fin planning better buckets white paper
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“Better Buckets”Introducing the Sequent Income Model™
By Joe Elsasser, CFP®
with Dan Trumblee
SEQUENTRetirement Outcome Planning & Management
SM
Copyright of and xclusive to:
To oer your eedback the Sequent Income Model™
join the Better Buckets Beta Group on LinkedIn® (www.BetterBuckets.com)
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Table o Contents
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Why Talk About Buckets Now? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
A Typical Bucket Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Good Concept, Flawed Execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Introducing the Sequent Income Model™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Why Buckets are Better with the Sequent Income Model™ . . . . 13
Using the Sequent Income Sotware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
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Sequent [adj.] - Characterized by continuous succession
Executive Summary
There is a shit underway in the nancial planning industry. As the Baby Boomers approach retirementage, ecient weath distribution is replacing aggressive wealth accumulation as the primary ocus
among ncancial advisors and their clients. Driving this shit are two main actors: 1) 76 million
Baby Boomers reaching retirement age in the next 10 years; 2) The millions o retirees who suered
catastrophic losses during the recession. Both o these groups are looking or guidance and, above all,
protection or their nest eggs.
Is your practice prepared to meet the resulting spike in demand or Retirement Income Planning
services? Wealth distribution is, without question, more complex than wealth accumulation. Once a
retiree “turns on” the income stream they are immediately exposed to multiple new layers o risk. It is
no longer enough just to say you’re going to earn x% on your portolio and withdraw y% or income.
Retirees need an advisor who can help them insure against these additional layers o behavioral risk,
sequence risk, longevity, taxes, infation, the list goes on.
One Solution: Buckets
The spectrum o services that have sprung up to meet these wealth distribution needs can be called
Retirement Income Planning. One well-known strategy involves providing a steady income stream oryour clients by separating their assets into distinct “Buckets.” I you’ve ever been to a tree arm and
noticed how the growth o the trees is staggered—some o the trees are ready to harvest now, while
the rest are given time to grow to maturity—then you understand the concept behind buckets.
Money allocated in one bucket (or buckets) is set aside or immediate and near-term income. The
remaining assets are placed in a separate bucket and allowed to grow untouched in a stock or und
portolio or a predetermined number o years. Separating assets in this way allows an advisor to
accomplish dierent goals with dierent dollars and diversiy risk in a way that protects the client’s
near-term income, while giving market a chance to do its work over the long term.
That said, the old bucket models have some inherent weaknesses in their design and execution:
» Low Internal Rate o Return » No “smoothing” o withdrawals
» Increasingly Aggressive Over Time » Some Market Timing Required
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A New Solution: The Sequent Income Model™
In response to the faws inherent in most bucket models, we have developed a new method o
allocating assets or income called the Sequent Income Model™. Sequent Income™ utilizes a unique
method o asset allocation that allows you to build an income plan that does more than just takeadvantage o the best case scenario; it perorms well in all possible scenarios, allowing your clients to
capitalize on the “ups” as well as weather the “downs.”
Sequent Income™ uses a combination o insurance products and equities to manage and insure
against a variety o retirement risks and build a more ecient income engine or your clients. And
it’s simple. The Sequent Income™ Sotware runs all the calculations or you so you can determine in
minutes how to allocate your client’s assets. How does this dier rom other bucket plans? It oers
solutions to the problems we outlined above (details on page 13):
» Simplicity and Utility » Increased Rate o Return on Income Stream
» Avoids Market Timing » Maximizes Market Potential
» Regular Rebalancing » “Smoothed” Monthly Income
In subsequent sections o this paper we will break down the mechanics o Sequent Income™, and
introduce a case study showing the concept and sotware in action to illustrate how and why this is a
Better way to Bucket.
Sequent Income™ Other Plans
Avoids Market Timing
Regular Rebalancing
Increased Rate o Return
Maximizes Market Potential
“Smoothed” Monthly Income
Simplicity and Utility
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Why Talk About Buckets Now?
The number o investors looking or the type o protection that Sequent Income TM
oers has grown
dramatically since the recession and continues to grow.
This is due to two movements currently underway in the personal nance industry:
1. The much talked about shit in ocus rom wealth accumulation to wealth distribution. As
previously mentioned, transorming a retirement portolio into a stable income stream requires
specialized planning. The old rules you lived by during the accumulation phase no longer apply.
Bucketing has great appeal as a distribution strategy because it oers an organized, systematic process
or getting your client’s retirement savings rom a 401k, IRA, stock portolio, etc. to his wallet in a way
that minimizes taxes and protects against market volatility while leveraging the market as a hedge
against infation.
2. Shit in investor attitudes toward risk. I you think about how the most popular income strategies
might be arranged on a spectrum o risk, Sequent Income™ targets those consumers who are
comortable somewhere in the middle. Or, even better, someone who started closer to the more
aggressive side, but has since moved closer to the middle ater sustaining losses in the market.
These are the ideal candidates or a bucket plan because they believe in the long-term upside potentialo the market, but at the same time they recognize the threat that volatility poses to short-term
income.
They realize that ups and downs in the market cannot be timed and thereore want to shield their
income rom that risk. It is our position that the number o investors who t this risk prole has
increased since the recession set in last year.
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Figure 1: Spectrum of Retirement Income Strategies
Over the course o the 20-year bull market rom 1980 to 1999, a lot o investors and advisors gravitated
toward the more aggressive end o the spectrum in Figure 1. Their systematic withdrawal plans
promised high returns when times were good, but oered no protection when the market went bad.
Two recessions this decade taught a lot o retirees this lesson the hard way. The result has been an
ongoing exodus rom the more aggressive side o the spectrum to the relative saety o the middle.
One indicator o this shit in investor attitudes has been xed annuity sales, which have soared since
the recession hit last year. LIMRA reported a 79 percent increase to close 2008 and a 74 percent jump in
the rst quarter o 2009.
Why are consumers gravitating toward annuities? We suspect it is not necessarily or the longevity
protection (i.e. lietime income) they provide as much as or the stability o income. Buckets are a
antastic solution or this because they suppress volatility and remove risk as the money gets closer to
the client’s wallet (See Figure 2).
Figure 2: Risk Funnel
Conservative Moderate Aggressive
Low Risk, Low Returns High Risk, High Returns
Interest-only strategies
CD Ladders
Indexed Annuities
Variable Annuities(lietime income rider)
Systematic withdrawal plan
Bucket 1 Bucket 2 Bucket 3
Guaranteed Rate Fixed w/Upside MarketVolatity decreases the closer money
gets to the client’s “wallet.”
Income
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A Typical Bucket Plan
Beore you can understand why Sequent Income™ makes buckets better, it helps to get a sense o how
a typical bucket plan might work now. One popular bucket method divides assets into three distinct
allocations—Bucket 1 generates income; Bucket 2 will generate income ater Bucket 1 is depleted; andBucket 3 is or long-term growth.
Bucket 1: This is sae money set aside or immediate income, usually or the next 3-7 years. Typical
products used in Bucket 1 are CD Ladders or single-premium immediate annuities (SPIAs).
Bucket 2: This is money waiting to be tapped or income when Bucket 1 runs out. Typical products or
this allocation include deerred annuities, bond unds or a bond portolio.
Bucket 3: This is your long-term growth allocation, usually placed in an equity portolio. Bucket 3 is
tapped to replenish Buckets 1 and 2 when they run out ater 10-14 years.
Figure 3: The Traditional Bucket Model
Now let’s look at a hypothetical example o a bucket plan assuming…
•$500,000ininvestablefunds
•$25,000ayearinincome
•Bucket2earning5%compoundedannually
•Bucket3earning8%compoundedannually
Figure 4 will show how the assets are allocated in a typical bucket plan, as well has how the buckets are
depleted and relled over time.
Income
Bucket 1Immediate Income
3-7 years
Laddered CDs, SPIA
Bucket 2
Income when
Bucket 1 runs out
Bond Funds
Bond Portolio
Bucket 3Long-Term Growth
Rells Buckets 1 & 2
Equity portolio
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Figure 4: Buckets in Action
Year 1
The client buys a SPIA with the unds in Bucket 1. This provides income or the rst six years. The
assumption is that Buckets 2 and 3 will be accumulating during this time.
End o Year 6
After6yearsBucket1hasbeenspentdownto$0.Nowtheclienttakesthefundsinbuckettwo,
which,assuming5%returnwouldhavegrowntoabout$167,500,andusesthosefundstopurchasean
immediate annuity or the next 6 years o income (Relling Bucket 1).
Start o Year 7
Now Bucket 1 has been relled and Bucket 2 is empty. We’re assuming the market going up 8% a year,
soBucket3hasgrownto$364,981.
End o Year 12
Both income buckets are now exhausted. It is now time to tap the equities portolio, which hopeully
has grown signicantly over time, to rell them. Then the process starts all over again.
Income
Bucket 1
$145,000
SPIA
Bucket 2
$125,000
Bond Fund
Bucket 3
$230,000
Equities
Income
Bucket 1
$0
Bucket 2
$167,500Bond Fund
Bucket 3
$364,981Equities
Income
Bucket 1
$167,500
SPIA
Bucket 2
$0
Bucket 3
$364,981
Equities
Income
Bucket 1
$0
Bucket 2
$0
Bucket 3
$579,179
Equities
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Good Concept, Flawed Execution
We believe that, while sound conceptually, bucket plans have several faws in their design and
execution.
Increasingly Aggressive Over Time: The urther into the traditional bucket plan an investor gets, the
more heavily weighted to stocks the investor becomes. Given the hypothetical scenario above, the
initial weighting is relatively conservative, with 46% o the total portolio allocated to equities.
By the time the rst two buckets have been spent, 12 years into the plan, the investor’s allocation
would have gone rom 46% equities to 100% equities. This investor is subject to ar greater risk than
his initial allocation would indicate (even though he is now 12 years older). A down market in the nal
years o Bucket 2 could destroy the plan.
Some Market Timing Required: Alternatively, an advisor could opportunistically “rell” the rst two
buckets. Opportunistically relling requires some element o market timing, which, as we all know, can
be quite dicult.
Low Internal Rate o Return on Income Stream: Typically, Bucket 1 represents a very low internal
rate o return. Currently it would be dicult to achieve greater than 2.5% or a 5-year CD ladder or
immediate annuity.
No “smoothing” o withdrawals: Many bucket planning systems are unable to provide annual
increases. Instead, these systems carry a level withdrawal or the rst several years, then “jump up” to
a higher level or the next several years. I you ask your clients whether they would preer a smooth,
planned annual increase or level or a ew years, then a big jump, level or a ew more, then a big jump,
the answer would be pretty clear. Your clients would preer smoothed withdrawals.
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Introducing the Sequent Income Model™
Sequent Income™ takes the old idea o “Buckets” and optimizes it. Hence the title o the paper:
“Better Buckets.”
Like the plan in the previous section, Sequent Income™ divides assets into three distinct allocations (or
three buckets i you would like to stick with that terminology, but we preer not to).
1. Income Allocation: These dollars are used solely to generate income or a six-year period. The model
assumes a SPIA, but a similar result could be accomplished by laddering non-callable certicates o
deposit.
2. Bridge Allocation: This is the cornerstone o Sequent Income™. The Bridge Allocation’s central
eature is that it represents a combination o properties o the Income Allocation and the Growth
Allocation. It combines guaranteed principal to prevent losses in a down market, with growth potential
when the market trends upward. By ensuring that dollars are never fowing directly rom the market to
the income allocation, it eectively provides the “Bridge” between the signicant upside potential and
associated volatility o market investments and the guarantees associated with the Income Allocation.
Withdrawals rom the Bridge Allocation also provide a portion o the annual income goal. Then at the
end o the initial six-year period, the balance o this allocation will und a new Income Allocation. The
model assumes a xed indexed annuity or this allocation. (For more on why an FIA is essential – see
pg. 14)
3. Growth Allocation: Historically, investing in debt and equity instruments has provided an excellent
long-term hedge against infation. The managed growth portion o this income plan will conorm to
client risk tolerance and investment objectives.
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Figure 5: The Sequent Income Model™
A couple o keys points here:
The Income Allocation is completely liquidated over the initial six-year period•
During the initial six-year period, withdrawals are taken rom the Bridge Allocation to supplement•
the income generated rom the Income Allocation, boosting the internal rate o return on the total
income received.
At the end o the initial 6-year period, in the worst-case scenario, enough remains in the Bridge•
Allocation to und the income allocation again. This is extremely important, because it means
money is never moving directly rom the market to a product that has no market-linked upside
potential. Because the allocations are relled every six years, the client is never completely
weighted to stocks.
Now let’s look at a hypothetical illustration o Sequent IncomeTM
using the same assumptions as
our previous example with traditional buckets…
•$500,000ininvestablefunds
•$25,000ayearinincome
•BridgeAllocation(Bucket2)earning5%compoundedannually
•GrowthAllocation(Bucket3)earning8%compoundedannually
Income Allocation
Immediate Income or
six years
Period-Certain SPIA
Income
Growth Allocation
Replenish Bucket 2
Stock/Fund portolioBridge Allocation
Supplement Income
and Replenish
Income Allocation
Fixed Indexed Annuity
Indexed Annuity
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Figure 6: Sequent Income™ in Action
Year 1
The client’s income or the rst six years is generated rom the combined payout rom the Income
Allocation (SPIA) and the Bridge Allocation (FIA). The Growth Allocation is let alone to grow.
End o Year 6
Attheendofyearsix,theIncomeAllocationisat$0andtheBridgeAllocationhasbeenspentdown
to$136,320.Ofthat,$113,349goestofundtheIncomeAllocationforthenextsix-yearleg.TheGrowth
Allocationhasgrownto$410,387.Ofthat,$151,907isliquidatedtorelltheBridgeAllocationforthe
next six year period.
Start o Year 7
The cycle starts over again in year seven.
Income Allocation$94,928
SPIA
$25,000
Income
Growth Allocation$258,613
EquitiesBridge Allocation
$146,457
Fixed Indexed Annuity
Income Allocation$0
$28,987
Income
Growth Allocation$410,387
EquitiesBridge Allocation
$136,320
Fixed Indexed Annuity
Income Allocation
$113,349
$29,851
Income
Growth Allocation$258,480
EquitiesBridge Allocation
$174,878
Fixed Indexed Annuity
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Why Buckets are Better with the Sequent Income Model™
The unique construction o Sequent Income™ gives it several advantages over more traditional bucket
models.
Simplicity and Utility – Sequent Income™ allows you to use simple, easy to understand products
in Buckets 1 and 2—respectively a SPIA and a Fixed Indexed Annuity—and achieve similar principle
protection and better potential internal rate o return than CD and bond ladders seen in other bucket
plans.
Avoids Market Timing – With other systems there is always conusion on when to rell Buckets 1 and
2 and by how much. Do you try to time the market and rell Buckets 1 and 2 when stocks are up? As
much as we as proessionals like to believe we are able to use technical and undamental analysis,
along with good risk management principles to make better decisions than other market participants,
the act remains that we have all been blindsided at least once in our careers. This system takes the
guesswork out by giving you a structured ramework or drawing down and relling allocations.
Regular Rebalancing – With Sequent Income™, you’re never removing unds directly rom the market
and placing them in a purely xed product. That’s the beauty o the Bridge Allocation. By using a FIA as
the bridge between the market and an immediate annuity, the unds still have some market exposure
and thereore a chance to recover some o the lost value i you liquidate stocks when the market is
down. Further, since no one can tell you with certainty when a bear market is or will be over until wellater the act, we will have established an insured “foor” under the amount liquidated rom the growth
allocation.
Increased Rate o Return on Income Stream – By using a blend o an immediate and indexed annuity
to provide income, Sequent Income™ can achieve a better internal rate o return or your clients on
their “sae” money without substantially increasing risk. As a hypothetical example (rates current at the
time o this writing) we might see an internal rate o return on a six-year period certain SPIA in the 2%
range. At the same time, the xed rates inside many indexed annuities are in the 3.5%-4% range. I 1/3
o our income is generated via withdrawals rom the xed account o the indexed annuity, we could
have boosted the internal rate o return on that income stream by up to 33%.
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Maximizes Market Potential – For the bucket model to work to its ull potential and stretch the client’s
retirement unds or as long as possible, you want to commit the minimum amount possible to the
Income Allocation and the Bridge Allocation while still meeting the client’s income goals. The more
you are able to keep in Bucket 3, the more potential you have or long-term growth.
Sequent Income™ Sotware that will tell you exactly what the minimum amount is you should allocate
to Buckets 1 and 2 to secure the withdrawal on a guaranteed basis or the rst six years and have
enough let in the bridge to und the income allocation over again or the ollowing six years.
“Smoothed” Monthly Income – The Sequent Income™ Sotware also allows you to to step up the
client’s income payments gradually over time to keep pace with infation. The sotware does all the
calculations or you; all you have to do is input the assumed infation rate.
Why an Indexed Annuity for the Bridge Allocation?
The Bridge Allocation is really the key to what makes this system work. By orming the “bridge”
between the equity portolio and annuitized savings, it increases the client’s rate o return, creates a
foor against losses, and still aords the client the opportunity to participate in a portion o market gains.
Some might nd the use o a Fixed Indexed Annuity controversial. While it has been documented that
a small percentage o advisors have sold FIAs inappropriately, we would argue the problem lies with a
small minority o unscrupulous producers, not with the products themselves.
High quality FIAs issued by reputable companies provide strong benets or those who wish to
participate in a portion o market gains but whose risk tolerance makes them uncomortable with
sustaining losses. Taken urther, we see in FIAs several unique strengths that no other savings or
investment vehicle oers:
FIAs oer a portion o the market’s upside potential while protecting principle.1.
FIAs provide a level o guarantee against bond deaults that can’t be achieved with either2.
individual bonds or bond mutual unds.
FIAs oer partial liquidity with some measure o market gains. It is dicult to overestimate the3.
value o this, yet critics o FIAs oten ignore the ree withdrawal provisions o deerred annuities.
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Given all o that, it is dicult to argue that a plain vanilla FIA with a short surrender period—which we
use in the Bridge Allocation—could not be a valuable part o an overall retirement plan. We welcome
your comments on this topic and the opportunity to urther make the case or FIAs as a viable tool or
retirement income planning.
We also examined some alternatives for the Bridge Allocation:
Variable Annuities: A variable annuity could work well in the bridge allocation. There are our
requirements or the VA product to use it in this model.
It must have a 6-year surrender schedule (multiple leg lengths will be available in uture models)1.
Principal (at least) must be guaranteed in lump sum at the end o the surrender schedule2.
It must oer at least a 10% ree partial withdrawal provision3.
Free partial withdrawals must be principal protected, i.e. i the subaccounts are down, the ree4.
partial withdrawal must trigger a dollar-or-dollar reduction against the principal guarantee, not as
a proportional reduction.
Structured Products: Structured products, including structured CDs and Structured Debt instruments
held promise, but Lehman Brother’s deault on its structured products portolio reminds us that the
value o an insurance company in the mix substantially reduces the risk o deault that is inherent with
any individual security. Further, the lack o a solid secondary market means questionable liquidity and
imputed interest means these products are not terribly tax ecient. I am certainly open to the utureo structured products as a viable component o the model.
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Figure 7: The Importance of the Bridge Allocation
The ollowing illustration highlights the critical importance o the Bridge Allocation in this plan.
Potential orPartial Market Gains
Exposed to
Market Volatility
Income
Income
Allocation
Bridge
Allocation
Growth
Allocation
Creates a fooragainst losses
GrowthAllocation
Income
Allocation
Potential For
Partial
Recovery
Income
IncomeAllocation
BridgeAllocation
GrowthAllocation
I you are orced to liquidate in a down market, repositioning rom the growth
allocation to the Bridge Allocation does two things:
Creates a foor against additional losses i the market declines urther1.
Gives those unds the opportunity to at least partially participate in uture2.
gains i the market recovers.
BridgeAllocation
Creates a foor
against losses
Growth
Allocation
Starting Point
(Year 1)
Market isdown inyear 6
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Using the Sequent Income Software
The reason more advisors aren’t implementing strategies like this, and the reason similar strategies
aren’t as eective as ours is that it’s not pencil and paper math. Complex calculations are required to
determine the amount o each allocation to optimize the plan.
The questions that come into play are:
How do you know how much to allocate to each bucket?•
Rather, the real question is what is the least you can allocate to the Income and Bridge•
allocations and still achieve the client’s desired income, including adjustments or infation,
without violating the ree withdrawal provision in the annuity?
How do you know when to rell each allocation?•
And, with Sequent Income™, how do you know what blend o withdrawals to take rom the•
Income and Bridge allocations to achieve the desired income stream?
The Sequent Income™ Sotware makes the answers to these questions easy. This proprietary sotware
will run all the calculations necessary to answer the questions above and build an optimized income plan.
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The ollowing screenshots should give you some idea o what the sotware can oer. I you want to try
the sotware or yoursel or ask about using Sequent Income™ in your own practice, call 1-877-645-4939.
Figure 8: Input Assumptions
Ittakesjustaminutetoinputyourclient’sassumptions.Figure8showsascenarioassuming$1million
inavailableassetsand$50,000indesiredincometostart.Thecalculatoralsoallowsyoutocustomize
the infation rate and assumed returns or each allocation.
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Using only that data, the sotware will show you exactly:
Figure 9: Output for Years 1-6
The beauty o the Sequent IncomeTM Sotware is its simplicity or the end user. But it is actually built
on complex ormulas on the back end that allow you to optimize each allocation by:
Calculating the minimum amount necessary to und the Income Allocation and the Bridge1.
Allocation while guaranteeing your clients income needs are met within each period. Remember,
the goal is to keep as much as possible in the Growth Allocation.
Calculating how much to take rom the Bridge Allocation to supplement the income stream. In the2.
aboveexampleweinitiallyplace$292,915inaxedindexedannuity.Withoutthecalculator,how
would you know how much to withdraw rom that annuity to supplement the income generated
by the SPIA and still have your target amount (the cost o the SPIA) let over at the end o six years?
1. How much to und each allocation.
2. The precise blend o withdrawals you should take
rom the Income and Bridge allocations to achieve the
client’s desired annual income.
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Conclusion
Throughout this white paper, much has been said about how Sequent Income™ will benet your
clients. So we’ll close by talking briefy about what’s in it or you.
The Sequent Income Model™ will help you:
Create a continuous cycle o sales and renewals or your practice. The plan you set in motion will•
need to be updated, rebalanced and revisited over time. This ensures clients or lie.
Dierentiate yoursel rom competitors. This concept hasn’t let Omaha until now.•
Establish yoursel as a retirement income expert and generate more reerrals•
Be a hero the next time the market takes a plunge and your clients’ assets are well-protected in a•
plan designed to minimize the eects o volatility.
And let’s not orget perhaps the most important benet, which is what this white paper is all about:
Protected clients, clients who don’t lose 40% o their net worth in a bear market, are happy clients.
They’re clients who will stick with you over the long-term and enthusiastically sing your praises to
riends.
Ultimately, as a nancial advisor, your ate is inextricably linked to that o your clients. I you can help
them achieve nancial success with a retirement income plan that meets their needs, the benets or
you and your practice extend ar beyond commission checks.
I you are interested in utilizing Sequent Income™ in your own practice, the next step is to request a
sotware user’s agreement by calling 1-877-645-4939.
Also eel ree to call i you have questions or comments on the concept, sotware or retirement
income planning in general. We welcome your thoughts.
I you want to take your comments online and generate some discussion among your peers, eel
ree to join the Better Buckets Beta Group on LinkedIn, or visit BetterBuckets.com.
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About the Authors
Joe Elsasser, CFP® has been involved in the insurance and nancial services industry since 2001 as both
a producer and a marketer. Since 2006 he has served as the Associate Director o Annuities or Senior
Market Sales, Inc. In late 2008, Joe launched his own nancial planning practice to implement many o the concepts he had been developing in his prior role. A Certied Financial Planner®, Registered Health
Underwriter and licensed Investment Advisor Representative, Joe specializes in helping middle market
retirees maximize resources in support o their nancial goals. Currently, Joe’s ongoing responsibilities
with Senior Market Sales include preparing strategies developed or his practice to be used by agents
and advisors aliated with Senior Market Sales.
Dan Trumblee is an Omaha-based writer who specializes in content or the insurance and nancial
industry. The articles and white papers he writes or Senior Market Sales cover a broad spectrum o
topics, including retirement income planning, insurance marketing strategies, Medicare, lie insurance,
annuities and long-term care insurance.
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