Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

“I am proud to join a team that offers key strategic benefits to entrepreneurially minded firms,” Jayaraman said in a statement. “I believe the team’s mission to operate as strategic, value-added growth investors and integrators in the wealth management space distinguishes Bluespring from being just another capital source for RIAs and wealth management businesses.” James Poer, CEO of Kestra Holdings, cited Jayaraman depth of experience and extensive work on M&A deals as key drivers of the appointment. “Jayaraman’s leadership, along with the rest of the team, will help drive continued growth and opportunity for the Kestra ecosystem, supporting our clients in elevating their business without sacrificing their entrepreneurial spirit, founding principles and long-term vision,” Poer said. Bluespring Wealth Partners is owned by Austin, Texas-based Kestra Holdings, whose total assets under advisement AUA is currently near $120 billion. Pictured: Pradeep Jayaraman

Financial advisors are well aware that their work isn’t only about the numbers. For Mark Delp, focusing on addressing clients’ emotions helps avoid investing blunders. “It’s making people feel listened to,” Delp, branch manager of Impact Wealth Management, tells ThinkAdvisor in an interview. Delp, who is based in Irvine, California, emails clients monthly and dispatches physical letters that address their fears and uncertainty about economic and market issues. He says his communiques “get at the pulse of what clients are concerned about.” That makes Impact’s website stand out, he maintains: “Many of the communication pieces investment firms produce … are either pure propaganda or painfully dull.” Delp, the winner of a 2023 ThinkAdvisor Luminaries award for community impact, defines his clientele as “the average worker next door.” People need help, he notes, to ensure that, for one, they save enough and “not get caught in credit card purgatory.” In the interview, Delp, who manages $180 million in assets and describes himself as “a franchisee of Wells Fargo Advisors,” says he aims to communicate by telling it like it is and with meaningful handholding. Here are excerpts from our conversation: THINKADVISOR: You’ve been an advisor since 2001. Is there a current...

Now, you can see what assets are left and create a plan to mitigate or eliminate future tax burdens. Include: Reducing RMDs (required minimum distributions): Explore options to minimize tax liabilities associated with distributions from retirement accounts. Roth conversions: Convert traditional IRA assets to Roth IRAs strategically to manage tax obligations. Investment location optimization: Allocate investments across taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-exempt accounts for tax efficiency. Estate planning: Utilize tax-efficient strategies to transfer wealth to heirs and minimize estate taxes. Proactive tax planning maximizes retirement income and preserves assets for future generations. Step 4: Legacy and Gifting Planning for the transfer of wealth and leaving a legacy involves thoughtful consideration! Steps 3 and 4 go hand in hand. How can we reduce taxes and pass money to their heirs and charities in the most efficient way? Gifting strategies: Determine when and how to gift assets to heirs or charitable organizations. Trusts: Establish trusts to manage and distribute assets according to specific wishes. Life insurance in estate planning: Use life insurance policies to provide liquidity for estate taxes or as a means to transfer wealth efficiently. Charitable giving: Explore charitable trusts or foundations as a tax-efficient way to support philanthropic causes. By addressing tax planning, legacy, and gifting early on...

What You Need to Know Many owners over 60 have no idea about how to retire. One problem: What would happen to their company? Another problem: The best workers are leaving for employers with retirement plans. Growing up, I watched my father, a former Mexican migrant worker, work hard to create a thriving business from nothing. This experience left me with an appreciation for the many hats hard-working business owners must wear to address the variety of challenges they face. I also learned that business owners can’t do it alone. While they are likely skilled at running the business they built, they often need assistance from experts who can bring specialized solutions to address opportunities that go beyond day-to-day operations. Today, many American business owners have concerns about the state of the American economy according to a new survey from the Nationwide Retirement Institute, which sheds light on what’s keeping them up at night — and opportunities for financial professionals to step in with specialized solutions to address some of their biggest challenges. The majority of small business owners (72%) and mid-market business owners (51%) rate the current condition of the U.S. economy overall as ‘poor’ or ‘fair.’ It’s not...

In other words, the policies will die before the insureds! Choices While retirement income planning frequently targets funding only to 90 or 95, there are many opportunities along the way to adjust the plan based on the health of the individual as they age. Retirement planners have many levers that can be pulled to adjust the plan, such as: working longer, saving more, lowering spending and investing more aggressively. Additionally, some income sources like Social Security, pensions and life annuities continue regardless and represent some floor level of income no matter how long one lives. An underfunded life insurance policy offers little flexibility in planning, while an overfunded policy offers a lot. If an insured’s health deteriorates to such an extent that longevity is unlikely, the ongoing premium amount can be reduced accordingly. But for an underfunded policy, when the realization hits that the policy is underfunded due to the insured’s good health and longevity, the additional premium required may well be unaffordable. Additionally, if the policy is, in fact, no longer wanted or needed, the well-funded policy will likely have greater potential value on the life settlement market. How much does it cost to fund a policy on a...