nationallife.com) to assign a workspace assistant. 
    • She will send the designee an invitation to be a workspace assistant in Hearsay.
    • You must pre-approve and are responsible for all activity performed by the workspace assistant on your behalf.

Your Hearsay subscription must remain active:

  1. Your sites must be connected to Hearsay and you must log in at least once a year to authorize access to your social media accounts.
  2. If you do not, your social media sites will be disconnected from Hearsay.
  3. If this occurs, Hearsay will send a notification to reconnect as will ARU. Please reconnect to ensure changes to your approved social media are completed through Hearsay as required.

Other Reminders
All content on social media must meet the standards of all other retail communications. Social media content and communication may only be in English.

Please review your business social media periodically to ensure it is still current. When reviewing social media, we discover old addresses, terminated OBAs, and states where RRs are no longer registered. If updates need to be made, submit for review through Hearsay.

All LinkedIn accounts are assumed to be for business. Facebook and Twitter are considered used for business when posting business-related content. You are required to obtain prior approval before accepting an endorsement/recommendation or adding a skill that is not on this list.

Please review the updated Social Media Compliance and Advertising Policy for more details on the use of approved social media sites: LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Instagram is currently in pilot. Unless you are in the pilot group you are not allowed to create or use Instagram at this time.

Please note that what you do on your personal social media has a direct impact on your personal brand, be mindful of what you post and how you represent yourself. 

Questions
If you have any questions regarding social media, please feel free to contact Deb LaRose at 802-224-1659 or dlarose@nationallife.com.

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Annual RR Certification Due 10/30/20

October 13, 2020

How to Complete Your Certification
Watch for an automated email from Star Compliance (noemail@starcompliance.com) announcing that your Annual RR Certification is available.  If you are an IAR, please note that this requirement is in addition to the other quarterly/annual filings you must complete in October.

  • Click on the link in the Star email (https://nationallife.starcompliance.com) to log in.
    • Your login is your 5-digit RR code.
    • If you are unsure what your password is, click “Forgot Password”. Check your NL Group email for the system message that will allow you to reset your password.
  • Click “RR Annual Certification”, located under your “To Do List” on the landing page.
  • Note that some sections of the questionnaire ask you to validate certain information outside of the document, itself.  You can use the links provided to navigate to these outside sources.
  • Answer all questions, type in your electronic signature, and click “Submit”. 

Tips to Ensure Successful Completion

  • Answer all questions.
  • If you leave anything blank and try to submit, there will be a red  next to the question so you know it needs to be answered.
  • The “Submit” button will be greyed out until all responses are complete.
  • Once submitted, if we have any questions, we will reach out to you. 
  • If you answer a question and it requires additional information, a box asking you to “Please provide a detailed response” will appear and requires input. The clearer and more thorough your response, the less likely we will reach out to you for follow-up.

Questions?
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact ESI Compliance at 800-344-7437 or ESICompliance@nationallife.com.

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Our e-Delivery Raffle is Still Underway! Who Will Win?

October 6, 2020

To increase our e-delivery client subscribers, ESI is sponsoring a raffle for both registered representatives and non-registered fingerprinted (NRF) persons! Click here for raffle details and start promoting eDelivery so that you can participate!

Registered Representative Leaderboard as of 10/2/20 (note that a minimum of 20 e-delivery subscriptions per entrant must be received to be eligible to win):

Non-Registered Participants Leaderboard as of 10/2/20 (note that a minimum of 20 e-delivery subscriptions per entrant must be received to be eligible to win):

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Additional Investments in Docupace AND Municipal Bond Transaction Procedures

October 6, 2020

Rule G-47 requires brokers, dealers and municipal securities dealers (collectively, “dealers”) to disclose to their customers, at or prior to the time of a municipal bond trade, all material information known about the transaction, as well as material information about the security that is reasonably accessible to the market. Information is considered to be material under Rule G-47 if there is a substantial likelihood that the information would be considered important or significant by a reasonable investor making an investment decision. The rule currently includes a non-exhaustive list of information that is generally considered material, including OID and other factors.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE – FN2020-37

_____________________________________________________________________

All checks and paperwork for additional deposits/transfers into existing investments are required to be added to the blotter and submitted for review in Docupace whenever you:

  • Propose/suggest that a client add funds to their investment;
  • Review the investment with your client and an additional investment results;
  • Handle a client’s check/transfer form;
  • Help a client fill out paperwork for additional investment, including for a transfer; or
  • Recommend liquidation of a financial product to fund the additional investment.

Generally, unless the client is truly acting on their own and you are not involved with the transaction, the subsequent investment must be placed through the Firm. For more details, please review the Additional Investment and Documentation Requirement Matrix.

As a reminder, check distributions from NFS brokerage/advisory accounts to direct business accounts where ESI is broker dealer of record must to go through separate Docupace workflows. 

  • The check distribution is handled by ESI’s Brokerage team.
  • The principal review and approval of the direct business deposit is handled through a separate work item by the Direct Business team and is subject to the Additional Investment Matrix above.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE – FN2020-38

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Software Update from MoneyGuide Pro

October 6, 2020

Effective 10/12/20, two-factor authentication will be enabled within your MoneyGuide license and Client Portal.

Envestnet | MoneyGuide utilizes two-factor authentication as a security measure for accessing Plan data. Once enabled, when you log in, you will be asked to authenticate using two-factor authentication.

Prospects and clients with new Client Portal access (i.e. granted after two-factor has been enabled), will be prompted to set-up two-factor authentication prior to accessing MoneyGuide features.

Existing plan results will NOT be impacted.

For a step-by-step guide, click here.

Questions?

Contact MoneyGuide Support at 1-800-743-7092 or support@moneyguide.com.

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W.E. Donoghue is now Donoghue Forlines!

October 6, 2020

A note from Donoghue Forlines CEO, Jeffrey R. Thompson:

 

Dear Valued Partners,

We are thrilled to announce our new firm name, Donoghue Forlines, LLC (“Donoghue Forlines”). This important update becomes effective September 30, 2020 and solidifies the union of W.E. Donoghue & Co., LLC and JAForlines Global, LLC, which took place at the end of 2017. The acquisition resulted in a unique firm in the investment management space, and over the past two plus years together we have evolved a compelling product lineup by combining fundamental, top-down research strategies along with rules-based disciplines. Donoghue Forlines more accurately depicts who we are today as a tactical investment management firm.

With this name change, we are also excited to introduce a new brand identity and website that reflects our story. While this is an exciting change for us, rest assured our core beliefs and philosophies remain the same. We are committed to providing you the quality of service and communications you have come to expect.

On behalf of our entire team, thank you for your continued partnership.

Regards,

Interested in learning more about this third-party strategist? Check out their new website! http://www.donoghueforlines.com/

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Recharacterization and Return of Excess IRA Contributions Deadline is 10/15!

October 6, 2020

Recharacterizations of IRA Contributions

Customers who wish to change the nature of an IRA contribution may recharacterize the contribution prior to the due date (including extensions) for filing the customer’s federal income tax return for the year for which the contribution was made to the IRA. The deadline to process a recharacterization of a contribution made for 2019 is October 15, 2020.

Customers can request a recharacterization by completing the Premiere Select IRA Recharacterization Request form which must be submitted to National Financial Services LLC (NFS) for manual processing. The form (1.747222.107) is available on the Marketing Fulfillment Central Web site which can be accessed from Wealthscapesm [Wealthscape > Resources > Marketing Fulfillment Central] or from the Web [https://www.nfmarketingcentral.com]

A recharacterization processed in 2020 will be reflected on the 2020 1099R and 5498 forms that will be mailed in January 2021. A recharacterization does not affect a prior year tax form.

Return of Excess IRA Contributions

Customers who have made an excess IRA contribution have until the due date (including extensions) for filing their federal income tax return to request a Return of Excess (ROE) Contribution. The deadline to process a ROE for a contribution made in 2019 is October 15, 2020. Note: Excess IRA contributions for a year that are not withdrawn by the deadline are subject to a 6% penalty tax. The 6% penalty applies for each year the excess remains in the IRA. In addition, the earnings on the excess contribution may be subject to a 10% penalty. Customers can request a ROE by completing a Premiere Select IRA One Time Distribution Request form (not required for accounts governed by Asset Movement Authorization).

Correspondents can process ROEs in the Integrated Cashiering Platform (ICP). To ensure that a ROE for a contribution made in 2019 is processed prior to the customer’s deadline, correspondents have until 4 PM ET on October 15, 2020 to enter and approve the transaction.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW FIDELITY IMPORTANT NOTICE 20-318

Questions? Give our brokerage team a call at 1-800-344-7437!

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