2023 Advanced Sales Forum Agenda

Sunday, August 6, 2023

3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. - REGISTRATION OPENS

Monday, August 7, 2023

6:45 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. - REGISTRATION DESK

7:45 a.m. - 8:40 a.m. - BREAKFAST

8:40 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. - WELCOME MESSAGE AND TRIBUTE

DEREK WELCH
Vice President & General Counsel
The Hebets Company

Wendell Stallings, CFP, CLU, ChFC, RICP - Sales Director, Advanced Solutions & Design, Ameritas

9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. - GENERAL SESSION

The Best Tax Planning Ideas in 2023

Learn the best cutting edge income tax and estate tax planning ideas for 2023 and what benefits they provide to clients. Ideas like Roth conversions, IRA relocation, 2-Year Installment Notes, Family Limited Partnerships, Intra-Family loans, Dynasty Trusts, and more. Learn about strategic and tactical Roth conversions, how installment sales can provide income smoothing, and the many benefits of family limited partnerships like income shifting and asset protection.

Robert S. Keebler, CPA/PFS, MST, AEP (Distinguished) - Partner, Keebler & Associates, LLP

10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. - REFRESHMENT BREAK

10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - GENERAL SESSION

Break Through: Advancing in Today’s Distracted, Hybrid World

Today’s professionals are not just more distracted. They are more distant and distressed. To compete, we must adapt—fast—to new ways of working. That’s why this high-impact keynote, by award-winning storyteller and international keynote speaker, Debra Jasper, Ph.D., will show you how to:

  • save time and get faster responses with clear, compelling messaging
  • make complex data, financials, estate planning information and other key content easier for your clients to understand and act on
  • prime for the positive--and inspire others to take action
  • prepare not just for what’s now—but for what’s coming next (AI, charming chatbots and more)

When you communicate with extreme clarity, you have maximum impact. This session will give you a step-by-step guide to breaking through.

Debra Jasper, Ph.D. - Founder and CEO, Mindset Digital

11:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - LUNCH SPONSORED BY ASHAR GROUP

1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.: CONCURRENT SESSIONS

1. Annuities and SECURE Act 2.0 Sales Opportunities

CHRIS BOGREN
Assistant Vice President
Jackson National Distributors, LLC

CHRIS PRICE
Assistant Vice President, Advanced Sales/Business Development
Lincoln Financial Distributors

KEVIN RUSS
Director, Advanced Markets Group
Brighthouse Financial

DAVE VOGEL
Senior Advanced Markets Consultant
Allianz

SECURE Act 2.0 had a lot of great changes that you and your clients can take advantage of in the annuity space. Panel discussion to include topics such as new annuitization and RMD rules, 529 to Roth opportunities, RMD changes, and the addition of ROTH SEP and SIMPLE IRA’s. Additional discussion on utilizing Qualified Charitable Distributions and RMD friendly living benefit riders. Be prepared to bring your questions to our panel!

2. Create a Positive Impact Using Life Insurance Valuation

SAM BARTON
Advanced Sales Consultant
MassMutual Strategic Distributors

JAMIE L. MENDELSOHN
Executive Vice President, Life Insurance Valuation & Life Settlements
Ashar Group

VICTOR NGAI
Vice President- Advanced Marketing
Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York

In today’s economic climate, financial stability is top of mind for everyone and offering effective solutions that create a positive impact is at the forefront for financial planning professionals. What if members could fuel growth and create lasting stability for their clients using an asset they already own — their life insurance? Life insurance has long been considered a hard-to-value asset, but with Americans living longer, outdated valuation rules, lack of applicable regulation, and complex life insurance structures, financial professionals are looking for guidance to make life insurance valuation a part of routine planning.

Through a series of case studies, we’ll show how understanding the Fair Market Value (FMV) of life insurance is crucial to multigenerational planning for families, businesses, and charities.

Case Studies:

  • Transfer for value
  • Business valuation
  • Asset review
  • Form 8283
  • LTC conversions

2:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. - REFRESHMENT BREAK

2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.: CONCURRENT SESSIONS

3. How to Start the Conversation on Social Security

WILLIAM F. RAINALDI
Senior Financial Services Consultant
Security Mutual Life

Clients are more interested in, and more willing to talk about Social Security than most other financial topics. It’s a great door opener. But how do you get the ball rolling? And where do you go from there? We’ll look at some approaches that get a client’s undivided attention, and some solutions to the problems he or she faces. We’ll also cover some the biggest mistakes people make when claiming their Social Security.

4. What a Difference a Year Makes — Let’s Revisit What’s Going on in the Premium Financing Space

TOM BARRETT
Advanced Sales -MMFA
Massmutual

ALEX CANO
Chief Executive Officer
Wintrust Life Finance

MICHAEL J. ROTHMAN
Chief Distribution Officer
Succession Capital Alliance

CHANNING SCHMIDT, Moderator
Advanced Sales Director
Securian Financial

With increasing interest rates and a possible recession, the premium financing market space has changed. Does premium financing still work? Can existing premium financing cases be rescued? What is the future of the premium financing space? These are a couple of questions which will be discussed with a panel of premium financing lenders and life insurance carriers.

3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. - REFRESHMENT BREAK

4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. - GENERAL SESSION

Elder Law and Special Needs Planning

This session will focus on practical aspects of planning for clients with diminished capacity, disabilities, and our aging population. The session will cover paying for long term care, Medicaid, Medicare, public benefits overview, types of special needs trusts and coordinating planning, including insurance, with these types of trusts.

Amy C. O'Hara, J.D., CELA - Partner, Littman Krooks LLP

5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. - LIMRA RECEPTION

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

7:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. - REGISTRATION

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. - BREAKFAST

8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. - GENERAL SESSION

Update on Fiduciary and Best Interest Rules: Where are we? How did we get here? Where are we going?

Over the last several years financial professionals have experienced a winding and changing regulatory environment governing their advice, with dramatic change in the last few years. This presentation will address the latest developments on fiduciary standards of conduct for financial professionals promulgated or under consideration by federal and state regulatory agencies. We will delve into the fiduciary duty standards of conduct and the best interest duties the regulatory agencies have developed, litigation challenging those rules, potential regulatory changes and challenges on the horizon, and how it all continues to impact our industry.

The Hon. Bradford P. Campbell - Partner, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. - REFRESHMENT BREAK

9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. - GENERAL SESSION

Washington Update

Get the inside scoop on what might happen to federal tax policy. There has been a lot of noise as it pertains to some of the myriad of proposals coming from Washington, but this informative session will give us a discussion on what might be on the docket. This session is always informative, insightful, and well received.

Alex Kim - Vice President, Public Policy, Finseca

10:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. - BREAK

10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - GENERAL SESSION

The Retirement Income “Stress” Test

When it comes to retirement income planning the goal of stress testing a plan is to see where it bends and where it breaks. This gives clients the ability to grow, develop, and adapt to the changing world of retirement. However, few advisors today are doing a great job in stress testing an income plan, adapting to the real world and giving permission for clients to feel. This webinar will be to walk through different methodologies of stress testing a plan, explore how this changes client confidence levels, and show how to incorporate this into the client experience.

Jamie Hopkins, Esq., LLM, MBA, CFP®, RICP® - Managing Partner of Wealth Solutions, Carson Wealth Management

11:40 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - LUNCH

12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. - GENERAL SESSION

Asset Location Planning for Businesses: Accumulation, Retention and Succession

RANDY O’BRIEN
Director
CES

During this session we will discuss the platform of accumulation, retention and succession for business owners. The life insurance based platform provides a blueprint to build personal or corporate contingency capital to support accumulation and addresses the needs for succession and retention as they arise without losing control of capital.

1:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. - BREAK

1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.: CONCURRENT SESSION

5. LTC State Mandates; Which Domino is Next?

SHAWN BRITT
Director, Long Term Care Initiatives
Nationwide

DEREK WELCH, Moderator
Vice President & General Counsel
The Hebets Company

After the Washington Cares Act launch and subsequent fall-out with the insurance carriers, many are wondering what will happen next?

In this session we will discuss the States that are up next with potential taxation and mandates for LTC coverage and what we can do to help plan in this ever-changing environment.

6. Breached: A Guide to Understanding, Protecting & Defending Identity Theft

CHRISTINA CUFFARI
Director of Sales Technology
Prudential

The state of the world is one rife with cyber breaches, malware or ransomware attacks, and rampant identity theft. Repercussions of this fraud can often be as financially devastating as a mismanaged investment or neglecting to purchase protection with insurance. Every American should be fluent in today’s risks and armed with protection strategies. This course will cover these risks and provide solutions and strategies to help educate your clients on preventing identity theft.

2:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. - BREAK

3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.: CONCURRENT SESSION

7. Beneficiary Do’s and Don’ts

RYAN BERTRAND
Vice President and Managing Director Advanced Markets
Transamerica Capital

CHRIS PRICE
Assistant Vice President, Advanced Sales/Business Development
Lincoln Financial Distributors

THEA MARASA-SCAFIDI
VP, Advanced Markets
Global Atlantic Financial Company

MATT JOHNSTON
Senior Director – Sophisticated Planning Strategies
Northwestern Mutual

Unfortunately, far too many advisors treat bene designations as “set it and forget it,” failing to make regular, proactive beneficiary reviews a part of their practice. As a result, missing, incorrect or outdated beneficiary designations result in a client's legacy intentions being compromised, if not outright thwarted.

A three-member panel will share their experience in far-too-common, yet easily-avoided beneficiary errors, and what processes and guidance they have created to help financial professionals flag these potential problems before they become permanent problems.

8. Collaboration is the Key to Success!

DESIREE DAY
Advanced Planning Consultant, Attorney
Guardian

CHRIS REGIONE
Chief Underwriter
Sammons Financial

Andrew Rinn- Moderator
AVP Advanced Sales Strategy
Sammons Financial

Life insurance is an integral component of many estate and business planning strategies. The collaboration between advanced markets and underwriting is essential to meet the client’s objectives. Join this session to hear from advanced markets and underwriting colleagues on topic such as estate liquidity, multigenerational, special needs and business planning and how partnership can lead to a successful result.

4:00 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. - BREAK

4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. - GENERAL SESSION

Seeing the Horizon Clearly Through Economic Uncertainty

BEN AYERS
Senior Economist
Nationwide Insurance

This session will provide an update on current and forecasted economic conditions, including:

  • What economic data will indicate a pending recession and what a downturn over 2023-24 could look like.
  • The latest outlook on inflation and the Fed's actions to rein in rising prices, including thoughts on medium to long-term projections for interest rates.
  • How financial markets typically react around recessions and what that means for the outlook.

5:15 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. - REFRESHMENTS AND DRAWING

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

7:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. - REGISTRATION

7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. - BREAKFAST

8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. - GENERAL SESSION

The Evolution of DEI as a Business Enabler — Diversity 5.0

This session will explore how the impact of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has expanded from a simple affinity strategy to full strategic business integration. Discussion will focus on the evolution of diversity in the workplace, the innovation system for employee participation, and integrating key performance measures into your business. DEI strategic goals now impact productivity gains, cost savings, revenue growth and value optimization. Learn how to best integrate them into your current business model.

William T. Rolack, Sr. - Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, Kroll

9:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. - NETWORKING BREAK

9:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. - GRAND PRIZE DRAWING

10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. - GENERAL SESSION

Life in Another World: Inbound Foreigners and Outbound Americans

The session will focus on the tax and immigration planning considerations of cross-border individuals and families and how they can use life insurance to solve their liquidity needs. Real world stories will be shared to lay out the various considerations faced by inbound individuals coming to the U.S. and outbound individuals who wish to shed either their U.S. citizenship or long-term permanent resident alien status in the U.S. We will explore why a permanent legal resident should prefer use of an ILIT over a QDOT for a non-citizen spouse. We will also examine the tax and life insurance implications of spending different amounts of time physically present in the U.S. (tax residency v financial presence in the U.S.) Finally, we will discuss the ramifications of the U.S. exit and inheritance tax regimes on U.S. persons wishing to expatriate.

Severiano Ortiz - International Private Client Attorney for Multinational Families and Their Businesses, MNF Legal PLLC

11:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. - WRAP UP AND ADJOURN