by Katie on March 14, 2012
Guest post by Marc Montini, Shurwest’s Chief Marketing Officer
Are you discouraged to see your competition growing their practice with the help of technology?
A successful advisor once told me, “My business is doing very well, but I see what other guys are doing and I feel like I’m falling behind.”
He felt helpless because he knew there were certain things he wanted to do, but he didn’t know where to start. He wanted a website. He wanted to get into social media. And he wanted to update his workshop handouts. But he had a lot of questions.
Where would he go?
How much will it cost?
Would they understand him and his clients?
The good news is that Shurwest has a solution and it was right under his nose. Do you realize, as a Shurwest advisor, you have your own advertising and PR firm right at your fingertips?
Shurwest has a complete marketing staff available to help you do all the things your competition may or may not be doing.
Using our services, you can get the website you’ve always wanted. We can design new print materials for your workshops. We can assist you with social media. And, best of all, we can get you into video marketing.
Soon, you’ll be the envy of your competition. And most of these services are available to our writing advisors at no charge. This is our way of partnering with you to help you achieve a new level of success.
Shurwest has already helped many advisors just like you. See some of our work here: www.shurwestmarketing.com. The next step is yours. Simply call me. We look forward to helping you grow your business.
by Katie on February 28, 2012
Part 2 of 2
Do you know anyone who would recommend a client withdraw 8.5% of their account value every year…unless their goal was to run out of money? That’s exactly what happens in variable annuities with lifetime income withdrawals.
Assumptions:
$500,000 initial premium
65-year-old client
Lifetime income rider withdrawals starting immediately at a 5% withdrawal rate
Income rider fee is 1% annually
M&E and subaccount expenses are 2.5% annually
This client is guaranteed $25,000 in income annually for the rest of his life. On top of that, he is paying total fees of $17,500 in Year 1. His cash value is reducing by $42,500 total for the year, or 8.5%. If the client continues with this annual percentage reduction, how long will it take until his cash value depletes to zero?
As stated in my previous post, the Number 1 reason advisors discourage clients from electing pension or single premium immediate annuity (SPIA) options is the lack of flexibility and control over that money going forward. But what flexibility and control do you have over your money if it’s gone? Sure, you still have your $25,000-a-year income stream. But, once again, you are handcuffed to your choice because it’s not your asset anymore – your asset is gone.
What if:
- your client’s needs change and the income rider is no longer the appropriate solution?
- interest rates go up and they could get more than $25,000 a year in income elsewhere?
- inflation increases and your client’s $25,000 a year just doesn’t get the job done anymore?
- income innovation continues and products get better?
Income riders were designed to compete with pensions and SPIAs by maximizing lifetime income without losing control. To ensure we are doing what’s best for our clients for the long term, we need to put them in a position to be able to move to better products if the need arises. Because clients don’t want dead assets.
Personal opinions expressed in a blog are that of the individual and not that of the insurance company.
