It's that time of year when we sit down with, or get on a call with our agents and advisors to talk about next year.  Used to be, we would start out by asking, "What do you need?"  You know, what do you need to make next year a good year for you and your business.

But, this year we are changing out tune. We are now asking, "What do you want?"  Time flies by, so what are you waiting for.  It is time to grab "what we want.”  You know, when you were younger in the business people told you that you could do and become anything that you wanted.

So, what has happened?  A few more wrinkles, a little more grey hair (or a little less in my case) and now we just decide to get "what we need.”  Have you lost the dream? Maybe it is time for you to switch teams and have a new coaching staff. 

It is really simple… plan your work and work your plan.  Yes, you have heard that forever. 

First off, I hope that you have begun the planning process for next year.  But, whether you have started or not, why not give us a call at 1-877-844-0900, schedule a time to speak and let's go get... "what you want.” Then you will find out why agents coast to coast continue to refer to The Ohlson Group as... a different experience.

Isn’t it amazing how we look at the 10 day weather forecasts?   I have no scientific proof as to the accuracy of these predictions.  But, I do know that we pay attention to those predictions that have storm warnings. Take Hurricane Michael for example.  This one really packed a punch and most had no idea as to the potential severity when looking at the forecasts. 

But, we in the “insured products” line of work need to tell our clients that there can be financial storms on the horizon.  And, unlike the younger generation, we “mature” Americans don’t have the time to rebuild.  You see, stories help people focus on their lives. Tropical storms, freeze warnings, tornado watches and a bad flu season get people to take action. 

Are you talking to your prospects and clients  about the “10 day forecasts?”  If not, maybe you should be. Tell them to imagine a product that allows you to share in the upside, never take a loss and have an income that is guaranteed for the rest of their lives regardless of any 10 day forecast.

Need help telling the stories?  We have the books. Call us today at 1-877-844-0900  and we will help.

In South Carolina I noticed that there is a small craft advisory.  Potential rough seas, swells and undertow.  I thought, "Wow… it is such a beautiful day and a calm start to the morning. What can be out there?"

Well, most agents  and advisors are what I consider “small crafts.”  Yes, we are not the huge beheamoth groups with tons of staff, piles of money and cash flow to be out at sea if the seas turn rough.  

Bottom line, most need to have a strategic alliance with an IMO that has the time, money and manpower to help you weather any storms. Nope, you don’t “sell your small craft” (but we are interested if you choose to do so) but by aligning with The Ohlson Group we can make 1+1=3.

Take a look at your craft and determine if you would like to have us serve as your lighthouse to keep you from crashing. 

Great companies don’t become successful just because they have a great idea or product.  There are underlying foundations that make them what they are today.  Great companies have a culture, a personality, and a character full of integrity.  They truly know that they work for their customers.  

In the case of The Ohlson Group, we know “who butters our bread.”  Yes, that would be the agents/advisors that do their business through us.  While our roots go back to 1975, I credit our staff with our success over all of these years.  What makes us… a different experience? Let me give you my opinion.
 
We have old world values (an immigrant mentality), an eye to the future (with my successor partners Nick Ohlson CLU, ChFC and Joe Ohlson LUTCF), state of the art digital marketing platforms spearheaded by Jason Garriott, a “sales warrior with experience… Jim “Mac” McHale,” our marketing concierge… Jim Ohlson and an administration staff, Annie, Michelle and Taria who are second to none. 

Plus we know it is not business as usual.  We have to provide you with what you need and want to achieve the success level that you desire.  Bottom line, we know that we have to earn your business.  And, we also know that we have to “ask for the business.” 

As a Life Member of MDRT I realize the hard work that goes into being a success in our business.  I realize that it is often lonely and that you need someone to talk to.  Well, we are all ears and desirous of speaking with you.  

Why not “re-visit” The Ohlson Group if you have taken a sabbatical.  Or, if we haven’t done business, speak with one of our marketing consultants and view the tools you would have at your disposal as part of our team. 

“Independence with Affiliation” really sums up our model.
 
Planning for next year starts now.  Don’t do your planning alone.  You have nothing to lose by speaking with us.  I thank you for your time and also your business.  

We are a family owned and operated insurance marketing organization with roots going back to 1975. We have a wide range of backgrounds ranging from career agents to President of a US Life Insurance Company.
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Over the past decade, the fixed-indexed annuity (FIA) space has been bombarded with tons of guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB) riders. Some credit interest to the income-base with multipliers, some have fixed roll-up rates that can never change. Others credit large income-base bonuses. For this article, though, let’s look at a relatively new concept in the GLWB realm: The stacking roll-up.
 
Stacking roll-ups work like this … The insurance carrier guarantees a certain roll-up rate, say 4%. Then, the carrier agrees to add or “stack” all of the client’s interest/index credits on top of the guaranteed amount. This could potentially net a much higher roll-up than a fixed roll-up rate. Let’s take a closer look.
 
In our example of a stacking roll-up GLWB with a 4% base roll-up, let’s assume the client nets 3% on their indexing strategy. Most in our industry would agree that a 3% average return over a 10-year period is a very conservative and fair assumption. In this scenario, the client would end up with a “net” roll-up of 7%. That 7% roll-up rate is right up there amongst the highest guaranteed roll-up rates in the industry.
 
So, if a stacking roll-up returning 7% on average (using conservative assumptions of a 3% indexing return) is on par with a 7% guaranteed roll-up, wouldn’t it make sense to utilize a stacking roll-up for at least some of your clients’ retirement income dollars? I think so – let’s look at a slightly less conservative scenario.
 
For this scenario, we again will assume that the guaranteed portion of the stacking roll-up is 4%. This time, though, let’s assume we had a nice 10-year return on our index annuity that is annualized at 5%. This would mean that the client would have netted a 9% roll-up over that time period. With this totally feasible scenario, we could easily outpace the top guaranteed roll-ups in the industry.
 
The stacking roll-up is a great way to compete against fixed roll-up GLWBs, especially if you are being “spreadsheeted” by a competing agent who is showing your prospect the top fixed GLWB roll-ups. A quick illustration and explanation can illustrate the higher potential income with the stacking  roll-up and at the same time show that there is still a nice 4% minimum guaranteed roll-up each year.

Regardless of your political persuasion, you heard something like this in the last presidential election.  So, I am "borrowing” part of that question.  So, here we go...If your financial services career is not providing you with the income, fun and free time that you had planned, why don't you give The Ohlson Group a shot?  What do you have to lose?  

You see, the landscape has changed so much.  Many of the very large IMOs (and I have respect for the founders and have been friends with them for years) have now sold out. Yes, they are now becoming parts of large corporations. Sure, they can drive profits by economy of scale (laying some people off), synergism (laying some people off) and focus on the top performers.  So, you guys and girls that do less than $2 million in annuities or $100K in target, don't expect a quick return phone call from their marketing department. So, where does that put you? Read on…
 
Since 1975, The Ohlson Group has functioned as a boutique type of organization.  Early on, we were a career shop. Then I took a leave of absence to help a group buy some US Life insurance Companies.  I was president of our USA companies and had marketing responsibility for our Luxembourg and Bermuda companies.  After we took the company public, the board decided to get out of the financial services business and I re-opened The Ohlson Group in 2003. Yes, I do work as a consultant and had a hand in the design of some of the life and annuity products that you now sell.

Well, fast forwarding, I now have two partners. Nick Ohlson CLU,ChFC and Joe Ohlson LUTCF. They will be the new owners when I decide to retire. The marketing, research, and educational assistance we have provided since 1975 will continue to be displayed through this next generation.

​So, if you’re looking for youth, vitality, expertise, credibility and Integrity, give The Ohlson Group a shot. What do you have to lose?

Interesting time to be an annuity agent, for sure. Just five or six years ago, no agent had ever heard of a volatility-controlled index. Now, they are becoming the norm. These indices made a ton of sense when they were first introduced to our world – but for pure accumulation, are they really the best way to go? Let’s take a brief look …
 
Back in 2011-2012, we first started seeing volatility-controlled indexes on FIA products. Carriers smartly started adding these to the strategy mix on FIAs because they had more attractive crediting rates (higher participation rates, lower spreads and better caps) than traditional strategies. The options that support these strategies were far cheaper for the insurance company to purchase than non-volatility-controlled options. These options are cheaper because the volatility index only allocates some of the client’s money into the actual index component. The other portion goes into a T-bill account with low interest. 
 
A nice example might be that carrier A had an annual point to point cap of 2.50% on the S&P 500, and carrier B might have had a 6% cap on an annual point to point on a volatility index. Naturally, the 6% cap looks better. During this time period, when we learned about the “new normal” from Ben Bernanke, these volatility-controlled indices truly were the smart way to go inside an FIA. Today, however, interest rates are rising – and it is worth taking a look at non-volatility-controlled indices as well. 
 
Here is a great example of the power of using a non-volatility controlled, traditional index in today’s rate environment … Let’s say we are using an S&P 500 annual point to point strategy with no cap, no spread and a 55% participation rate. Sure, it doesn’t sound as enticing as a 100% or 140% participation rate – but let’s check some stats.
 
If we look back at the actual S&P 500 over the last ten years, on its own, it returned 5.14% from 2007 – 2017. During that same time period, the 55% participation rate on an annual point to point strategy would have netted 5.29%! How about the best ten-year history, when the S&P returned 9.19%? With the 55% participation rate, and no risk of loss, we still net a highly respectable 8.68%. 
 
We can contrast that with a popular volatility-controlled index, with no cap, no spread and a 100% participation rate. Even with almost doubling the “perceived” participation rate, the annualized hypothetical return here is 5.31%. Just a smidge better than the real, historical return of 5.29% that the S&P actuallyreturned over the last ten years with a 55%. Which would you choose, with full information?
 
Certainly, we sell a ton of FIAs with volatility-controlled strategies. These are still really viable and can net really great results! However, many clients like to see how an index actually fared over a ten year plus historical period. Most volatility indexes were created within the last five years, so for most illustrative quotes, we can only hypothetically say what the index could havedone. 
 
Many times, for me, the simple approach often works best: show them a good rate on a household index that has actual history – and you can take away much of the “complexity” of the FIA sale.