A Race to the Top!

Top producers and those aspiring to be among the elite in the industry will gather at the fabulous Arizona Biltmore for NAIFA’s Apex sales summit.

Apex is NAIFA’s new professional development signature event focused on providing top production, sales and marketing ideas to financial services professionals. The new brand reflects the concept of a “race to the top” where the top percent of advisors, and the aspiring top percent of advisors, gather to share and compare success stories. The inaugural Apex event includes pre-and-post tours with the conference being held August 17-18 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix.

Apex is a completely redesigned pure-play professional development meeting. It features nationally known and highly regarded keynote speakers and educational sessions by top professionals and respected thought leaders in the insurance and financial services industry. Apex is also a premier networking event providing ample opportunities for top advisors to mingle, compare notes, and make valuable connections.

DAY 1 MORNING KEYNOTE: CODY ASKINS

Apex’s power program is for hyper growth-focused advisors who are already succeeding and driven to be among the best. That’s why leading off NAIFA’s Apex program is the legendary founder of The 8% Nation Conference, Cody Askins.

Askins started in the insurance industry when he was just 20 years old while attending school full-time and playing college basketball. His goal was to make six figures during his first year, and in only eight months, he made over $117,000.

Drive and determination have always been part of Askins’s DNA, but his success is also founded on a system that he has honed into a machine consisting of eight companies totaling more than $30M in annual revenue that he owns and operates.

With over a decade of insurance sales knowledge, Askins knows what it takes for agents to succeed in the insurance industry. This dynamic presentation is for high performers looking to take their businesses to the next level.

DAY 1 AFTERNOON KEYNOTE:

Caleb Guilliams

After taking over the entire investment department of a bank by age 19, Caleb Guilliams saw firsthand how 98% of Americans were financially failing despite “professional” financial advising. Following his three years of traveling the country and being mentored by some of the most successful financial minds, Guilliams discovered a better way to build wealth.

Leaving his prestigious position at the bank, he founded the company BetterWealth, authored the best- selling book The AND Asset , hosts the Better Wealth Podcast, and speaks to thousands around the world. One of the youngest leaders in the industry, Guilliams is quickly becoming The New Face of Finance.

At Apex, Guilliams will show you the secrets that allowed him to take the insurance industry by storm by the age of 22. His amazing story will not only inspire you, but it will also provide you with the framework to virtually scale your life insurance business just like he did! Through Guilliams’s unique business framework and leverage points, you will be on your way to dynamic growth and transformation that you never thought possible.

DAY 2 CLOSING KEYNOTE: MORRIS MORRISON

It’s no secret that human beings crave consistency, and we dislike change. In this program, Morris Morrison will energize, entertain and inspire you to abandon your need for certainty and embrace the opportunities that come with change. You will be equipped with the required MINDSET needed to abandon comfort and create new disciplines that will position you as DISRUPTORS. This program will give continued on page 26

ANSWER #1

Advocacy is one of the greatest benefits NAIFA has and one of the benefits we can give back to our clients. Our elected officials are so overwhelmed by the amount of information they have, whether it’s regulations or bills that they’re looking to pass, and I think it’s our job to educate and inform them about those laws that will impact not only our industry but also their constituents who are our clients. Many lawmakers have no idea how life insurance impacts their constituents, so I think we’re helping form the laws and the bills that are being passed but we’re also educating the offices that work for all of us. The education we provide them is so important and very valuable to them.

Kathleen Owings, LACP Colorado Springs, CO

Loyal member since 2011

ANSWER #2

NAIFA being in Washington repeatedly reminds our legislators that we are there for the consumer. We tell lawmakers the stories of what we do every day and how it helps American families, especially in the middle-income bracket.

Mike Herring, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF Lincoln, NE

Loyal Member Since 1985

ANSWER #3

Advocacy means really getting in there and educating our congressional leaders about what it is that we do, who we serve, and how we help to provide for and protect many people who live in their districts. Lawmakers are very interested in learning what we do and how we help their constituents.

Irene Stolte, LUTCF, CLTC, LACP Edison, NJ

Loyal Member Since 2002

ANSWER #4

I believe that our clients need someone to advocate for them and that is part of our job as planners and as advisors. It’s not only to share our recommendations, but to go to the Hill to make sure that legislators understand the great work that we’re doing with our clients, and how we’re helping them save and build a future for their families and themselves. That’s extraordinarily important to me. At every level of government, there’s an opportunity to make an impact and to educate our elected officials on what we do and the good we’re doing in our communities for their constituents, for families, for our friends, and for our loved ones so that they can have the ability to be comfortable in their retirement or have the ability to save.

Jon Maples, CLTC, RICP Palm Beach Gardens, FL Loyal Member Since 2015

ANSWER #5

Advocacy helps lawmakers see what NAIFA advisors do each and every day for the consumers. It’s so important – the work that advisors do – to protect families and secure families’ retirement. I enjoy being part of a bigger cause. The best part of being a NAIFA member is educating others about what NAIFA is and the work that’s done by NAIFA members.

Beth Valente, CLU, CLTC Springfield, MA

Loyal Member Since 2013

ANSWER #6

Advocacy for me is simply giving our congressional leaders the opportunity to know that we’re here and to make sure that our clients really have access to proper levels of planning so that legislation isn’t skewed in a way that makes access either too costly or nonexistent. We let our legislators know we can be a resource for them. With NAIFA, specifically, we have so many great resources that apply to so many different practices, whether it’s financial advisors, disability insurance, life insurance, property and casualty – you name it, we can cover it.

Rick Demko, CLU, RICP, LUTCF, LACP Houston, TX Loyal Member Since 2015

ANSWER #7

Advocacy is the heart of what NAIFA means to me. The idea that we are the only association with representation in every statehouse and here in Washington, D.C., means we have the grassroots relationships that allow us to effectively communicate how we serve our communities, clients, and the constituents of our legislators. Congressional Conference is an essential element of being a part of NAIFA. It is at the heart of what we expect to deliver to our clients as NAIFA members and the promises we deliver daily. Oftentimes, legislators are creating the environment for consumers, our clients, to succeed and achieve their retirement and other financial goals.

Michael Mares San Marino, CA Loyal member since 2006