Leaders Blog

Chapter Staff and Chapter Leaders from across NAIFA Nation met on April 4th, for the Chapter Leaders Webinar! Attendees were able to hear the latest NAIFA updates and announcements! This month's Chapter Leaders Webinar featured:

We need your help! Through our efforts, we have been unable to reach many members who have recently expired and haven't renewed their membership. We know that many of our members' connections extend across state borders. That's why we've created a new page listing our lapsed members, so you can help encourage the members you know on this list to renew their membership.

Twenty-four chapters are battling to move on to the Terrific 12. Who will be knocked out at the end of the second round of IFAPAC Madness? The clock is ticking to secure contributions before the buzzer at the end of the day on Sunday, April 7th.  

Much like the NCAA March Madness Brackets, IFAPAC has created its bracketology based on 2023 fundraising totals. Chapters will go head-to-head during each round to see who raises the most during the allotted time. Chapters need to be increasing donations in each round. Totals do NOT carry over from each round, the results are not cumulative. The chapter with the highest total during the allotted round will move on to the next round.

Help us shape the next era of financial service professionals and give back to your NAIFA family. We are looking for experienced financial professionals to serve as LUTCF mentors to assist LUTCF students in maximizing their professional training experience to allow them to thrive in the insurance and financial services industry. 

The 2024 Congressional Conference is coming to Washington, D.C., May 20-21. This is NAIFA's can't-miss signature grassroots event and the most impactful association fly-in in the insurance and financial services industry. See who is attending. If your name is not on the list, register today to have it added. If you notice colleagues or members from your chapter who aren't yet registered, why don't you give them a friendly nudge? The more people we have in Washington advocating for our businesses, clients, and communities the more influential we are.

How can we ensure the success of younger advisors within NAIFA?

We recently held our first quarterly Young Advisor Team call of the year. We asked all YAT chairs to come together and talk about their individual efforts in their state chapters. From golf socials to happy hours, we know in-person events and activities are a common way to get membership involvement. But one of the main things we really focused on was understanding what younger advisors want out of their NAIFA membership. 

Consider for a moment the state of our industry. 80-90% of advisors fail out of the business. If you knew you could do something about that, would you? My challenge to everyone reading this is to formally, or informally, mentor a younger advisor in your state. Even if it's just one coffee meeting or phone call a month, find some time to sit down with them and just listen to what their experience has been like.

Our 2023 John Newton Russell Memorial Award recipient, Joe Jordan is an inspirational speaker, behavioral finance expert, and the author of the award-winning book, Living a Life of Significance. The book has sold over 125,000 copies, is translated into five languages, and was featured in Nick Murray's "The Advisor's Essential Library."  

As financial professionals, understanding the intricate web of challenges your clients face, especially those entangled in student loan debt, is paramount. With the United States grappling with an overwhelming $1.7 trillion in outstanding higher education loans, the issue is more critical than ever. 

We invite you to join us for a Journal Live audio discussion on "Excessive Student Loans: The Harbinger of Death to a Financial Future," on Thursday, April 25, 2024, at 12 PM Eastern. This session is not just another webinar; it's an opportunity to deepen your understanding of how excessive borrowing for higher education can severely limit your clients' financial growth and stability.

Presented by Greg Geisler, PhD, and J. William Harden, CPA, ChFC, PhD, this 45-minute program will offer a comprehensive look into their study's findings on the long-term impacts of student loan debt. Learn how excessive debt burdens can hinder your clients' ability to engage in long-term tax-advantaged savings and prepare for a financially secure future.

Included is a Q&A session, where you can engage directly. This event is free for members and presents an excellent opportunity to enhance your ability to guide clients through the complexities of student loans.

April is National Financial Literacy Month, an annual observation NAIFA wholeheartedly agrees with. But why is financial literacy important and what are we doing about it?

FINRA surveys consistently show that around two-thirds of Americans lack basic financial understanding, and their lack of knowledge is significant. Those who score higher on FINRA’s financial literacy quiz show a greater tendency to earn more than they spend, have an emergency fund of three-months’ salary or more, contribute to retirement accounts, and accurately estimate their retirement savings needs.

The "I Love NAIFA Month" and the "It's Not Luck, It's NAIFA" referral incentives have been a smashing success.  As such, NAIFA has extended this initiative through April with a slight change!  For every member who joins and lists a member as the referral source, that referring member will receive a $10 Dunkin Donuts gift card.