Articles by Nick

Despite all the violent rollercoaster bouncing around in the equity markets today, the most volatile and temperamental investment vehicle in the fi nancial services world is still the variable...

Debate over new fiduciary language from the CFP Board and the FPA has focused on the risk management aspects of life insurance, though some of the conclusions have gone unchallenged, and others...

Many advisors think of risk management as representing a client’s exposure to market volatility or the Beta factor of a portfolio. However, risk comes in many other forms, too. As a fiduciary...

It is difficult to accept the premise that multiple illustrations address the issue of impartial and unbiased selection if all of the products represented are restricted to the commission venue....

Thanks to the SEC, history is in replay mode, and the consumer again is at the bottom of the pile. On April 12, 2005, the SEC adopted Rule 202(a)(11)-1 (aka the Merrill Lynch rule), which appeared...

While the spotlight of fiduciary standards is focused on investment activity and asset management, only a small number of advisers are connecting the dots to challenge some compromising standards....

Are we sitting on a litigation time bomb with a short fuse? At the FPA Success Forum in Philadelphia, I was invited to speak on the topic of bringing value added service through the use of no-load...

One of the most perplexing problems facing planners today is how to deal with the current estate tax provisions. The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 has been fodder for...

Illustrations are the basic selling tool of the insurance industry for variable universal life (VUL) products. Unfortunately, clients and most advisors do not understand--or discuss--the many...

For the first quarter of 2015, we offset the production of the Stinger Report with three (3) webinars to introduce the rollout of our Risk Management Mapping concept. This concept is designed to...

Time is a strange commodity. It is both relevant and irrelevant. It represents seasons and mechanical function. Einstein referred to it as a Fourth dimension. We track time by seconds, minutes,...

Does a Variable Universal Life illustration compromise our fiduciary responsibilities? Consider: The VUL is sold as a concept, supported by an illustration . The Illustration...

Our Life Analyzer is the hottest buzz with faculty and students at the Financial Planning department of Texas Tech University (TTU), which is considered to have the premier CFP Board Certified...

The following strategy can be very beneficial for an older client who: (1) has a need for stabilized or increased guaranteed cash flow, (2) has a desire to transfer wealth, (3) has charitable...

There are numerous articles and discussions currently taking place with reference to retirement planning. This, of course, is due to the fact that our age wave is rolling into the late 50’s and...

“We wish to thank Joe for his presentation to our group of CPAs. He provided our group a very informative presentation from a fiduciary viewpoint concerning the risk management of life...

“I have relied on Joe Maczuga as a resource for clients with estate and/or business succession planning issues that are more complex than usual. Joe's approach to life insurance planning is, if...