MILESTONE - For you history buffs, the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 10,000 at 9:50.50 a.m. EST on Tuesday, March 16, when it briefly rose to 10,001.78. It took another 13 days, however, for the Dow to close above 10,000, which it did on Monday, March 29, closing at 10,006.78. On the same day the Dow first broke the five-digit mark, Monopoly was unveiling its first new Monopoly token in more than 40 years....appropriately enough, a sack full of money!

THE FINANCIAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION - That's the name of the organization that would result from merging the International Association for Financial Planning (IAFP) and the Institute of Certified Financial Planners (ICFP). The boards of the two organizations have agreed on the merger, but the ICFP must also get the approval of two-thirds of its members (with at least 10% of them voting). The new association would have four groups of membership: (1) financial planning division, (2) allied professional division, (3) corporate division, and (4) broker- dealer division. Current IAFP members without a CFP would have 10 years in which to earn their CFP or be moved into the allied professional division, where they would not be eligible to participate in the association's referral program. New non-CFP members would have three years to attain their CFPs before being transferred out of the financial planning division. Expect CFPs to be asked to vote on the merger in late spring or early summer.

BIG BANG...LTC VERSION - We've mentioned several times the "explosion" that can result from underfunded universal life policies. Now regulators are concerned about "low-ball" pricing of long-term care insurance. Julia Philips, an actuary with the Minnesota insurance department, estimates that as much as 80% to 90% of the market could be underpriced.

COMPLIANCE VS. CREATIVITY - According to Jack Bobo, former NALU head who writes a weekly National Underwriter column, some companies have overreacted to the threat of lawsuits (you can assume that all agents of these companies agree!). Bobo suggests, as we all know, that an insurance sale is not a transaction sale. It is multi-faceted and requires more producer input than does a security sale. Maybe it's time to view securities compliance and insurance compliance in different lights and release this stranglehold on life producers.

DUTCH UNCLES - Aegon, the Dutch insurer, recently bought Transamerica in a huge deal, but we haven't seen the last of European insurance giants purchasing U.S. companies. ING (also Dutch) is said to be pursuing a U.S. insurance company purchase with a "war chest" of $10 billion.

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"COOPERATE AND GRADUATE" - Four major Canadian insurers have taken this old military adage to new heights. Sun Life, London Life, Great-West and Investor's Group have entered into an agreement to allow agents of their respective companies to write each other's products. The companies believe the alliance will give them new distribution channels, while offering the Canadian public greater choice in product.

MORE NORTH OF THE BORDER - 1999 will be a big year for the Canadian insurance industry...at least five major companies will go public: Mutual Life, Manulife, Sun Life, Canada Life and Industrial-Alliance General.

AIG TO BUY HARTFORD LIFE OF CANADA - In yet more "north of the border" news, AIG will buy Hartford's Canadian operations. We don't know when all these acquisitions will stop, but surely indigestion will set in sooner or later!

STRATEGIC PLANNING - A Conning & Company survey predicts "that traditional agents who had accounted for virtually all life insurance sales 20 years ago, today account for 82%, with that number expected to dwindle to 68% over the next five years as insurers move to other channels of distribution." According to the survey, insurance companies expect the other 32% of their life insurance sales to come from stockbrokers and banks (20%), direct marketing (6%), workplace marketing (2%) and quote services/Internet sales (4%). In addition, EDS has issued a white paper dealing with the hard choices insurance companies must make about where and how to compete in order to be successful in the "converging" financial services marketplace. The paper, "Financial Services Convergence: Strategic Perspectives for Insurance Companies," can be found at http://www.eds.com/insurance.

ONLINE TRADING NEWS - Lots going on in the online trading arena, including these developments:

• In light of recent outages, online brokerages may be required to meet SEC-imposed performance benchmarks.
• A bill to increase the SEC's power to prosecute online trading fraud is expected to be introduced in the Senate within a month to six weeks.
• Day-trading firms may have to turn away customers who do not meet suitability guidelines. In a related development, The Philadelphia Stock Exchange is seeking federal approval to require "off-floor" traders to pass the same NASD exam as professional securities dealers.

REAL LIFE STORIES - If you have a real life story about the value of personal, business, disability or health insurance, LIFE (the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education) wants you to apply for the fourth annual Client Service Award. See details and enter at http://www.life-line.org/clientservice.

STOCK MUTUAL FUND SLOWDOWN - The Investment Company Institute reports that net flows into stock mutual funds slowed dramatically in February to $757.7 million, down from $17.12 billion in January. Predictions are, however, that March will register a strong rebound.

SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH INSURANCE - A recent study by the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation (a national healthcare philanthropy) reveals that the number of small businesses (less then 200 employees) with employee health coverage declined from 52% in 1996 to 47% in 1998. The biggest drop was in companies with 25 to 49 employees...66% to 55%.