Over the past 20 years, the financial industry has evolved dramatically with changes in technology, regulations, economics, and the list goes on. But during his 20 years in the industry, Sal Mendoza has found a substantial shift in a different area – the mindset of advisors. While advisors 20 years ago had previously seen summer as a time when business slows down, historical reports from the past two summers have indicated that the notion of summer being a “slow season” is a myth.

Advisors have been consistently encouraged to stay dedicated and active during the summer because we know that those opportunities still exist. A “slow season” now means a “no season” later for production goals. In fact, there are so many opportunities that we’ve even seen appointment conversion rates that are upwards of 61.4% in the summer months!

In this episode of Money Script Monday, Sal points to the historical reports of advisors’ events during the summer months to demonstrate that opportunities for success are abundant during this time and should be taken advantage of.

Resources Provided for This Episode

• Video Transcription
• Whiteboard Image

With economic uncertainty and skyrocketing interest rates, the allure of short-term annuities are capturing attention during this volatile time, but are they the right choice for you? While they offer attractive rates and quick access to funds, the unpredictable nature of short-term interest rates poses a significant risk.

Navigate the annuity landscape with confidence by understanding the nuances of short-term annuities and understanding the potential benefits of the alternative long-term annuity. In this episode of Money Script Monday, Sean weighs the benefits and risks of annuities with a shorter withdrawal charge schedule and explores the alternative of longer-term annuities that could provide more consistent returns over an extended period.

Resources Provided for This Episode

• Video Transcription
• Whiteboard Image

If you find that traditional ways of marketing are not as effective as they used to be, you are not crazy, and you are definitely not alone. Prospecting should not feel as though you are exhausting yourself just to go nowhere. Save that feeling for the treadmill by making your qualified leads come to you instead!

LifePro has systems in place that have helped thousands of financial advisors across the country, from Colorado all the way to New Jersey, successfully generate leads, appointments, and clients 100% online. In this episode of Money Script Monday, Jaime reviews antiquated marketing methods to contrast them with the advanced strategies for prospecting that LifePro developed to maximize effectiveness in the digital age.

Resources Provided for This Episode

• Video Transcription
• Whiteboard Image

I recently had the opportunity to meet with an executive from Athene and while we covered a lot of ground concerning a wide range of industry topics, there was a recent trend in the fixed indexed annuity market that we both found to be particularly worthy of attention. In the past, many FIA sales were all about the guaranteed income rider.

Recently, however, their number one selling annuity series is an accumulation FIA without an income rider. With the shift we are seeing from high guaranteed level income riders towards increasing income and accumulation FIAs, I wanted to share some information to provide an alternative annuity income approach offering a higher initial paycheck and potentially higher internal rate of return at life expectancy.

While most of our annuity sales are using FIAs with income riders, primarily those with increasing income to help offset inflation, there are times when income riders may not make sense. For instance, an income rider will benefit most for someone with longevity. They will be the ones who will live off mortality credits, also referred to as longevity credits, during their later years of life as they live past actuarial life expectancy.

I put together an annuity internal rate of return (IRR) calculator to demonstrate that the IRR on one of the top selling FIAs in the country is only 5.2% for a 65-year-old living to age 81. Yet, if this same client lives to age 94, the IRR is an incredible 10.80%.

Essentially, for someone not likely to live to or past life expectancy, an annuity income rider may not be as valuable for the client from an income perspective. This is especially true if it is an at cost income rider or an annuity with a lower initial withdrawal rate with the potential for increasing income.

Granted, some of these annuities have death benefit features which provide a valuable death benefit for those who prematurely pass.

For older clients or those less likely to live to or beyond life expectancy, we can consider using an Annuity Income Rider Alternative. This concept focuses on using an accumulation FIA with taking systematic free withdrawals. One benefit of using this approach is the potential for a much higher initial paycheck. Additionally, there is more flexibility in paychecks in specific years and the ability to stop the income if it is not needed.

With this, a potential downside to be mindful of is that there are no mortality or longevity credits, and the continuation of the income is based on the indexed performance.

In this example, I illustrated a $300,000 accumulation FIA for a 65-year-old starting free withdrawals next year. I illustrated taking $2,000 a month (8% premium withdrawal rate) beginning in policy year 2.

On a guaranteed basis the income runs out by age 78. Assuming the 4.75% fixed rate, the income exhausts at age 85 (past life expectancy for this client). Using the historical periods, the income lasts for life. Note I am using 50% allocated to the fixed account to dial down the illustrated growth projections.

As you can see, the Annuity Income Alternative not only provides a higher initial starting income stream, but it also provides a higher internal rate of return at life expectancy of 7.68%. For reference, the IRR at life expectancy for the previous example with an income rider offering increasing income was only 5.20%. While every client’s situation is unique, using an accumulation FIA with systematic withdrawals could offer more client value when compared to FIAs with an income rider.

With today’s higher interest rate environment, these concepts provide more benefits to your clients in form of higher growth potential and higher income. Many of our top advisors have had a record first half of the year in annuity production as their clients are looking to de-risk their retirement plans and make better use of under employed assets. While annuities with income riders can be a valuable tool, considering an Annuity Income Rider Alternative as an option for a client in less than perfect health looking for income may be worth offering.

Resources Provided for This Post

• Annuity IRR Calculator - With Income Rider
• Annuity IRR Calculator - Without Income Rider
• Hypothetical Illustration

Contact LifePro Today!

If you are looking for a partner who cares about your clients as much as you do, please reach out to LifePro Financial Services at 888-543-3776. We are a premier IMO located in San Diego, CA that has been in business since 1986 and was originally founded by Bill Zimmerman.

Our focus is getting advisors in front of the right prospects through our proprietary digital marketing systems while offering industry best-case design and reporting, professional back-office support, and competitive compensation with incentives.

This material is intended for educational purposes only and is not intended to serve as the basis for any purchasing decision. Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. The hypothetical example is shown for illustrative purposes only and is not guaranteed. The characters in this example are fictional only. Your actual experience will vary. Income benefit riders may be offered either built-in or for an additional cost. Remember to consider your client's individual circumstances and objectives when discussing their specific situation. Additional premium payments may be required to keep the policy in force. Withdrawals are generally income tax-free unless the withdrawal amount exceeds the amount of premium paid. Tax laws are subject to change. Clients should consult their tax professionals. Investment advisory and financial planning services are offered through LifePro Asset Management, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Investments involve risk.

Diving into the sea of online resources for financial professionals can feel like searching for a teardrop in the ocean. Revelance, usefulness, timeliness, and accuracy of the information, not to mention the interests and motivations of the source, can all be legitimate causes for doubt when determining what you want to utilize in your business.

Among the many services LifePro provides, bringing ease to your day-to-day business operations is a shared sentiment and motivation behind all the support we provide. With this, LifePro's Contracting and Licensing Manager, Sara Sullivan, endeavored on a deep dive into the benefits of the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association, more commonly known as LIMRA.

As a 107-year-old trade association that provides training and development, research assessment, consulting, compliance, and other services and benefits for its members, there is so much that LIMRA has to give. In this episode of Money Script Monday, Sara presents her findings on all that LIMRA offers and provides examples of the advantageous information that can benefit a financial professional’s business.

Resources Provided for This Episode

• Video Transcription
• Whiteboard Image

Between market volatility, increased longevity, and inflation, the fear of running out of money in retirement is a sentiment that is on the forefront of any clients’ concerns over the financial stability of their golden years. And rightfully so. It is far too common that a lack of proper planning contributes to an unnecessary loss of funds that impacts the standard of living for the client, and their ability to maximize wealth transfers to their heirs. When market conditions take a downturn, financial professionals traditionally advise clients to simply live on less. But is that really what your clients want or what we should plan for?

Financial uncertainty and economic downturn are not questions of if it will happen, but rather of when it will happen.

It’s time to stop reacting to issues as they arise and start preventing them before they occur. One way to accomplish this, is to incorporate a ‘volatility buffer’ into your clients’ financial plans. During the accumulation years, the sequence of returns does not create a huge risk for clients. In fact, it could create opportunities to buy high quality stocks at a discounted price when the stock market turns negative. However, during the distribution years, large account losses coupled with withdrawals can cause double pain for retirees. Taking account withdrawals during down years has the potential to lock in losses and restrict the account’s recovery.

With that in mind, we can consider creating a ‘volatility buffer’ during our clients’ retirement years. To do this we can max fund an Indexed Universal Life policy during a client’s working years. Rather than utilizing the IUL for systematic, level income during retirement, we can instead take policy loans during down years in the stock market. By doing so we do not have to tap into investment accounts and incur the double pain associated with losses and withdrawals.

Since the IUL loan is tax-free, it can also allow for other strategic opportunities. For example, if most of a client’s income was coming from the IUL, their taxable income would be substantially less than other tax years. This may be an ideal situation for a partial Roth IRA conversion, especially after a market pullback.

To illustrate this concept, I have a client with $5 million in a non-qualified equity account averaging 8% per year. The random investment sequence is: -20%, 12%, 18%, 22%. I repeat this sequence every 4 years.

Source: LifePro Financial, Inc. Hypothetical situation for illustration purposes only. See disclosure for more information.

The client is currently contributing $200k a year to this investment account for the next 10 years while working. The current plan shows the equity account drain down substantially during the retirement years, especially during those down years coupled with taking income.

Source: InsMark. Hypothetical situation for illustration purposes only. See disclosure for more information.

For the proposed plan, I am simply redirecting 70% of the taxable account contributions, or $140k a year, for 10 years into the IUL with a 6% illustrated rate. As opposed to being solely reliant on the investment account for income, I am instead taking loans from the IUL for income during down market years. This allows the equity account to recover without interruption by distributions for income, thus avoiding double pain and providing more net worth/wealth to heirs.

Source: InsMark. Hypothetical situation for illustration purposes only. See disclosure for more information.

Imagine if this were the type of difference you could make for your clients. This is not only a huge win for the client, but also a big benefit to the investment advisor’s business by maintaining more AUM and more consistent revenue. Creating financial success such as this for your clients is creating success for yourself as well. Increasing the wealth transfer for heirs, or preventing unnecessary losses before then, allows the investment advisor to retain more AUM by having another account to take income from during bear markets.

By now it’s clear how beneficial it is to incorporate a ‘volatility buffer’ into your clients’ complete and holistic financial plans. The goal of sharing the very same strategies that we use with you is to encourage you to expand how you consider responding to your clients’ various needs. It’s not only unrealistic and simplistic to tell clients to just “live on a tighter budget,” but also unfair for financial professionals to resort to when more sound solutions exist. At LifePro, we have a highly skilled and experienced in-house Advanced Case Design Department that frequently uses these strategies when providing our thousands of advisors from across the country who outsource their paraplanning to us. To learn more about how we can help you better service your clients to help grow your business, please reach out to us at 888-543-3776.

Additional Resources

• Sample Analysis of Equity Account With and Without Volatility Buffer

Contact LifePro Today!

If you are looking for a partner who cares about your clients as much as you do, please reach out to LifePro Financial Services at 888-543-3776. We are a premier IMO located in San Diego, CA that has been in business since 1986 and was originally founded by Bill Zimmerman.

Our focus is getting advisors in front of the right prospects through our proprietary digital marketing systems while offering industry best-case design and reporting, professional back-office support, and competitive compensation with incentives.

Investments have risk. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This material is for educational purposes only. Any reference to index universal life used in this material is hypothetical and is intended solely to show how IULs may be used with this planning concept. This example is for discussion purposes only. Actual results will vary based on your specific situation. Certain assumptions are based on information provided by you. Consult your own tax and/or legal advisor(s) when making tax and legal decisions. Investment and insurance values are illustrative/projective only, not guarantees. A personalized basic IUL illustration/projection is required which includes product features and any guarantees. Investment advisory and financial planning services offered through LifePro Asset Management, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Investments involve risk. Insurance, consulting, and education services are offered through LifePro Financial Services, Inc.

Have you ever been on a road trip? Or even gone for a drive when the conditions are unfavorable? Chances are, you don’t just hop into the driver’s seat, start it up, and hit the road without checking a few things first. You’ll make sure you have enough gas to get to a gas station or your destination, make sure your vehicle is in good enough condition to be on the road, and you’ll even get all those backward-facing mirrors in the perfect position so you can safely see behind you as you accelerate on the journey ahead.

Safety checks are a critical component of any journey, and the journey to your golden years of retirement is no exception. That’s why it’s so important to be aware of the risks you may encounter along the way, and even more important to develop a plan of safety in the face of adversarial retirement conditions.

In this episode of Money Script Monday, Luke forecasts the biggest retirement risks to illuminate their dangers and offers potentially safer strategies for retirement security.

Resources Provided for This Episode

• Video Transcription
• Whiteboard Image

Over the last 6 months, a colleague and I took on a difficult task concerning an in-force premium finance review. The case was done through another advisor with an outside premium finance vendor and since things got a little messy, the client sought fiduciary council with one of our top advisors so they could figure out what went wrong and how to move forward.

The premium finance plan was placed in 2014 and based on the projections from 9 years ago, this plan was a slam dunk and no brainer for the client to move forward with. After all, the borrowing costs from the bank were projected to stay at 2.20% forever and the indexed returns were projected at 6.5% consistently. An easy 4% spread between the indexed returns and borrowing rates.

Fast forward to today, the client was over 7 figures underwater in this transaction. Meaning the primary collateral source (IUL cash surrender value) was over a million dollars less than the bank loan. Essentially, the client was posting a huge amount of outside gap collateral in the form of outside investments to make the bank whole. Not only was he in a large hole after only 9 years in the transaction, but it was projected to get even worse.

Without any additional funding or face amount reductions, the IUL policy was projected to lapse at age 84 based on current projections while still owing $9.5m to the bank on the financed loan, assuming a 4% borrowing rate.

There were many problems with not only the transaction itself but also with the policy and policy management. For instance, the original design was presented under a best-case scenario with minimal client out-of-pocket contributions and an excessive amount of leverage. A higher cost IUL was used with a minimal term blend, creating a higher fee drag for the policy to hurdle in addition to the borrowing costs.

During the transaction the advisor missed one of the premiums, meaning the policy was never maximum funded, which increased the COI’s as the net amount at risk wasn’t reduced as expected with a typical max funded level death benefit IUL. Additionally, the advisor also tried to ‘time the market’ by switching in and out of the indexed account to the fixed account, often missing potential years of hitting the cap.

Lastly, the renewal rates offered by the insurance company were subpar in comparison to the industry with only a 7.5% S&P cap at renewal. To make matters worse, borrowing costs ratcheted up significantly with the drastic climb of the Federal Funds rate. Moving forward, the chances of arbitrage were minimal considering the lower cap, the higher borrowing costs, and the higher fee drag due to the non-maximum funded design. Clearly, this policy was in dire need of an extensive review of all his options, which we carried out through dozens of iterations wither multiple variables and stress tests.

Luckily, we found a creative solution for the client to stop the bleeding and responsibly exit the transaction, all while still providing low-cost life insurance coverage for estate planning.

While this was an extremely difficult, time-consuming case, it was also one of most rewarding of my career. The client stated he had met with a handful of other advisors over the last few years and was disappointed after most proposed solutions involved a policy replacement and more leverage. He received more clarity in a few months in working with our advisor and the LifePro team, than he did at any point in this almost decade long transaction.

The point of this isn’t to claim victory or to stand on our moral high ground. Instead, it is to learn from the mistakes of others so future clients aren’t put into this same situation. Premium finance can be an effective tool to build and transfer wealth. However, it must be done the right way for the right person.

Additionally, programs with less leverage, extensive stress testing, and no additional outside gap collateral may be a more appropriate way to help our clients reach their financial goals. They are also stickier, meaning clients see the value and stick with the plan instead of prematurely exiting. Meanwhile, the program our advisors have been using is an innovative and high-quality leader in the insurance industry. With one of the highest persistency rates compared to both financed and non-financed life insurance policies, they have managed to secure over $5 billion in loans since their start in 2000. We have been advocating for more conservative, Hybrid Financing solutions since the beginning and continue to use industry leading programs, such as Kai-Zen, for the long term success of our clients.

Below are a few of the key metrics we collected during our extensive policy review process:

Bank Loan Balance:

• 2023 Projected: $2,850,000
• 2023 Actual: $3,059,219

IUL Cash Value:

• 2023 Projected: $3,277,573
• 2023 Actual: $2,024,015

Outside Gap Collateral:

• 2023 Projected: $0 with $427,573 of Equity
• 2023 Actual: -$1,035,204

Indexed Returns:

• 2023 Projected: 6.50%
• 2023 Actual: 3.53%

Lender Borrowing Rates:

• 2023 Projected: 2.20%
• 2023 Actual: 6.49%

Lender Renewal Interest Cost:

• 2023 Projected: $63,671
• 2023 Actual: $105,410.53

Contact LifePro Today!

If you are looking for a partner who cares about your clients as much as you do, please reach out to LifePro Financial Services at 888-543-3776. We are a premier IMO located in San Diego, CA that has been in business since 1986 and was originally founded by Bill Zimmerman.

Our focus is getting advisors in front of the right prospects through our proprietary digital marketing systems while offering industry best-case design and reporting, professional back-office support, and competitive compensation with incentives.

This material is intended for educational purposes only and is not intended to serve as the basis for any purchasing decision. Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. The hypothetical example is shown for illustrative purposes only and is not guaranteed. The characters in this example are fictional only. Your actual experience will vary. Policy loans and withdrawals will reduce available cash values and death benefits and may cause the policy to lapse or affect any guarantees against lapse. Remember to consider your client's individual circumstances and objectives when discussing their specific situation. Additional premium payments may be required to keep the policy in force. In the event of a lapse, outstanding policy loans in excess of the unrecovered cost basis will be subject to ordinary income tax. Withdrawals are generally income tax-free unless the withdrawal amount exceeds the amount of premium paid. Tax laws are subject to change. Clients should consult their tax professionals. Investment advisory and financial planning services are offered through LifePro Asset Management, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Investments involve risk.

It's vital to get your ducks in a row if you want to get the most out of your college planning case. From phone interviews to obtaining necessary documents and even reviewing and updating any financial changes, many elements of underwriting that could slow down your process or negatively impact the amount of aid available to you and your family.

Planning an academic future means planning a path to success. If you want to make sure that path has the least amount of avoidable obstacles, it's crucial to understand the underwriting process of a college planning case and your role in it to avoid those speed bumps and maximize your success.

In this episode of Money Script Monday, Gabe breaks down the underwriting process and emphasizes the importance of keeping your college planner up to date with any changes.

Resources Provided for This Episode

• Video Transcription
• Whiteboard Image

As professional financial advisors, you may have noticed the influx of great articles regarding the Buy, Borrow, Die strategy that advocates for its ability to reduce taxes and maximize wealth. Unfortunately, these articles also position this strategy as something exclusively available to the rich. Further, some even go as far as explicitly associating this strategy with the ultra-wealthy, such as Elon Musk, that use Buy, Borrow, Die as a loophole to strategically avoid paying taxes on their appreciating assets.

The good news is we know Buy, Borrow, Die isn’t only available for the ultra-rich.

This strategy is widely available through the ability to buy max-funded Indexed Universal Life policies, borrow via tax-free participating loans, and die with an income tax-free death benefit. Clients who follow this strategy can significantly reduce taxes on growth, access, and transfer while also increasing personal and transferred wealth.

One wrinkle to the Buy, Borrow, Die concept with IUL is to use the borrowed funds to purchase appreciating assets at a discount. We call this ‘buying the dip.’  Generally, the stock market experiences a bear environment every 4-5 years. While a bear market can be scary for those in the stock market without any dry powder or safe funds to rely on, it can also be a tremendous opportunity to buy high-quality assets while they are available at a lower cost.  The IUL fits into this strategy as loans can be wired to a bank account in as little as 3 business days and serve as a liquidity source or ‘dry powder’ to utilize when the market turns red.

To illustrate this, I included a sample of a 45-year-old funding $50k a year for 5 years into an IUL. Then in year 6, the sample borrows every 5 years to buy the dip, without ever paying any interest on the policy loans and instead letting them accrue. Ultimately, the death benefit collateralizes and pays off the outstanding loans upon death, while still providing an income tax-free death benefit behind. Additionally, the assets purchased receive a step up in basis at the current law, allowing the heirs to not pay any capital gains taxes on the stock appreciation at death. While I’m utilizing stocks in this scenario, the assets purchased could include real estate or any other appreciating asset per individual situation.

The bottom line is that this client was able to accumulate and transfer a significant amount of wealth without having to pay any taxes on growth, distribution, or transfer. I’ve included this example illustration below along with samples of the Wealth Report and InsMark Report as resources that demonstrate the accessibility of this strategy that could greatly benefit your clients. After viewing these reports, I highly encourage you to reach out to your Field Support Representative with any questions you might have about utilizing this strategy as a tool that could positively impact your client’s overall financial plan.

Resources Provided for This Post

• Analysis of Buy the Dip
• Sample Wealth Report

Contact LifePro Today!

If you are looking for a partner who cares about your clients as much as you do, please reach out to LifePro Financial Services at 888-543-3776. We are a premier IMO located in San Diego, CA that has been in business since 1986 and was originally founded by William Zimmerman.

Our focus is getting advisors in front of the right prospects through our proprietary digital marketing systems while offering industry best-case design and reporting, professional back-office support, and competitive compensation with incentives.

This material is intended for educational purposes only and is not intended to serve as the basis for any purchasing decision. Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. The hypothetical example is shown for illustrative purposes only and is not guaranteed. The characters in this example are fictional only. Your actual experience will vary. Policy loans and withdrawals will reduce available cash values and death benefits and may cause the policy to lapse or affect any guarantees against lapse. Remember to consider your client's individual circumstances and objectives when discussing their specific situation. Additional premium payments may be required to keep the policy in force. In the event of a lapse, outstanding policy loans in excess of the unrecovered cost basis will be subject to ordinary income tax. Withdrawals are generally income tax-free unless the withdrawal amount exceeds the amount of premium paid. Tax laws are subject to change. Clients should consult their tax professionals. Investment advisory and financial planning services are offered through LifePro Asset Management, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Investments involve risk.