NAFA (National Association for Fixed Annuities)

In addition to all of the great main stage sessions last week, NAFA was pleased to welcome more than 40 women leaders to our second Women's Annuity Network luncheon! Deirdre Van Nest walked attendees through common ways fear shows up, and shared a process for shifting from playing defense to taking scary action steps toward a meaningful goal related to overcoming fear. What an incredible event! #annuityleadership #womeninbusiness #femaleleadership #femalesinfinance

That's a wrap! To close out our conference on the theme of risk, resilience or recovery, attendees has the pleasure of getting a peek behind the curtain on the #annuity product landscape from Carrie Freeburg, ASA, MAAA, Vincent Cuevas, Jill Esser and Kevin Cloud. These actuaries and product development specialists covered everything from #reinsurance and #financialengineering to how various economic scenarios and recency bias can impact product and index #innovation.

"AI won't replace your job. What will replace your job is the person who understands AI." Thanks to Tony Lengeling for moderating an excellent discussion between Jay Charles, Roy Goodart, MBA, Doug Massey and Dave Peters about the current state of #AI, how it's evolving, and understanding where it's going to create #efficiencies vs. where it's simply driving noise.

Our industry is constantly trying to tackle tough and complex problems, particularly in an era of what seems like endless uncertainty. Today, featured speaker Dan Gardner shared how to leverage the power of Fermi estimates to expose biases and blindspots, reveal assumptions, pool and synthesize knowledge, and ultimately become a better forecaster and a better leader.

NAFA is thrilled to welcome the following individuals to its 2025 board of directors: Bryce Biklen, CLU, Thomas Bumbolow, Sarah Garrity, Jamie Kosharek and Ann M. Raible. We're also pleased to have Dan Acker joining our executive operating committee as treasurer. We'd like to thank Kevin Mechtley, Brendon Kelly, Darcy Matz, RICP and Tiya Stanley for concluding their service terms. The #annuityleadership of our members continues to help NAFA shine!

An overarching theme of the conference is #connection. Thanks to Lori Seaton for walking fellow female leaders Patti Hausherr, Zennière Bowry-Thomas CPA, CISA and Sarah Williams through a conversation detailing strategies and techniques all levels of distribution should consider to help personalize and elevate service of the fastest-growing client demographic: WOMEN!

Moderator Dan Acker led a powerful Q&A with Phillip Brzenk, Sarah Garrity, Richard Macari and Stéphane Mattatia about the #annuity product landscape. They touched on the opportunity to bring in younger investors, the massive growth and expansion in the RILA space, and the importance of expanding the range of investors who can benefit from these innovative products. "Annuities aren't complex, they're sophisticated" and they are well positioned to deliver deep value for #retirement savers.

Many Americans are wondering how the economy is really doing and what can we expect post-election. Thanks to Jamie Branyan for moderating an insightful panel discussion in which Pete Miller, Pratik Pareek, Chris Ratkovsky and Jason Zahn shared their unique perspectives on everything from impending rate cuts and fiscal policy to the country's financial stability and economic sustainability.

Research shows that individuals in insurance and sales suffer from a #trust deficit. Summit attendees were given a look into actionable ways to close the gap by the witty and engaging Andrew Sykes, including by working on how you present yourself, refining your #executivepresence and being present with listening ears. Most importantly, he opened our eyes to the importance of asking people great personal questions and perfecting a personal origin story.

To open the second day of our 16th annual Annuity Distribution Summit, Chuck DiVencenzo and Ryan Lex honored Rod Mims with the 2024 Bo Johnson Spirit Award on behalf of NAFA membership. Thank you, Rod, for consistently displaying your passion for the fixed annuity business and giving your all to clients, colleagues and teammates, which ultimately makes our industry and our outcomes better! #annuityleadership #bojo #lifetimeachievement