Insurance & Risk Management Insights
Rest in Peace, Reggie Rabjohns, CLU®, ChFC®

Reggie Rabjohns was a member of the Board of Trustees for nine years and of the President’s Circle for 17; he was a member of The American College Foundation Board for 18 years, and he served two years on the President’s Advisory Council as well. In recognition of his “Distinguished Service to Education and Professionalism,” Rabjohns was the 2008 recipient of the Solomon Huebner Gold Medal, and he was inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame in 2014.
Asked about his belief in the importance of education, he said: “Part of the definition of being a professional means being committed to a lifetime of continuing education… and in our industry, it’s very rare to come across someone who isn’t a graduate of The American College.” In that vein, Rabjohns exemplified The College’s mission to uplift the profession and society.
Rabjohns often spoke of the “magic of life insurance.” At The College, we also celebrate the magic of people like Reggie Rabjohns, whose investment in The College sustains us and helps us continue to evolve.
Read the full article and learn more about Reggie and how you too can support The College’s mission in our 2023-2024 President’s Report.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Insights
Embracing Diversity in Financial Services

Looking across key demographic segments, namely gender and race, financial services as a whole has not been representative of the American population. According to the Census Bureau, as of 2021, 69% of all financial advisors were male, and 80% of all personal financial advisors were white. Ten years ago, these numbers looked very similar, with men making up 68% of all personal financial advisors, and white advisors making up nearly 85% of the field.
In an industry dedicated to client service, these figures not only raise questions about how effectively representatives can reach diverse client bases, but they also show very little movement over the past decade toward becoming more representative of the population. This would seem to indicate that while creating an atmosphere of equality and representation is a noble goal, companies in the financial services industry are still facing challenges in this area.
It is for this reason The College has taken a number of actions in support of representation. Through ambassador programs, such as the FinServe Network, American College Centers of Excellence–including the Center for Economic Empowerment and Equality, the Center for Women in Financial Services, and the Center for Military and Veterans Affairs–and events, such as the Conference for African American Financial Professionals (CAAFP) and the Black Executive Leadership Program (BELP), we are acting on our commitment toward a more representative financial services industry.
One of these initiatives, the FinServe Network, was a new program at The College in 2023. The FinServe Network is a volunteer group of alumni and leaders who share The College’s values and help the institution amplify our benefit to the financial services profession. The ambassadors who comprise the FinServe Network have unique backgrounds and expertise, collectively representing the diverse landscape of the country that we hope to see brought to the profession.
The push for equal representation is not a passing trend at The College and has, in fact, been part of The College’s vision for some time, as demonstrated by one of its longest standing events, the CAAFP. In 2024, The College will host our 18th annual CAAFP as the industry’s premier gathering of Black and African American financial services professionals and DEI-committed professionals. This gathering brings together advisors, agents, educators, and thought leaders to discuss initiatives advancing African Americans in financial services. The CAAFP represents something far greater than a simple conference; it represents an opportunity for African American financial services professionals to come together as a community.
“The CAAFP is just one example, though significant, of how we walk the talk. The conference provides a visual symbol of how The College is working to serve underrepresented groups in our industry. ‘If I can see it, I can be it!’ is our mantra and, as a platform where we convene Black and African American financial advisors and allies at all levels, there’s nothing else like it,” says Deborah Glenn, executive director of the Center for Economic Empowerment and Equality.
Read the full article and learn more about The College’s efforts towards greater representation in the financial services profession in our 2023-2024 President’s Report.
Building Client Connections for Retirement Planning Success

Research including The College’s own 2023 Retirement Income Literacy Study suggests troubling knowledge gaps in the average American’s understanding of retirement planning, with 74% of consumers ages 50 to 75 failing a test of basic retirement knowledge. Another industry survey, the 2023 National Retirement Risk Index, predicts 51% of today’s working-age households will be unable to maintain their pre-retirement lifestyle once they leave the workforce.
To meet this moment, The College has named focusing on retirement as one of our 2024 strategic priorities: ultimately, to become the industry’s leading source of knowledge on retirement planning. There are many opportunities to do so, according to Sandy Herzlich, vice president of retirement strategy – but first, one has to challenge the notion that simply having a large nest egg is the solution.
“There are different levels of satisfaction in retirement, and different goals depending on the person,” he says. “Retiring with a lot of money alone isn’t a recipe for success. Because of this, retirement planning is going to be a much more relationship-driven business moving forward. Advisors need all the expertise, but they also need to couple that with layering in more personal aspects: understanding what their clients’ goals are and what potential roadblocks could stand in their way. They’re not just a financial manager; they’re a true partner.”
That understanding is critical to this time and place, according to Eric Ludwig, PhD, CFP®, our Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) Program director. He cites the common industry consensus that the Baby Boomer retirement wave is cresting in 2024, with roughly 12,000 Americans turning 65 every day.
“The number of Boomers retiring has been growing every year as that generation ages out of the workforce, but this year, more of them will be entering retirement than ever before or likely ever will again,” Ludwig says. “People are living longer than programs like Social Security were ever intended for, and it’s stretching resources all over the place.”
Because of this, Ludwig agrees that the psychology of retirement planning is a subject of paramount importance, and one he plans to incorporate even more into the RICP® Program curriculum over time.
“As human beings, our minds are not well-adapted to deal with uncertainty, and with all the options available and changes going on today, so much of retirement planning is fundamentally uncertain,” he says. “Advisors may think they can address these concerns with spreadsheets and calculations, but once you get started, you realize it’s more about relationships and trust than anything.”
Ludwig’s and Herzlich’s assertions follow the numbers: in The College’s 2023 Retirement Income Literacy Study, researchers found a clear correlation between lower client anxiety about retirement planning and the presence of a qualified, competent advisor. In all, nearly 11 points could be added to a respondent’s retirement knowledge score if they had working relationship with an advisor – data Ludwig calls evidence of a “significant positive benefit.”
Read the full article and learn more about The College’s impact on the retirement planning field today, as well as new initiatives in the works to address this growing need, in our 2023-2024 President’s Report.
College News Roundup: Week of April 8, 2024
Morningstar | Progress, Not Perfection: Gen Z Has Made Some Extraordinary Financial Moves But Still Needs Help
April 8, 2024
Michael Finke, PhD, CFP® joins other thought leaders in discussing how members of Gen Z can prepare for their financial futures, including through emergency savings funds and retirement planning strategies.
Journal of Financial Planning | 2024 Kenneth Black Jr. Journal Author Award
April 8, 2024
Steve Parrish, JD, RICP®, CLU®, ChFC®, AEP® is recognized for his first-place finish in the Journal of Financial Planning’s annual award for publishing the number-one article in the Journal for the 2023 publication year on snowbirding in retirement.
ThinkAdvisor | AI And The Future Of Women's Retirement Planning
April 11, 2024
Neeraja Rasmussen of the American College Center for Women in Financial Services’ advisory council writes about how artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to improve the services women receive from the financial industry.
Special Needs Planning Insights
Breaking Barriers: Celebrating Women’s Vital Roles as Disability Advocates

During Women’s History Month, we celebrate the accomplishments of women and take this opportunity to reflect on their contributions to the betterment of society. Included amongst these women working to improve the lives of others are women who advocate and care for others, specifically individuals with special needs. Caring for a family member living with disabilities can lead to several challenges, and one of the key aspects these women caregivers must consider is how to secure benefits that protect the financial future of their adult children with disabilities.
Here are some important points for women to consider when applying for Social Security benefits:
Understanding and Qualifying for the Benefits
Benefits require individuals to meet specific criteria. It’s important for women applying for these benefits to evaluate the criteria and consider whether their adult children with disabilities meet the requirements.
Application Process and Benefits
Understanding who to contact, the necessary documentation, and how to schedule an appointment are key aspects of ensuring adult children with disabilities receive the appropriate benefits.
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Advanced Special Needs Planning Symposium
Kaylee Ranck and Lindsey Lewis Talk Diversity in Financial Services
In their article, Ranck and Lewis discuss the importance of building an inclusive work environment and the benefits a practice can expect to incur once they have accomplished this goal.
Ranck and Lewis list several key action items, including the process of creating a safe space within your working environment, encouraging open dialogue, and recognizing and promoting diversity within the organization.
Ranck and Lewis believe firms adhering to these methods will not only grow their practices, but also find themselves better equipped to meet the needs of modern clients. Read on to hear more about how firms can grow through inclusivity!
Ethics In Financial Services Insights
Insights and Highlights: AI Ethics in Financial Services Summit

Held as an immersive and educational meeting of financial experts spanning diverse corporate roles, the panel-led discussions explored the pivotal concept of trust in AI within the financial services industry. Key discussions encompassed:
- The ethical risks of AI in finance: From fairness concerns to biased algorithms, including potential pitfalls and how to mitigate them.
- Restoring trust through responsible AI: Best practices for developing, deploying, and governing AI ethically and transparently.
- The future of AI in insurance underwriting: Insights into the latest regulatory updates and ethical considerations in this critical area.
During our productive roundtable discussion, issues regarding transparency, mitigating bias, and the necessity for standardized practices were highlighted. The dialogue underscored the significance of employing data ethically to cultivate consumer trust. There was consensus on the importance of collaborative efforts to develop trustworthy AI solutions that ensure fair and responsible practices within the insurance industry in particular.
Panel topics included:
- AI Regulation Update
- Jillian Froment, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI)
- Kaitlin Asrow, Executive Deputy Superintendent, Research and Innovation Division, New York Department of Financial Services
- Stephanie Schmelz, Deputy Director, Federal Insurance Office U.S. Department of Treasury
- Self-Regulatory Approaches to AI Governance
- Moderator: Sophia Duffy, JD, CPA, AEP®, Associate Professor of Business Planning, The American College of Financial Services
- Anthony Habayeb, Co-founder & CEO, Monitaur
- Reva Schwartz, Research Scientist, National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Fireside Chat
- Arezu Moghadam, Ph.D., Managing Director and Global Head of Data Science, J.P. Morgan Asset Management
- Marty Edelman, Senior of Counsel, Paul Hastings
- Unpacking “Fairness” in Insurance
- Moderator: Azish Filabi, JD, MA, Associate Professor of Business Ethics, Executive Director, The American College Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics in Financial Services
- Lisa A. Schilling, FSA, EA, FCA, MAAA Director of Practice Research, Society of Actuaries Research Institute
- Peggy Tsai, Chief Data Officer, BigID
- Case Study - AI Governance in Life Insurance
- Azish Filabi, JD, MA, Associate Professor of Business Ethics, Executive Director, The American College Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics in Financial Services
- Sophia Duffy, JD, CPA, AEP®, Associate Professor of Business Planning, The American College of Financial Services
The summit provided valuable insights into the evolving landscape of AI regulation and ethics, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, transparency, and responsible AI practices.
Stay tuned for forthcoming insights highlighting specific discussion topics from our esteemed panelists, including regulators, researchers, and industry leaders.
To learn more about AI in financial services, you can explore further with research from the Center for Ethics in Financial Services.
Shares: Let’s Talk Taxes

Join our host Michael Finke, PhD, CFP® and Jeffrey Levine, CFP®, CPA, PFS, CWS, AIF, RICP®, ChFC®, BFA™, Chief Planning Officer at Buckingham Wealth Partners, for a detailed conversation on what financial advisors get right and wrong when thinking about tax planning, as well as key strategies to help your clients keep more of their hard-earned money.
Jeffrey Levine, CFP®, CPA, PFS, CWS, AIF, RICP®, ChFC®, BFA™ is Chief Planning Officer at Buckingham Wealth Partners, working closely with the Buckingham team to create a seamless and enjoyable experience for clients that makes it easy to plan and instill confidence as they work towards their most important goals. He serves as a technical resource for advisors and the firm’s primary thought leader regarding evidence-based planning concepts and strategies. He excels at distilling complex financial laws and policy into understandable resources. His work at Buckingham gives him the ability to train and educate hundreds of advisors and support them in their pursuit of helping clients fulfill their financial dreams. Levine is a nationally recognized thought leader within the financial planning community. He is the lead financial planning nerd for Kitces.com, home of the popular Nerd’s Eye View blog, and the founder of Fully Vested Advice, Inc., which provides financial education and consulting services to industry professionals. He is a regular contributor to Forbes.com, as well as various industry publications, and has promoted retirement and tax education on television stations such as CNBC, Fox Business News, CBS and PBS. He is regularly sought after by journalists for his insights and is frequently quoted in publications throughout the country.
Any views or opinions expressed in this podcast are the hosts’ and guests' own and do not necessarily represent those of The American College of Financial Services.
Mark McLennon, Seasoned Tax and Estate Planning Professor, In His Own Words

In March, McLennon joined The College as a full-time assistant professor in tax and estate planning and also serves as the Clark/Bardes Chair in Retirement Planning and Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation. Students in the CFP® Certification Education and Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) programs will benefit from his immense knowledge in business planning, estate planning, executive compensation, life insurance planning, retirement planning, and vast experience having served in a variety of positions over a 25-year successful career in financial services.
We posed a few questions to McLennon, and in his own words, you can learn more about his journey back to The College as a full-time faculty member and what he enjoys most about working with students.
1. How has The College impacted your career in financial services?
My experience with The College began as I pursued my CLU® and ChFC® designations over 25 years ago while transitioning from corporate tax into an "Advanced Planning" role at a major financial services firm. Despite taking every trust, estate, and tax class I could at my law school and working as a research assistant for the tax professor, none of that prepared me as much for the practical and real-world client/advisor issues I would face as did The College's curriculum.
The knowledge and credibility that came with achieving those designations and the great people I subsequently met through The College have served me well in the varied corporate and client-facing roles I have taken on. Over the years, as organizer and host of several wealth management and financial planning conferences, I have also had the privilege of working with some of the distinguished faculty of The College. I first began teaching at The College about five years ago and am now very excited to be doing that again as a full-time member of the faculty.
2. What are today's most significant challenges and opportunities for financial professionals?
Advisors need to know or access relevant information from multiple disciplines to provide the type of holistic advice clients expect as the marketplace has responded to such demand over the years. Combine that with the time needed to truly know your clients, much less acquire new relationships, and the significant challenge for financial professionals is how to best utilize those limited working hours.
Of course, no one can be expected to know everything, and bringing in outside expertise is something savvy clients have come to expect. The good news is that opportunities exist to acquire timely, relevant knowledge through programs such as those at The College, where one can also get assistance identifying situations where outside expertise is warranted.
3. How do The College's CFP® Certification Education and ChFC® Programs work together to enhance advisors' skills?
Both the CFP® and the ChFC® programs cover the core knowledge that clients come to expect when financial service professionals hold themselves out as dedicated to providing a higher level of expertise.
The College's requirements are the same across the two programs with one additional specialized course needed for the ChFC®. It is how that knowledge is applied in practice that has somewhat differentiated the two over the years, as each has its own unique background and history.
4. How is The College ensuring that students who enroll in the CFP® Certification Education Program achieve success in the CFP® exam?
There is deep and continuing coordination between the particulars of the programs at The College and the ongoing requirements of achieving the CFP® designation. The College is very much invested in the ongoing success of its students, and maintaining the curriculum to help students succeed with the exam is a priority while still emphasizing the critical importance of the application of that knowledge in practice.
5. What do you enjoy most about working with The College's students and being part of The College's community?
I most enjoy seeing that light bulb go on over students' heads. A few subject matter areas in the financial services world have historically seemed daunting to students, even those who are experienced or "seasoned" financial advisors. I like to relay stories to my classes about how I would initially dread getting calls on certain topics, like ESOPs or generation-skipping taxes for example, as a newer Advanced Planning attorney as I felt out of my comfort zone.
However, I add, I chose instead to step back, take some time, and break down these "daunting" concepts to their core components, thus replacing that dread with the anticipation of helping someone else get past their anxiety over the issue. That is one of the things I enjoy most about working with students at The College: taking what may seem a difficult concept at first, breaking it down to its core components, shedding a little light on what something truly means, and shining a larger light on its application in practice.
Being part of The American College community has been a great experience for me, and I know my colleagues feel the same way about the importance and satisfaction of getting through to students and helping them help their clients.