The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors would reach nearly 20,000 members through a merger with two other organizations that's up for a vote this fall.
If approved by members, NAIFA would retain the incoming groups' names and add them to respectively rebranded professional development and educational arms of the organization, NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux said in an interview. The merger would create "some operational efficiencies," with limited turnover of the groups' core staff, he noted.
"It provides us with a much stronger, broader bench. It provides us with very robust professional development opportunities for financial advisors," Mayeux said. "It gives us a platform where we can talk about the need for protection products."
NAIFA and the Society share about 1,000 members in common, and the groups have been partnering in recent years on an advanced planning discussion hub called the NAIFA-FSP Advanced Practice Center. Almost 30 years ago, NAIFA was also a founding member of Life Happens, then known by the name the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education. The organization's programs include Life Insurance Awareness Month in September, Insure Your Love in February and Disability Insurance Awareness Month in May.
The merger amounts to "the building and strengthening of our family," said Win Havir, a member of
"We all work together for the same common good of serving clients," Havir said. "It's about the people we serve and the people we love."
David Maola, the Society's CEO, will be executive vice president for the organization under NAIFA.
"Together, we have the ability to offer a world-class education that spans every step in the lifecycle of a financial service professional," Maola said in a statement. "We are excited to deliver the portfolio of education that we've developed at FSP to NAIFA's extensive membership base and build upon the professional development opportunities that NAIFA currently offers including the life underwriting training council fellow (LUTCF) designation and the life and annuity certified professional (LACP) certification."
Life Happens promotes personal financial responsibility through life insurance and other products, although the nonprofit doesn't endorse any specific brands or insurance advisors.
"This merger allows Life Happens to continue to excel in our mission of serving consumers, professionals, and the industry for years to come," Life Happens Chair Barbara Pietrangelo said in a statement. "Alongside NAIFA and FSP, our organization will have even more tools and resources to help Americans achieve financial security."
That organization currently spends about $2 million to $3 million per year on marketing, while NAIFA devotes about $2 million annually to marketing and 43% of its budget to advocacy, according to Mayeux. NAIFA will combine Life Happens' programs with similar ones of its own, such as the
"This is just a great opportunity to create some strong synergies between three very well-respected and established organizations in this space," Mayeux said.
NAIFA has scheduled two town halls about the merger for next month, and the membership of it and the Society will hold respective meetings to vote in October, according to information about the merger
The missions of the group remind Havir of the story of her father immigrating to the U.S. from China and her early days in the profession in East Los Angeles, as well as some $14 million in erased student loan debt for teachers and other educational professionals who worked with her office and qualified for public service forgiveness, she said.
"A lot of the work that we do is mentoring," Havir said. "We have to bring the humanity to it, why it's important, how noble this profession is."
