Have you considered the Touchstone Income Strategy Lately?

April 26, 2022

The Touchstone Income Strategy powered by ESI Illuminations is a managed portfolio of a combination of Touchstone Funds that are allocated to generate income through a total return approach rather than strictly dividend income. The Strategy uses a combination of cash equivalents, fixed income, multi-asset and equity funds which seek to sustain a 5 percent withdrawal rate over a 20-year period.*

Visit the ESI Illuminations platform tab to view updated materials on the Touchstone Income Strategy and how it can help your clients. New materials include a client-focused flyer, a hypothetical portfolio illustration, and an updated sales map.

Marketing materials on the Illuminations platform are located under the Platform tab.

*As with any investment Strategy, the Touchstone Income Strategy involves risk, and there is the possibility of loss of principal value. There is no guaranteed element of the Strategy.

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Savos Asset Management Recording Available

April 26, 2022

Click here for a recording of the recent Savos Personal Portfolios overview.

Personal Portfolios is a unified managed account structure with individual stock, ETFs, and institutional mutual funds – all under one acct number. If you have clients looking for customization, such as screening for ESG values, or personalized service, such as a tax-managed transition report, don’t miss this recording!

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Alternative Mutual Fund List Updated!

April 26, 2022

The Alternative Mutual Fund Lists – Approved, Restricted and Watch List – have been updated.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW: https://www.nationallife.com/agent/products/investments/mutual-funds

Note: You might need to be logged into the agent portal prior to clicking link in order for it to work.

Additional details to note:

APPROVED & PROHIBITED ALTERNATIVE MUTUAL FUNDS

The purchase of Alternative Mutual Funds that include inverse and leveraged strategies is not permitted. To assist with what funds may be purchased, there is an Alternative Mutual Fund Available List and a Watch List which is updated quarterly and may be found on the Agent Portal à Products à Investments à Mutual Funds.

The Alternative Mutual Fund list 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 Restricted List is the list of prohibited alternative mutual funds.
- BROKERAGE: If an attempt to purchase is ma de 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.

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DOL 2.0: Spotlight on New Forms

April 26, 2022

You may recall in all communications relating to the Department of Labor, ESI has referred to doing business under two Prohibited Transaction Exemptions, also known as PTE 84-24 and PTE 20-02.

Compliance with PTE 84-24 took place in December of 2021. It was largely focused on disclosure of third-party compensation from the recommendation to purchase insurance products such as fixed-indexed or variable annuities.

PTE 20-02 has a compliance date of June 30^th, 2022. By utilizing 20-02, reps can continue to receive third-party compensation for advice related to ERISA and IRA-based accounts, as long as certain criteria are met. PTE 20-02 will be used for brokerage, mutual fund, and advisory business. To comply with PTE 20-02 ESI has updated disclosures on various forms and created two new forms: the IRA-to-IRA Disclosure Form and the IRA Transfer of Assets Form.

New Forms
IRA to IRA Disclosure Form (Direct Mutual Fund and Advisory Business)

This form will be required when all of the following apply:

A transaction is occurring in an IRA account (new business or subsequent deposit)
Will be funded with transfer/rollover from another IRA
The destination of the funds is a non-annuity product.
Note: This form will also be utilized for Brokerage and Illuminations accounts that are being funded with an IRA through means other than a Transfer of Assets (60-day rollover, indirect rollover, Roth Conversion Rollover)

IRA Transfer of Assets Form (Brokerage and ESI Illuminations)
This form will be required when all of the following apply:

A transaction is occurring in an IRA account (new business or subsequent deposit)
Will be funded with a Transfer of Assets from another IRA
The product used is either:
- Brokerage Account
- ESI Illuminations Account

Forms Availability
The form(s) will be available starting May 9^th. Although the deadline for using the new form is June 30^th, making them available over one month early, gives time to get into the practice of using the form (s). They will be found under the Optional Forms section in Docupace and can be added to the work item. They will also be available in Merrill.

How to Complete the Form(s)

Reminder! DOL education and training is available on the National Life Portal. Simply click on the lightning bolt located in the upper right side of the main menu bar and scroll down to DOL Training Page.

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ESI Field Advisory Committee Welcomes New Members

April 19, 2022

Chartered in 2006 as a subcommittee of NLG’s Agent Advisory Council (AAC), the ESI Field Advisory Committee (EFAC) is charged with working closely with ESI Leadership to address the opportunities and challenges faced by ESI Reps in their practices. In serving as the voice of the Field, EFAC has engaged in providing Rep perspective and feedback on topics ranging from Firm policy and solutions, to products, business efficiency, and growth opportunities. During their recent annual meeting, the Committee addressed its regular membership update, with the results voted on and ratified unanimously in the meeting that followed.

ESI and EFAC are pleased to welcome the newest Committee Members:

Michelle Lawrence, CPA, PFS
Northern New England

Gary Liskow
Long Island

ESI and the Committee would also like to extend a special Thank You! to outgoing Members:

Steve Simon
Beverly Hills

Travis Ramsdell
Southern New England

Your EFAC Representatives as of Jan 2022 are:

Tyler Degeneffe, Co-Chair
Green Bay

Nico Riverso, Co-Chair
Red Bank

Scott Maitland
Pacific Northwest

Dom Citera
Jericho

Paul Sortino
Baltimore

Dan Wolodkiewicz
Midwest

Michelle Lawrence, CPA, PFS
Northern New England

Gary Liskow
Long Island

To learn more about EFAC’s mission, please visit:
https://www.nationallife.com/agent/tools/contact-us/efac

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Fixed Income Commentary Available

April 19, 2022

“Following the “Forgettable February” theme, “Miserable March” was not a pretty month for bond returns, but the future income component on new bond investments will be more appealing as a result. Yields rose considerably during the month — by 90 basis points (bps) on the two-year Treasury, 50bps on the ten-year note, and 29 on the thirty-year bond. Total return results for the Bloomberg Intermediate U.S. Aggregate Bond Index and the Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index were -2.51% and -3.24%, respectively.” Continue reading…

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April Investigo Enhancements – Accounts Displays, Client Access Maintenance, and More!

April 19, 2022

As the end of April is rapidly approaching, we are excited to announce some enhancements coming to the Investigo platform. On April 29^th Investigo will be releasing upgrades to their web-based application.

The account overview display is going to be enhanced to automatically calculate TWRR returns at a quick glance for the Advisor. These changes will appear at both the Group and the Account level pages. There will also be changes to the Group/Account Summary, Group/Account Breakdown, and the Activity Summary displays where the TWRR will now be displayed. (Please note – some accounts are not eligible and will be marked as such with an *)

The Client Access Maintenance page has received a new look and design to make the process more user friendly and consistent with the rest of the platform’s interface. The overall fields will remain the same, but you will be able to quickly navigate through the client access profile using the navigation menu on the left-hand side. The information will now be displayed on various panels.

Lastly, there will be minor changes to the Time Weighted Rate of Return (TWRR) calculation methodology. The new calculation method is more commonly used throughout the industry and will reduce the impact of the return when larger positive flows that are significantly larger than the account or portfolio occur. The overall impact will be minor and will provide results more quickly, reducing the wait time for reports.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Investigo Support at 866-209-2440 or contact Matthew Crowley at 802-229-3025.

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ESI Leadership Call – Sign Up Today!

April 19, 2022

Please join Ata Azarshahi and ESI’s Leadership Team for our Quarterly Field Update series. In this session, we’ll be reviewing the activities and results of Q1 and providing insight into what lies ahead through 2022.

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 be Monday, April 25th.

Meeting Details:

Thursday, April 28th – 2:00 PM EST

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

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Upcoming DOL 2.0 Forms Updates

April 19, 2022

You may recall in all communications relating to the Department of Labor, ESI has referred to doing business under two Prohibited Transaction Exemptions, also known as PTE 84-24 and PTE 20-02.

Compliance with PTE 84-24 took place in December of 2021. It was largely focused on disclosure of third-party compensation from the recommendation to purchase insurance products such as fixed-indexed or variable annuities.

PTE 20-02 has a compliance date of June 30^th, 2022. By utilizing 20-02, reps can continue to receive third-party compensation for advice related to ERISA and IRA-based accounts, as long as certain criteria are met. PTE 20-02 will be used for brokerage, mutual fund, and advisory business. To comply with PTE 20-02 ESI has updated disclosures on various forms and created two new forms: the IRA-to-IRA Disclosure Form and the IRA Transfer of Assets Form. In addition, revisions have been made to the Defined Contribution Rollover Recommendation and the Defined Benefit Rollover Recommendation forms.

Each of the new or revised forms contain elements of the Best Interest Supplemental Worksheet. As such, the Best Interest Supplemental Worksheet is no longer needed when one of these forms is required.

Revised Forms
Defined Contribution Rollover Recommendation and Defined Benefit Rollover Recommendation

These forms will continue to be required when all of the following apply:

A transaction is occurring in an IRA account (new business or subsequent deposit)
Will be funded with transfer/rollover from a defined contribution plan such as a 401(k), or a defined benefit plan such as a pension
The destination of the funds is a non-annuity product.

New Forms

IRA to IRA Disclosure Form (Direct Mutual Fund and Advisory Business)

This form will be required when all of the following apply:

A transaction is occurring in an IRA account (new business or subsequent deposit)
Will be funded with transfer/rollover from another IRA
The destination of the funds is a non-annuity product.

IRA Transfer of Assets Form (Brokerage and ESI Illuminations)

This form will be required when all of the following apply:

A transaction is occurring in an IRA account (new business or subsequent deposit)
Will be funded with transfer/rollover from another IRA
The product used is either:

Brokerage Account
ESI Illuminations Account

Forms in Docupace
When the new forms are available, they will be found under the Optional Forms section in Docupace, and will need to be added to the work item if applicable. They will also be available in Merrill. Stay tuned for further communication, draft copies, and training tips on how to complete these new forms.

Reminder! DOL education and training is available on the National Life Portal. Simply click on the lightning bolt located in the upper right side of the main menu bar and scroll down to DOL Training Page.

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ESI Closes at Noon Tomorrow!

April 12, 2022

All NYSE markets will be closed on Friday, April 15th in observance of the Good Friday holiday. If you can, please plan ahead, and check with individual Partners for their hours. ESI will close at 12pm ET.

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