I am confident that you have heard or read a version of this quote over the years. The full quote, by Benjamin Franklin, reads like this... "We must, indeed, all hang together or must assuredly, we shall all hang separately.” The great Mr. Franklin said this at the signing of The Declaration of Independence. He was reminding the signers of the Declaration, and the colonists, that they had to stick together and help each other or they were all doomed to fail. In that case, maybe even lose their lives. Well, if Mr. Franklin was in the financial services business today, I think he might be saying the same thing to participants in this great industry. So, if you will forgive me for using a quote from the late great Benjamin Franklin to make my point, I shall continue…
I read a half page article in the Wall Street Journal that was from Barron’s. The title is (I paraphrase) “Finally, the Fiduciary Rule is here.” The article was well written, and did not speak to any unproven claims by our former President or Department of Labor Head that stated that Americans are losing trillions of dollars due to the high fees and bad products that were being hawked and pushed by "bad people" advisors. No, the article was basically, “Why wouldn't everyone want a fiduciary?” They went on to say that all financial transactions will be under the fiduciary rule… not just qualified money. They also went on to say that Americans will seek out advisors that are "Best Interest" guys and girls. In other words, the train has left the station and "Best Interest" is here to say. So, I must tell you… I agree. And, I am going to play it to my advantage. What about you? Read on…
First off, let's get back to the quote. You, the professional advisor (either registered rep or insurance only) had better line up with an IMO that will assist, explain, guide, mentor, train and do their best to keep you out of harm's way. If not... you might just hang separately. But, by aligning with an IMO that suits your needs, everyone is in this thing together. And, if things don't go right... we hang together. I feel, that with proper tools and guidance, this rule will not be problematic, and will prove to be just the thing that lifts advisors to new levels of success. But, you can't ignore this or take the shortcut. You can't just store things in your filing cabinet for 6 years. Your need somewhere in the cloud and also safe from hacking. You need to disclose commissions. Okay, before you want to debate, this is being interpreted a couple of ways. And, if 84-24 says that we "should" disclose, I would do it. You want to be safe if a suit were to appear.
Lawsuits? There can't be any until Jan 2018 can there? Of course there can be... and there will be. So, you need to protect yourselves. Now, let's talk turkey and get back to that "hanging” thing. I don't want to "hang" with an advisor that is not giving me the lion's share of his/her business. You don't want to "hang " with an IMO that is not giving you the same efforts that you are giving them. So, it is now time to pick sides. It is now time to get appropriate credentials that will help you stand out in the crowd. It is now time for you to have a website that will exhibit your firm as the safe bet. It is now time to get in the game.
So, The Ohlson Group is not unlike many of the other firms out there today. There are so many good competitors. We just happen to be that mid-sized, family owned boutique IMO that has been around since 1975. We have a nice split of young, talented and credentialed associates in our offices in Carmel, IN and Chicago, IL, coupled with some seasoned pros (I am included in this group) that have served as top officers in life companies here and abroad and who are also Life Members of MDRT (yes I have walked a mile in your shoes). We have the systems, access to credentials that matter, software and more. I think a call will be the thing to determine if we are a fit. Let's do that.
Finally, we all love insurance companies and the insurance companies all love us. We really can't do without each other. But, I know you have heard a deafening silence from most of the carriers. Let me whisper this to you... the companies have really separated manufacturing from distribution. You are on your own in this DOL world. They are going to protect themselves and not give you best interest advice. They want, and are getting, an arm's length relationship. Is there a solution? You bet... it's The Ohlson Group. Give us a call at 1-877-844-0900 and I think you will find out why agents from coast to coast continue to refer to us as...a different experience. We look forward to your call.
Until next time... good selling!
I read a half page article in the Wall Street Journal that was from Barron’s. The title is (I paraphrase) “Finally, the Fiduciary Rule is here.” The article was well written, and did not speak to any unproven claims by our former President or Department of Labor Head that stated that Americans are losing trillions of dollars due to the high fees and bad products that were being hawked and pushed by "bad people" advisors. No, the article was basically, “Why wouldn't everyone want a fiduciary?” They went on to say that all financial transactions will be under the fiduciary rule… not just qualified money. They also went on to say that Americans will seek out advisors that are "Best Interest" guys and girls. In other words, the train has left the station and "Best Interest" is here to say. So, I must tell you… I agree. And, I am going to play it to my advantage. What about you? Read on…
First off, let's get back to the quote. You, the professional advisor (either registered rep or insurance only) had better line up with an IMO that will assist, explain, guide, mentor, train and do their best to keep you out of harm's way. If not... you might just hang separately. But, by aligning with an IMO that suits your needs, everyone is in this thing together. And, if things don't go right... we hang together. I feel, that with proper tools and guidance, this rule will not be problematic, and will prove to be just the thing that lifts advisors to new levels of success. But, you can't ignore this or take the shortcut. You can't just store things in your filing cabinet for 6 years. Your need somewhere in the cloud and also safe from hacking. You need to disclose commissions. Okay, before you want to debate, this is being interpreted a couple of ways. And, if 84-24 says that we "should" disclose, I would do it. You want to be safe if a suit were to appear.
Lawsuits? There can't be any until Jan 2018 can there? Of course there can be... and there will be. So, you need to protect yourselves. Now, let's talk turkey and get back to that "hanging” thing. I don't want to "hang" with an advisor that is not giving me the lion's share of his/her business. You don't want to "hang " with an IMO that is not giving you the same efforts that you are giving them. So, it is now time to pick sides. It is now time to get appropriate credentials that will help you stand out in the crowd. It is now time for you to have a website that will exhibit your firm as the safe bet. It is now time to get in the game.
So, The Ohlson Group is not unlike many of the other firms out there today. There are so many good competitors. We just happen to be that mid-sized, family owned boutique IMO that has been around since 1975. We have a nice split of young, talented and credentialed associates in our offices in Carmel, IN and Chicago, IL, coupled with some seasoned pros (I am included in this group) that have served as top officers in life companies here and abroad and who are also Life Members of MDRT (yes I have walked a mile in your shoes). We have the systems, access to credentials that matter, software and more. I think a call will be the thing to determine if we are a fit. Let's do that.
Finally, we all love insurance companies and the insurance companies all love us. We really can't do without each other. But, I know you have heard a deafening silence from most of the carriers. Let me whisper this to you... the companies have really separated manufacturing from distribution. You are on your own in this DOL world. They are going to protect themselves and not give you best interest advice. They want, and are getting, an arm's length relationship. Is there a solution? You bet... it's The Ohlson Group. Give us a call at 1-877-844-0900 and I think you will find out why agents from coast to coast continue to refer to us as...a different experience. We look forward to your call.
Until next time... good selling!
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