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how improved longevity could affect life insurance planning

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pink elephant in the sky with a watering can. illustration

new medical findings may impact how advisors and fiduciaries can get the best results for their clients  

by steven zeiger
waxman lawson financial

in 1977 epidemiologist, richard peto from oxford university posed “the elephant paradox.” peto theorized that a biological protective mechanism prevented cancer in elephants. elephants are 100 times larger than humans.  therefore, their cells have replicated 100 times more than humans, and each replication is a chance for a cancerous mutation.  according to huntsman cancer institute’s oncologist dr. joshua schiffman, “they (elephants) should all be dropping dead of cancer and going extinct. but they have less cancer (than humans).”1

if scientists could understand why elephants don’t get cancer, they could control or eliminate cancer in humans. this resulting increase in longevity would affect all aspects of insurance and investments.  financial and estate planning strategies would need to be re-evaluated. fortunately, scientists did solve the mystery in late 2015.

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enhancing client financial health through collaborative services

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clients benefit when cpas and investment advisors work together.

by martin e. levine, chfc, cpa, mba
4thought financial group, inc.        

martin levine 4thought
levine

even if the client isn’t always right, helping clients understand and make the best financial decisions is always the right course of action. 

cpas understand the implications of financial decisions and strive to advise clients in ways that improve their financial well-being.  however, clients frequently have multiple – sometimes conflicting – financial goals, and use other financial professionals, including financial advisors, attorneys and business consultants, to achieve them.  read more →

financial services up at largest firms, down at smaller ones

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couple meeting with investment advisor.conflict of interest is one reason smaller firms shy away from rias.

the largest cpa firms are by far the leaders in providing investment advisory services, but the rest of the profession does not appear to be following their lead too closely.

fifty-eight percent of the profession’s largest firms, with more than $20 million in annual fees, offer investment advisory services, up from 51 percent in 2012, and another 9.1 percent were at least somewhat likely to add the services to their menus, according to the “the national map survey of cpa firm statistics: the rosenberg survey.”

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your small business clients are changing: radical shift in retirement plans

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many expect to work ’til 70 and never retire, others hope to sell.

the nation’s small business owners’ views regarding retirement are radically shifting, with many seeing themselves working 20 years or longer – or never formally retiring at all.

as a result of longer life expectancies and the impact of the recession, the majority of small business owners can no longer embrace a traditional view of retirement, in which individuals stop working in their mid-60s for a life of leisure – something fewer than 10 percent foresee themselves doing, according to a new study by the guardian life small business research institute.

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