ESI Illuminations Business Development Credit Program Payment

January 26, 2021

The ESI Illuminations Business Development Credit Program provides additional compensation to Advisors with $5 Million or more in Average Daily Balance of Assets Under Management on the ESI Illuminations platform.

As Advisors look to build scale and cost efficiencies into their practices, they are turning to the ESI Illuminations Platform and available model-based portfolio solutions to deliver better client outcomes. In addition, ESI Illuminations is integrated with tools like Docupace , Investigo, and MoneyGuide Pro to provide advisors with greater efficiency, and a renewed focus on strong client relationships as they deliver holistic advice to help clients achieve their goals.

As agents of the National Life Group, ESI Advisors are well positioned to deliver advice on protection, investments, and retirement planning. ESI Illuminations is the platform advisors are using because it provides flexibility and choice in who and how the investments are managed. ESI Illuminations delivers management in an easy to use, web based, turn-key solution, all for an ongoing fee calculated on assets under management.

The ESI Illuminations Business Development Credit Program will be calculated as follows:

Advisor Total Assets Under Management On ESI Illuminations Platform	Business Development Credit Basis Points
$5,000,000 – $25,000,000	1
$25,000,001 – $50,000,000	1.5
$50,000,001 – $100,000,000	2
$100,000,001 +	3

The 2020 Business Development Credit calculation is complete and will be paid February 24th. Based on the Total Average Daily Balance of Assets Under Management, Advisors will be paid anywhere from 1-3 additional basis points in compensation.

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Illuminations 2.0: ETF Video Spotlight

January 26, 2021

As we get closer to the implementation of Illuminations 2.0 and bundled pricing, members of ESI’s Business Development team have shared some of the future Illuminations features that they are most excited about.

This week, R. Lou Martinez, Sr. Business Development Associate, spotlights the impact of bundled pricing on ETF portfolios.

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Into the Unknown

January 26, 2021

Brinker Capital’s Chief Behavioral Officer, Dr. Daniel Crosby, digs into why we hate uncertainty—something we have all had to deal with over the past year—and how it affects investor behavior.

The insights, found in the piece titled Into the Unknown, can help advisors better steer their clients toward their goals. For more behavioral finance insights, visit the Financial Advisor Success Hub from Orion Portfolio Solutions.

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Invesco Fund Mergers

January 26, 2021

In a meeting held on January 22, 2021, the Board of Trustees for the Invesco Funds unanimously approved an Agreement and Plan of Reorganization (the “Agreement”) pursuant to which each Target Fund listed here will transfer all of its assets and liabilities to the corresponding Acquiring Fund in exchange for shares of the corresponding class of the Acquiring Fund that will be distributed to Target Fund shareholders in complete liquidation of the Target Funds.

These reorganizations were approved as part of Invesco’s annual product line review. These were chosen based on factors including the Target Funds’ limited growth prospects and/or overlapping strategies in the product line.

The reorganizations should provide shareholders reduced management expenses, greater scale and the potential to reduce the impact of fixed expenses.

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Alternative Mutual Funds – Quarterly Update

January 26, 2021

The alternative mutual funds Approved, Watch and Restricted lists have been updated. The links to the current lists are listed below. If you have questions about the alternative mutual fund due diligence process, please contact ESI Business Development.

The Alternative Mutual Fund Available List is a list of approved alternative mutual funds that may be purchased (once training has been completed).
The Watch List is the list of alternative mutual funds that the Firm is watching to determine if they may become prohibited in the future due to failing consecutive screens, (two consecutive quarters). If you recommend purchases on the list, please be aware that they may no longer be approved to purchase in the future.
The Mutual Fund Restricted List is the list of prohibited alternative mutual funds.
- BROKERAGE: If an attempt to purchase is made in a brokerage account, the purchase will be blocked.
- DIRECT: If purchased in a direct, mutual fund, you will be contacted by Compliance after to work with your client to have any new investments directed to a non-alternative mutual fund or to one of the approved alternative mutual funds.
- REMOVED FROM APPROVED LIST:If a fund is removed from the Available list (brokerage or direct), Compliance will contact you to let you know that the fund is no longer available for purchase and to work with your client to have any new investments directed to a non-alternative mutual fund or to one of the approved alternative mutual funds.

TRAINING

Prior to purchasing approved alternative mutual funds, you must first complete required training in FIRE Solutions. The training may be accessed through FIRE Solutions: https://blaze.firesolutions.com/portal/login. The cost is $12.50. Once you have completed the course, please email your completion certificate to ESITrading@NationalLife.com and this training will be added to your profile.

https://www.nationallife.com/SecureApps/Products/ESIProducts/Views/ESIProducts.aspx?id=1980

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Congratulations to Our ESI Elite Symposium Qualifiers!

January 19, 2021

Congratulations to this year’s ESI Elite Symposium Qualifiers! The following Reps have qualified for ESI’s annual conference in New Orleans!

The following Agencies have qualified for the ESI Elite Symposium:

The ESI Elite Symposium is our annual, educational conference. As you know, due to the pandemic, the 2020 conference was rescheduled for March 2021 in New Orleans. Unfortunately, it’s become clear that we won’t be able to safely meet in March.

The good news, however, is that we are rescheduling the event for November 7-11, 2021 at our original venue, The Ritz-Carlton in vibrant New Orleans! Located within a historic Beaux Arts building in New Orleans’ French Quarter, this luxury hotel offers access to the city’s historic architecture and iconic sights and will undoubtedly be an exceptional backdrop to the Symposium.

Congratulations again to all our qualifiers!

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ESI Elite Symposium Qualifications for Our 2022 Event

January 19, 2021

You’ve seen the list of qualifiers that will join us at the Ritz Carlton in New Orleans later this year for the 2021 Elite Symposium, which means we have begun the qualification period for our 2022 event!

Will you be joining us?

The Elite Symposium is a chance to: Network with other top producers to… Hear best practices for prospecting and practice management, all while… Enjoying a unique property in a great location. How to Qualify in 2021

Rep Qualifications: $400,000* in GDC
Agency Qualifications: $4,000,000* in GDC
Qualification Period: 1/1/21-12/31/21

If you are looking for inspiration in 2021, make qualifying for the ESI Elite Symposium one of your goals. Though we haven’t announced the location for 2022 yet, with locations like the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC, the Viking Resort in Newport, RI, and the Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado in Santa Fe, NM, you know it’s a place you’ll want to be.

*Credits may be adjusted if needed to comply with the Massachusetts Fiduciary Rule.

All Fixed Indexed Annuity Sales are excluded from this amount.

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Brinker Capital Investments: Quarter End Q&A with Tim Holland

January 19, 2021

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ESI Field Leadership Update Call: January 2021

January 19, 2021

Please join ESI’s Executive Leadership Team for our Quarterly Field Update series. In this session, we’ll be reviewing the activities and results of Q4 and reflecting on 2020 as a whole. We’ll also be sharing some insight into what you can expect from ESI in the new year.

As always, we want to take this opportunity to hear from you and answer any questions you may have for ESI’s Leadership Team. Please help us plan the meeting by submitting your questions to ESIBusinessDevelopment@nationallife.com. The deadline for submissions will Monday, January 25^th.

Meeting Details:
Thursday, January 28^th – 1:00 pm EST
Click Here to Register

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

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ESI Leadership Field Update: January 2021

January 12, 2021

As always, we want to take this opportunity to hear from you and answer any questions you may have for ESI’s Leadership Team. Please help us plan the meeting by submitting your questions to ESIBusinessDevelopment@nationallife.com . The deadline for submissions will Monday, January 25th.

Meeting Details:
Thursday, January 28th – 1:00 pm EST
Click Here to Register

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

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