|
|
|
E-News
Archive/Search
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Get
Your Own Free Subscription... or Sign Up Your Colleagues
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Financial Services
Online (FSO) is the first and largest financial services publisher and portal
on the Internet. Our publications include Financial E-News, FSO Journal and Messages From The Financial Masters
(available at no cost on our portal located at www.fsonline.com. Daily free inspirational publications
include
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| This Newsletter
is published by Financial Services Online, Inc. and distributed on a complimentary
basis to members of NAIFA, subscribers of the
Virtual
Sales Assistant(TM)
and selected other recipients. It is designed to provide financial service professionals
an overview of the events and happenings that may affect their business. If you would
like additional information on any items or the sources used, please e-mail us at
e-news-list-admin@
e-news.fsonline.com. |
|
|
|
| Extra! Extra! |
|
|
Great
Leads, Pennies a Name and
a 20% FSO Discount!
ThinkDirectMarketing has provided the engine for LUTC's popular
Referred Leads Generator for nearly two years and they now have a new product (ThinkDirectMail v2.0) that could significantly help you in
your prospecting efforts. They have made it easier and less expensive for planners,
advisors and companies to obtain highly effective leads. For as little as $195, you
can:
o Create lists right on your PC
with unlimited usage.
o Find all prospects down to 1/10
of a mile radius.
o Select from 100 million listings
with phone numbers included.
o Search by geography or demographics.
o Get instant results about potential
leads with FREE samples.
Visit ThinkDirectMarketing.com to learn more. Be sure to use promo
code TDMEFSO to get your FSO discount!
|
|
| Industry News |
|
AIG BESTS PRU PLC - In our
March 15 issue, we announced that another Pru was coming to town. As of today, however,
that prospect looks pretty dim. In a surprise move, American International Group
trumped Prudential PLC's bid for American General. The Pru deal was weakened when
Pru PLC's stock dipped due to stockholder disappointment in the price being paid
for AG. Bottom line...the initial Pru offer was valued at $26.5 billion, but due
to the drop in Pru stock value, it is now worth about $21 billion and AIG has offered
$23 billion. Analysts doubt that Pru PLC has the resources to top the AIG offer,
but the English firm has filed suit against AIG over the situation. Also, AG will
have to pay a $600 million "break" fee to Prudential PLC if it accepts
AIG's offer. If the deal goes through, it would make AIG far and away the largest
U.S. insurer by market value...since AG is currently the largest!
WHAT'S NEXT? - Prudential PLC has been looking for a high growth U.S. acquisition
for several years, both to "bulk up" its Jackson National Life unit and
to provide cash resources to speed up its growth in Asia. If the American General
deal falls through, as seems likely, the consensus is that Pru PLC will look for
another U.S. acquisition, with Liberty Financial or Lincoln National mentioned as
possibilities. On the other hand, there is some speculation that, having revealed
its weaknesses, Prudential PLC may find itself among the "hunted."
PRU TOO (OR IS IT TWO?) - Prudential of America has finally filed for its
initial public offering...the approximately $2.9 billion deal will be one of the
largest ever by an insurance company. Prudential will sell about 16% of the company
(89 million shares) at about $30 a share. After the IPO, which could come "as
early as October," the successor company will be called Prudential Financial.
Policyholders will receive shares in the new company, although some will be eligible
for cash payments.
MARKET PINCH - In February, stock funds had an outflow of $3 billion, the
first outflow from stock funds since August 1998. Citing the falling equity markets
and following similar cuts (reported earlier) by other mutual fund companies, Putnam
Investments is laying off 256 employees (4% of its work force). T. Rowe Price is
attacking the problem by not renewing any of 100 consulting contracts, many of them
with technology companies. Meanwhile, Weiss Ratings downgraded eight brokerage firms
based on "recent deterioration in their financial condition." The downgraded
firms are: AB Watley, Accutrade, Ameritrade, Firstrade Securities, National Discount
Brokers, Suretrade, TD Waterhouse and Thomas F. White.
BAD TIMING - The Putnam layoff mentioned above was announced two weeks after
Putnam gave President, Lawrence Lasser, a $33 million bonus for 2000...a 27% increase
over 1999.
BANK PURCHASE - Reports have it that First Union Corp. will buy Wachovia Corp.
for about $13 million in stock. The deal would create the nation's fourth largest
bank, behind Citigroup, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan & Chase Co.
STILL GUILTY- An Illinois state Appellate Court has upheld most of a lower
court's verdict in the so-called "aftermarket" body parts lawsuit against
State Farm. Stating that the company acted with "calculated deception
of its policy holders," the Fifth Circuit Illinois Court of Appeals did reduce
the $1.2 billion awarded to 4.7 million policyholders in October 1999 by $130 million.
State Farm stated that it would appeal the appellate court verdict to the Illinois
Supreme Court.
LIMRA AND LOMA PARTNERSHIP - In a move that appears to be good for all involved
(including the industry), LIMRA International and LOMA, two of the leading research,
education, and consulting organizations for the life insurance and financial services
industry, are partnering to present a series of conferences in 2001. See http://www.limra.com and/or http://www.loma.org for details.
NO PROBLEMS REPORTED - On Monday, April 9, the Nasdaq Stock Market finished
making the switch to decimal-priced stock quotes and reported no problems with the
switch.
MEDICAL PRIVACY - In something of a surprise announcement, the Bush administration
has approved a sweeping set of medical privacy rules that were drafted initially
by the Clinton administration. A copy of the announcement by Health and Human
Services Secretary Thompson can be found at http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2001pres/20010412.html.
FDIC DEPOSIT INSURANCE CHANGES - Under the current FDIC deposit insurance
system, about 92% of all insured banks and thrifts pay no premiums since they have
adequate capital and receive strong ratings from examiners. The FDIC is recommending
to Congress, however, that this be changed to a system under which all banks would
pay for deposit insurance according to their risk of failure. The recommendation
also includes pegging the $100,000 coverage limit to inflation.
GENOCIDE SUIT - New York Life has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement
over unpaid life insurance benefits with heirs of the Armenian Genocide. NYL had
sold life insurance to Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey) prior
to the Armenian Genocide, which began in 1915 and lasted until 1920 and during which
more than 1.5 million Armenians were murdered. Many records and policies were lost
during the chaos. The company will publish a list of potential beneficiaries, as
well as contribute $3 million to Armenian civic organizations and pay 10 times the
face amount on valid claims. An Armenian community spokesman said, "On April
24, Armenians around the world will commemorate the 86th anniversary of the genocide.
New York Life's acknowledgment of the genocide and the help it is giving to those
who suffered is commendable. They are one of the few companies, internationally,
to acknowledge the genocide..." Kudos, NYL. |
|
| Extra! Extra! |
|
|
FREE
MARKETING NEWSLETTER
How to improve your direct mail
results, get more attendance at seminars, have people calling you from a direct response
newsletter, get your name in the newspaper and more on building your business.
To get your free subscription,
click here:
http://www.nfcom.com/promo.cgi/fmenews?h=freemonthly.htm
|
|
| Marketing/Tax Update |
|
NAIFA WEBCAST
- On Thursday, April 26, please join NAIFA from your office or home computer
for NAIFA's first-ever Webcast. This live event will be broadcast exclusively
to NAIFA members and is free of charge. For a personal message from speaker
Katherine Vessenes about this special event, please click this download link. Or, to go directly to the
NAIFA website for more details on the Webcast and the upcoming Financial Advisors
Forum in Philadelphia, click this link: http://members.naifa.org/pd/web_events.
A BULLET DODGED - At this point, it appears the insurance industry has successfully
derailed a proposal to tax the inside buildup of whole life insurance. After
a lobbying blitz by agents and companies, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman
Bill Thomas agreed to not include such a provision in H.R. 8, the estate tax repeal
legislation.
RETIREMENT LEGISLATION - Kiplinger's Tax Letter is predicting that a variety
of retirement saving incentives will find their way into the tax bill. Maximum
401(k) deferrals would increase, as would IRA, Roth IRA and SIMPLE plan contribution
limits, under a bill co-sponsored by two key senators (Grassley and Baucus, the Finance
Committee chairman and the ranking Democrat respectively). The increases, however,
would not be effective this year, which holds down the overall cost. The House
has been passing the Bush tax cut piece by piece. The Senate, on the other
hand, will consider tax legislation as a whole. If the retirement plan incentives
do become part of the tax bill, it's likely that other cuts will be pared, such as
estate tax repeal.
KINDER, GENTLER IRS - The New York Times reported on Friday that the
IRS has virtually given up trying to go after more than a million tax delinquents,
a move that effectively wrote off more than $2.5 billion in taxes owed last year.
More than one-third of the three million taxpayers who are late on tax payments have
had their cases sent to an inactive file since June 1999, compared to only 98 cases
in 1998. The chairman of the independent IRS Oversight Board, Larry Levitan,
a former partner at Andersen Consulting, says "It is well know that the IRS
is broken. Service to taxpayers is inadequate and enforcement levels have dropped
to a dangerous level, giving the impression that it's easy to get away with cheating."
Perhaps it's more than an "impression."
EBIX.COM - Like competitors InsWeb and Quotesmith, Ebix is finding it difficult to make money marketing
insurance via the Net. Ebix's big concern now is to prevent delisting from the Nasdaq.
It is currently appealing a Nasdaq determination that Ebix fails to satisfy any one
of the Nasdaq's minimum net tangible assets, market capitalization or earnings standards.
SILVER LINING - It appears that the market downturn has produced a silver
lining for planners, with many investors deciding that "do-it-yourself"
investing isn't as easy as they thought and who are now seeking professional advice.
Advisors are also reporting that clients are more receptive now to diversifying their
portfolios...particularly those clients who had focused heavily on tech stocks in
the past.
FROM THE BIRDS - We can learn a lot from the birds: Get up early, work all
day and go to bed early, and, of course, sing a lot. And remember, "You can't
soar with eagles by day if you hoot with the owls at night."
ANNUITY EDUCATION - Prudential Investments, ING Variable Annuities and Pacific
Life are partnering in a continuing education program to "help financial professionals
understand how to find new opportunities in the changing annuity market."
To learn more about the classes, go to http://www.GetAnnuityCE.com.
AUTO BUSINESS - German automaker DaimlerChrysler is planning to extend its
financial services activities into insurance and hopes to obtain a full banking license
by the end of the year. German insurance giant Allianz is said to be setting up the
insurance part of the business. Local competitor Volkswagen has already "raced"
into the financial services business with its own bank and insurance group.
WOMEN.COM AND NYL - New York Life has launched a co-branded "life events
education center" at http://www.women.com/newyorklife. The site use key moments
in women's lives to help women prepare for a successful financial future. The site
allows women to directly contact an NYL agent to "assist them in analyzing the
appropriate solutions for their financial security." The release also points
out that in 1998, the average death benefit on men was nearly double that for women:
$143,100 versus $76,000.
ESTATE TAX CONCERN - It is no secret that estate tax repeal or reform, which
now looks likely, will have an effect on insurers. A life insurance analysis by Morgan
Stanley Dean Witter has gone so far as to conclude that "a large portion of
estate tax planning operations looks likely to be eliminated." At press time
there is nothing in concrete, but if the proposed move to allow up to $2.8 million
of a decedent's estate to receive a stepped-up cost basis at death becomes law, the
impact could be pretty rough...especially on insurers and agents heavy in the estate
planning market.
PLANNING FOR ESTATE TAX REPEAL OR REFORM - Phoenix Home Life has developed
a comprehensive information kit to update financial advisors on this subject and
to help them explain to clients the need to plan for their future, regardless of
the outcome of final federal legislation. The kit allows advisors to demonstrate
to clients the effects of the two leading estate tax proposals compared to current
law. In addition, a brochure entitled Is Purchasing Life Insurance a Mistake?
discusses the benefits of acting in a time of uncertainty and provides language that
could be inserted in an irrevocable trust to grant certain discretionary powers to
the trustee in the event the federal estate tax is repealed. According to the release,
a copy of the Planning for Estate Tax Repeal or Reform information kit can
be obtained from a local Phoenix representative.
VACATION DRILL - This idea is from Howard Wight. Get more great tips like
this from Howard's newsletter by calling 800-486-SELL. If you were going on
vacation tomorrow for two weeks, what would you do today? You would focus on the
most important things that absolutely had to be done before you left, right? What
if you did that every day? If you treated every day like it was the day before you
were going on vacation, you'd get a lot more done! We suggest that anytime you get
that overwhelmed feeling, try the "Vacation Drill."
MARKETING ALLIANCES - Protective Life Insurance Company and the Independent
Order of Foresters have entered into an agreement to allow Foresters, one of the
world's largest fraternal benefit societies, to sell Protective's variable universal
life products. Also, State Farm and Phoenix Home Life have agreed to make Phoenix
a third-party provider of wealth management services through State Farm's agents
to the "increasing numbers of affluent State Farm customers." |
|
|
|