ESI Advisor Marty Olson Discusses the Evolution of His Practice

August 17, 2021

Like many Advisors, Marty Olson had an interest in shifting his practice from mostly commission-based to a practice focused on fee-based advisory services. The benefits of a fee-based business model are different for each Advisor. For some, it’s about building a revenue stream that allows them to focus on expanding relationships, bringing on or developing a partner, or adding the administrative support needed to grow. For others, it may mean consistently qualifying for ESI Elite Symposium. While the reasons might vary, the one constant is a question posed by so many Advisors: “How do I make the shift?”

Hear Marty’s story here.

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Don’t Forget! We’ve got a Recruiting Referral Bonus Just for You!

August 17, 2021

Its no secret ESI is trying to grow – and we’ve always known our best reps are the one’s YOU find! Back in January we launched our Rep Referral Bonus program, and now that renewal discussions will start up before we know it, we thought we’d remind you of this program in case a peer is looking for a change.

How it Works:

Referral Bonus

Existing ESI Reps refer their contacts to their agency leaders and ESI will pay a referral bonus of 2.5% of GDC generated by the referred rep in their first 12 months with ESI.

To Qualify for a Referral Bonus

The referred rep must have produced $50,000 or more in Broker Dealer GDC at their previous firm.
Trailing 12-month GDC statements are required to document historical production.
The bonuses will be based on actual GDC generated in the first 12 months with ESI.

Do you have questions? We’ve got answers! Please reach out to Lou Martinez at LMartinez@Nationallife.com or Lauren Finney at LFinney@NationalLife.com if you have any questions about this program.

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ESI Leadership Recording Now Available

August 17, 2021

If you missed the ESI Senior Leadership Quarterly Field Update, the recording and a recap are now available.

Click here for the recording.

Click here for the recap.

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“Up & Up” – Coldplay

August 17, 2021

From Maple Capital Management
“Lift-off of Blue Origin’s rocket on July 20th was another exciting accomplishment for private sector space exploration. The entire expedition, coming on the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, was executed with perfection and all four passengers returned safely to Earth after experiencing a brief few minutes of space travel.

Lift-off of another kind, that of the Federal Reserve in raising rates from the zero bound, is being vigorously debated in the bond market in terms of the timing as well as the conditions that may lead to an eventual rate increase. Information on the pace of the economic recovery (i.e. some slowing in recent economic data) in the context of rising COVID-19 cases has altered investors’ assumptions about when the Fed may be able to finally lift short-term interest rates. As a result, bond yields fell in July which led to a very respectable total return on the Bloomberg Barclays Intermediate Aggregate Bond Index of 0.72%.”

Read the entire article here.

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Approval and Use of Doing Business As (“DBA”) Names

August 17, 2021

DEVELOPING A DBA
Broker/dealers and investment advisors must register with the oversight agencies, such as FINRA and the SEC. Those registrations must describe all names under which the Firm conducts its brokerage and advisory business. The Firm conducts its business under the name “Equity Services, Inc”. Its advisory business is also conducted under the name “ESI Financial Advisors”. Therefore, no registered representative of the Firm (“RR”) may provide brokerage- or investment-related financial services, such as the sale of mutual funds, stocks, bonds or other securities, under any name other than Equity Services, Inc. No investment advisory representative of the Firm (“IAR”) may provide investment advisory-related financial services (including financial planning) under any name other than ESI Financial Advisors (EFA) or Equity Services, Inc.

For the Firm to comply with these rules, any DBA or related tagline used by a RR or IAR must not suggest that any services offered through the Firm are offered under that DBA. Common terms that may raise concerns include “advisor”, “adviser”, “advisory”, “wealth management”, “securities”, “investments” and “planning”. The Firm understands that insurance and certain other services may also be considered “financial services” and, therefore, would typically not object to the use of that term in a context that clearly separates the financial services provided under the DBA from the financial services offered by the Firm.

For example, the provision of insurance services under the name “Jones Insurance Services” or “Jones Financial Services” may be acceptable for FINRA/SEC purposes. Additionally, you should not consider a name that could be misleading to the public such as Jones Financial Group if you are an individual practitioner or if the only other professional is unlicensed, such as support staff.

DBAs REQUIRE PRIOR APPROVAL
All DBAs must be approved by ESI Compliance prior to use. We recommend you submit all DBAs to ESI Compliance prior to filing with any state insurance department and/or Secretary of State, creating legal entities such as LLCs and/or partnerships, or printing any materials containing any DBA prior to approval. You should also consult with ESI Compliance on any changes to a DBA requested by a state department prior to finalizing your state filing to ensure the final DBA is acceptable both for FINRA and/or the SEC.

QUESTIONS
Questions regarding this Field Notice may be directed to ESI Compliance at 800-344-7437.

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CONGRATULATIONS STEVE SIMON!

August 11, 2021

Join us in sending ESI’s top rep, Steve Simon a huge CONTRATULATIONS in crossing the $1 million total year-to-date GDC line yesterday! ESI has had a strong 26-year partnership with Steve and his wife Ophelia Pacheco, and it has been a great joy to watch their success grow year after year. Cheers to Steve and Ophelia!

It takes a great deal of hard work for Steve to be where he is today, and ESI has always been very lucky to have Steve share his journey with us whenever we ask. Click here to revisit our last conversation with Steve, learning more about how he got where he is today.

Who will hit the $1 million mark next? We’re looking at you, Mark Vosk!

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Financial Risk Management Client Seminar – Updated

August 11, 2021

Recently updated, the Financial Risk Management client seminar addresses the question, “How do you manage 30 years of retirement?”. Focusing on three primary areas of risk, the seminar demonstrates how life insurance, managed money, and annuities can work together to help mitigate that risk.

Format
This seminar can be used in a live or digital format. For important regulatory parameters, please see Video Conferencing for Online Seminars and Speaking Events.

Target Audience
This seminar works well for both clients and prospects. While it does focus on long-term retirement needs, the education it provides is appropriate for any age group.

For clients, it’s an opportunity to reconnect and remind them of all the solutions you provide. Invite clients as a value-add event and ask them to bring a friend, or request referrals at the event.

The seminar introduces you and the solutions you provide to new prospects, with the goal of scheduling a follow-up meeting with prospects after the seminar.

Communication Resources
How you invite people to your event depends on your audience. A compiled list of prospective attendees is always the most effective list. If you are using a CRM tool to track prospects, think about using the information in there to create a list. To help you with communications, the following resources are available:

E-mail invitation template
CoBrand OnDemand postcard invitation. (New to CoBrand? Click here.)
Social media posts in the Hearsay Social media campaigns are available through Hearsay Social to help you promote and follow up your seminar. Hearsay’s Content Library includes:
- Posts to generate awareness around the seminar topic. Filter using the Financial Risk tag.
- Pre- and post- seminar posts for use on LinkedIn and Facebook
- Facebook ad (must be using Facebook Ad Manager)

New to Social? Our Social Media Playbook can help you get started.

Meeting Prep Resources
To download the presentation with script, click here. Note that this seminar has been pre-reviewed by National Life’s Ad Review, which significantly reduces the review time. However, you do still need to submit it for review of any customization, such as your name and disclosure. Once customized, submit it to the Advertising Review Unit – email address ADReview@nationallife.com. At the time of submission please include the Advertising Submission form which needs to be filled out, the PowerPoint presentation/script, invitation, and handouts.

Additional Resources

A client bifold is available to distribute as a follow-up to the seminar as you reach out to attendees.

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Illuminations Quick Hit: Marketing and Training Resources

August 11, 2021

All of the Illuminations marketing and training resources can be found on the ESI Illuminations platform!

To access them, click on the Platform tab.

In the left column, you’ll see the resources organized into categories.

General Resources includes information on topics like fees and available Strategists. This is also where you’ll find Sales Maps and contact info for all the Strategists.

Special programs focuses on topics like Unified Managed Accounts and Directions.

The Training & Reference section includes resources from Envestnet, ESI and the individual Strategists.

ESI’s Illuminations marketing materials are categorized by client and advisors use and are located under the ESI Marketing Materials section.

Strategist Materials includes available marketing materials from each of the Strategists.

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The Advisor’s Guide to Sustainable Investing

August 11, 2021

With interest in sustainable investing strategies surging, advisors have the opportunity to embrace the momentum within the context of today’s wealth management landscape. Fidelity has created guides which can help advisors foster meaningful client experiences, deliver greater value, and communicate authentic points of view.

Fidelity has created a series of resources which define and clarify sustainable investing for advisors, present the evolving opportunities and challenges, and provide insights for firms looking to tell their ESG story in a way that resonates with clients.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW FIDELITY’S THE ADVISOR’S GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE INVESTING

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New Performance Snapshots for Q2 2021

August 3, 2021

To help you review the strategist portfolios you’ve utilized for your clients and determine if there is something new and a better fit, performance snapshots of the strategists on our Illuminations platform have been updated for Q2 2021. While we know we should not make recommendations purely off of performance, a list such as this is a great starting point to look at alternative solutions to help our clients better meet their financial goals.

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