“April showers

bring May flowers”, isn’t

that what they say? How

about April snow or an April freeze? As I’m writ-

ing this message we are due

to have winter weather

AGAIN this week—after a

beautiful Easter weekend!

Hope this finds all of you

well and back at work from

both Easter & Spring break.

A subject near &

dear to my heart about

NAIFA is to be the topic of discussion this month.

NAIFA is, if nothing else,

an advocacy arm for our

business. We need to keep

that in mind. One of the

most important activites any

professional agent can do is

to support their industry so

that they still have one! I

have taken on that role--first

for my own livelihood, then

for my community, and now for Texas, by becoming

involved in NAIFA.

Many of our col-

leagues don't know that we

are now in a fight for insur-

ance--life & annuity busi-

ness--as we know it. For

100 years, NAIFA has been

involved in saving our in-

dustry and in making sure

our clients -- all 75 million families-- are protected. We

need to educate them.

In 1913, the first

income tax was to come into

being. While all of the is-

sues were being discussed,

NAIFA (then NALU) made a

last minute deal with the Wil-

son administration to keep life insurance death benefits &

inside build-up of cash value

to not be taxed.

The entire story is

presented in the link below;

it's a 7 minute video that ex-

plains what our early patrons

did in order to benefit the

consumers we sell to--to keep

benefits going to the families

and NOT to the government in the form of taxes in order

for the average family to pro-

tect and provide for itself in

the event death of the family

breadwinner.

http://www.naifa-texas.org/

news/340-naifas-

congressional-conference

One hundred years

has passed and the same is-sues are being targeted in the

US Congress as we

speak. My point with all of

this is that we as merchants of

life insurance and fixed in-

dexed (tax-deferred) annuities

have a big bull's eye on our

backs.

The Obama admini-

stration needs to get money

from somewhere to pay for the bailouts & Obamacare,

and our industry pro-

vides many tax-advantaged

products. Who better to get

money from??!!! We MUST

take action to fight these un-

fair & expensive and unfair

"reforms" to keep them from

taking place. Kirk Haworth,

John Denton & I will be in Washington DC on April 8-9,

visiting our representatives on

Capitol Hill to try to protect

our industry from having

many of our tax-favored prod-

ucts from being on the chop-

ping block of “Tax Reform”

from the Obama Administra-

tion.

My hope is that you as NAIFA members who un-

derstand our advocacy bene-

fits, you will be willing to get

involved by, at the very least,

call/fax/email your Congress-

man on April 9th to express

their concerns about the tax

reform bills before Con-

gress. Templates will be pro-

vided. Lindsay will send out

an email again to make sure

you have an easy way to con-tact your representatives and

know exactly what to say.

Thanks for all your

support. This is very impor-

tant, not only for us as a busi-

ness, but more importantly for

that mom who has to raise 4

kids on the benefits of a

$100,000 life insurance policy

-imagine if the government reduced it via taxation to only

$75,000. Do you think that

would make a difference how

she could live and raise those

kids? Thank you from the

bottom of my heart!

Blessings, Hollie Gandy

NAIFA Amarillo President

President’s Message

NAIFA Amarillo is now setup on a texting program!

Text NAIFA to 72727 to be opted in to receive text reminders for up-coming meetings

and events!

NAIFA Amarillo Area Newsletter

N A I F A A M A R I L L O A R E A

Volume 7, Issue 9

April 2013

President’s Message

1

Monthly Luncheon Info

2

NAIFA Texas Elections

2

NAIFA Notices 3

NAIFA in Washington DC

3

MDRT Minute 4

Contact Info & Awards

5

Inside this issue:

the Convention Center at 600 E. Market Street. NAIFA has secured a block of rooms at the Grand Hyatt at the special NAIFA rate of $199 per night plus tax. While on the conference website, sign up to re-ceive email updates. You can receive the latest news and updates about NAIFA 2013 as they become available. Texas President Doug Massey has set goals of being #1 in membership, #1 in IFAPAC contributions, and #1 in attendance when Texas hits the national stage come September. Lets help NAIFA-Texas achieve those goals!! We'll see you in San Antonio!

This special video pro-

gram is titled The Top Five

Ethical Challenges Facing Pro-

ducers Today and is a part of a

series of programs produced

by NAIFA, for delivery to

NAIFA members.

NAIFA’s newest Pro-

grams in a Box is a panel dis-

cussion produced in conjunc-

tion with IMSA. Presenters in-

clude Brian K. Atchinson,

Marvin H. Feldman, CLU,

ChFC, RFC, Donald J. Wal-

ters, Lisa Laliberte, CLU,

ChFC, CASL, Randy L.

Scritchfield, CFP, LUTCF, John

N. Travagline, and David F.

Woods, CLU, ChFC, LUTC.

Ethics may be some-

thing you learned about a

long time ago and regard as a

static approach to conducting

business. But in a changing

marketplace, the ethical lines

can sometimes blur, leaving

well-meaning agents and ad-

visors to make ethical mis-

takes unintentionally.

Meeting

Location:

The Amarillo Club

30th Floor

Meal Catered by:

The Amarillo Club

NAIFA 2013 Annual Conference to Take Place in San Antonio

Registration is open for the NAIFA 2013 Ca-reer Conference and Annual Meeting at www.naifa.org/conference. Plan now to join your NAIFA family in San An-tonio, Texas September 28 - October 1. Register early to save on your conference registration, and act now to reserve your hotel room at an extra special rate. Plus, when you book your stay at an official NAIFA Confer-ence hotel, you will save $100 off your conference reg-istration. NAIFA 2013 will take place at San Antonio's Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. The headquar-ters hotel is the Grand Hyatt San Antonio adjacent to

Page 2

April Luncheon: 4/9/13 @ 11:45am

Did You Know?

Do to the increasing price of our luncheons, we will no longer be giving first time guests a free lunch. Also,

meals for guests will now be $15.

Congratulations

NAIFA Amarillo recently won a $400 state award for most retention in a medium sized chapter. Thanks to

you all. Now, let's go after IFAPAC commitments & membership. Way to go!!

Upcoming Events

NAIFA Fly-In in Washington, DC April 8-9, 2013.

LUTC Course

NAIFA Congressional Fly-In in Washington, DC

Our own, John Denton, Hollie Gandy and Kirk

Haworth, are flying out this week to join 1,000 other

professional insurance agents, advisors, brokers, con-

sultants and employee benefit specialists from across

the country in Washington, D.C., April 8-9 to meet with U.S. Senate and U.S. House members and staff

as part of the National Association of Insurance and

Financial Advisors’ Congressional Conference.

Congressional Conference attendees will talk to

their members of Congress about the importance of life insurance, annuities and employee benefits to the

clients and the U.S. economy.

Life insurance products account for 20

percent of Americans’ long-term savings. The life in-

surance industry pays out $1.5 billion each day and supports 2.5 million jobs.

Page 3

NAIFA Notices

We are looking into the possibility of teach-

ing another CE course but we need interest

from our chapter. If you are interested in

going through the LUTC course, please let

Lindsay know. We’ll keep you posted.

Thanks!

Financial risk management in the variable annuity industry has evolved considerably over the last two decades for a num-

ber of reasons, but perhaps most significantly because of the rapid pace of variable annuity product innovation. How does

an advisor begin evaluating the risk management capabilities of a variable annuity provider?

Overall strategy

Traditional. Risk is managed primarily through hedging programs and by maintaining sufficient capital. Variable annuity

providers pursuing this strategy are attempting to achieve two objectives. First, they are attempting to reduce financial risk

by offering simpler products with reduced guarantees. Second, they are using simpler and lower cost products to appeal to

clients who have generally not considered variable annuities because of concerns about fees or the perceived complexity of

variable annuities. The adoption of this strategy by some variable annuity providers has accelerated after the financial cri-

sis.

Product-based. Variable annuity providers pursuing this strategy offer products with strong guarantees, a high degree of

client flexibility, industry average pricing and a product-based risk management feature. One risk management feature is a

“self-governing” mechanism that helps reduce risk in response to external market conditions. Examples are: a) a guarantee

whose benefit growth rate is tied to an index such as Treasury rates; b) the use of a predetermined mathematical formula to

transfer clients’ assets between equity and fixed-income investments based on the impact of market fluctuations on clients’

account values; c) the linkage of variable annuity rider fees to an external index, such as the Chicago Board Options Ex-

change Volatility Index (VIX). Similar to the traditional strategy, companies using the product-based risk management

strategy also made product changes, such as reducing guarantees or increasing fees, after the financial crisis.

Product design Product design plays a central role because it impacts both the types and the levels of risk that a provider bears. At the

same time, product design determines how attractive a product is to advisors and clients. “Less risky” products enable pro-

viders to absorb significant asset flows into their products while maintaining financial risk at manageable levels. Also, less

risky products reduce a variable annuity provider’s dependence on outside risk mitigation practices, such as hedging pro-

grams and capital. Finally, a product that balances risk management and benefits to clients will be more attractive in the

marketplace.

Risk management Risk budgeting is the process of matching one’s “risk revenues” (fees) with the risk management costs associated with the

risks transferred. A risk budget can help guide product development efforts as to how much risk a provider is able and

willing to absorb. The level of the budget is impacted by a number of factors, such as capital availability and a provider’s

overall risk tolerance. This budget consists of three risk buckets:

1. Longevity risk (also called mortality risk) — the risk of people living too long

2. Client behavior risk — risks related to how clients utilize variable annuity product features

3. Market risk — includes equity, interest rate and credit risks

Today, greater attention is being paid to how an insurance company manages its variable annuity risks. As a result, advi-

sors must now incorporate risk management considerations into the already complex variable annuity selection process

that they undertake on behalf of their clients. Understanding the major building blocks of financial risk management within

the VA industry will help you feel more confident in the variable annuity products you offer to clients interested in guaran-

teeing a portion of their retirement income

Jill Perlin, CFP, CLU, is a 25-year veteran of the financial services industry. Her experience includes positions in sales, mar-

keting, product management, investment management and corporate tax, and spans a wide array of products. Perlin is a popular

speaker and often requested by external broker dealers and industry organizations. Her articles and papers on many topics have

been widely published and syndicated online.

MDRT Minute: “Financial Risk Management in Today’s Variable Annuity Market”

If you or someone you know is interested

in advertising with NAIFA Amarillo Area, or, if you

would like more information, please contact our

Executive Director at 806-681-2465. Our rate is

$100 per year for a business card size ad and your ad will be seen

in all 12 issues.

NAIFA Amarillo Area

2011 National Quality Award Years

S. Sean Saied, FIC 1

Danny Cathy 1

Landon Landry 2

Todd Selmon, FICF 4

James Baker 6

Kris L. Bosley, FIC 7

John Denton 11

Jack Fuqua, CLU 18

Darren Fincher, FIC 19

Samuel G. Saied, FICF 19

Michael Thomas, CLU 20

Robert Curl, CLU, ChFC 36

Joe Flores 39

2012 Million Dollar Round Table Years

Kip Hutto 1

Sean Saied 2

Todd Selmon 9

Patrick Phillips 12

Michael R. Ruff Q 13

John S. Denton QL 16

Darren G. Fincher, FICF QL 17

**Samuel Saied, FICF 17

Kirk H. Haworth, CLU, ChFC QL 31

B. J. Gililland QL 34

Robert Curl 46

** Denotes Top of the Table qualification

NAIFA Amarillo Area 2012 Awards

Lindsay Haworth-Gomez Executive Director

6900 I-40 West Suite #160 Amarillo, TX 79106

Phone: 806-681-2465 Fax: 806-353-2366

E-mail: naifaama@suddenlinkmail.com

We’re on the Web!!!

www.naifanet.com/amarilloarea