the Vol. 6 No. 12 • December 2005 Official IARFC Publication Single $9 • Yearly $99 in this issue He’s an Advisor, Register Letters...........2 Not an Apprentice Chairman’s Desk ........4 An IARFC member, Mark T. Lamkin, Advisors Sharpen Louisville-based financial advisor has Their Blades ................5 demonstrated how to gather a lot of The Unauthorized national attention, and excellent Practice of Law ...........6 experience at the same time. He volunteered to be one of the Your Estate of Mind ....8 contestants on Donald Trump’s The Researching Your Apprentice national NBC-TV program. Target Markets............9 You may not be a regular viewer of this program, but you would have enjoyed What Happens When how Mark represented himself, and our You Are Sued? ..........10 profession. Mark Lamkin, CSA, RFC® Consumer Focus.......12 Profile: He really wasn’t seeking a position as an apprentice to “The Donald” but The Dunton Award....13 Mark O’Dell to receive valuable experience and publicity. Mark is a member of the Cato Comments........14 Chairman’s Club of his broker/dealer, Linsco/Private Ledger, and the Mark O’Dell, RFC®, CLU, ChFC, president of Lamkin Wealth Management. He has a Finance Degree from Seven Communication Executive Vice-President and the University of Louisville and he recently completed an MBA from Strategies for You .....15 ® General Manager of American Bellarmine University. In addition to being an RFC , Mark holds the A New Source of International Assurance (AIA) CSA designation. Qualified Prospects ..16 Company Limited, Singapore, is a continued on page 5 thoroughbred insurance man who Get Your RFC has spent his entire professional Advisor Website ........17 career — 25 years and counting — Financial Advisors working in the financial services Art Linkletter’s Advice to RFCs Forum Program.........18 industry. O’Dell has an easy-going disposition that makes him a perfect Art Linkletter’s career includes being a movie actor, radio personality, fit for the insurance industry. television star, best-selling author, ambassador and professional speaker. The Register is Refreshingly candid, he calls himself Reader’s Digest reported, “Art Linkletter is one of the most beloved men published monthly by a “college dropout” who initially in the United States!” Currently he appears on network TV, in many the International wanted to become an architect, but areas, with comedian Bill Cosby. This American icon has two EMMY Association of never got around to itbecause he got Awards, four EMMY nominations, one Registered Financial impatient with school. GRAMMY Award, ten honorary doctorate Consultants ©2005. degrees, plus many other honors. He It includes articles and He decided to work as an insurance has written 23 books. Art has served on advice on technical agent in 1980; with no grand many corporate and philanthropic Board subjects, economic ambitions whatsoever to be at the of Directors and is respected for his events, regulatory pinnacle of the insurance industry work as Chairman of UNICEF. actions and practice where he is today. He remembers management. The how, as a young agent, he ran into a Linkletter, is as famous for being a multi- IARFC makes no claim sales slump barely four months into millionaire businessman as he is for as to accuracy and his job. “I was intimidated by the performing. For over 30-years Link-letter does not guarantee or sales process and felt nervous about Oil Enterprises has drilled for oil and gas endorse any product or calling people. I just turned 22, in Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, Canada, service advertised or didn’t own any insurance and didn’t Alaska and all parts of the USA. Art was featured. Articles, have many friends who could afford highly active in the start-up of the comments and letters to buy policies from me,” he recalls company that is now Freeport-McMoran, are welcomed by e-mail his beginner’s snag. one of the leading corporations on the to: [email protected]. Art Linkletter New York Stock Exchange. ISSN 1556-4045 continued on page 3 continued on page 5 www.IARFC.org Serving Financial Advisors Worldwide 800 532 9060 Register Letters We welcome your comments, suggestions and ideas. Please direct correspondence to: [email protected] Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Financial Planning Building What a nice surprise to load up the new I suppose we are similar to a “circus 2507 North Verity Parkway IARFC website, which is much easier to barker” or “ring master” since we have to P.O. Box 42506 Middletown, OH 45042-0506 view and navigate. Please consider using coordinate so many people into getting 800 532 9060 • Fax 513 424 5752 homepage to directly address prospects organized, making sure they’re on top of www.IARFC.org (why and how to find us) and use the ball, and balanced on the beam, as another page for why advisors should much as possible financially, can still BOARD OF DIRECTORS become a RFC. I think that would be a swing or reposition from time-to-time, and more effective use of search engine have a net under them most of the time. Edwin P. Morrow, Chairman & CEO optimization and more profitable for the CLU, ChFC, CFP® , CEP, RFC® RFCs who would welcome new clients. I Also, when people have decided to eat [email protected] also think the terminated RFC language fire or swallow swords, we try to sooth Judith Fisette-Losz, Executive Director may be a bit confusing as to whether their ills as much as possible. And we [email protected] someone just resigned on their own or “hold their hands” to help get them away whether they were terminated for not from any crisis. When the animals come H. Stephen Bailey, President paying overdue membership fees. running out of their cages, we try to LUTCF, CEBA, CEP, CSA, RFC® [email protected] make sure they have enough stored food The Financial Advisor Profile section was to keep them at bay. Jeffrey Chiew very easy to update. I printed cards to ® ® DBA, CLU, ChFC, CFP , RFC match the IARFC Ethics brochures and And last, but not least, when the [email protected] stapled them to the back. Monday night “clowns” travel out on those undersized John E. Grable a prospective client asked me “Why cycles, tiny cars, or wobble on only one MBA, Ph.D, CFP®, RFC® should I trust you?” I merely pulled out wheel unicycles waiting for an accident [email protected] the brochure and he closed himself. to happen — we are waiting in the wings Vernon D. Gwynne to assist in picking up the pieces so they CFP®, RFC® It is important to me that I am promoting can keep a smile on their faces. [email protected] a designation worth promoting, unlike my Derek D. Klock membership in the now devalued, easily This is why the public will always need MBA, RFC® obtained CSA. This Saturday I will be qualified financial advisors! [email protected] attending the Texas NAELA chapter meeting where I will again use the Constance O. Luttrell, RFC® Edward J. Ledford ® brochure to promote the RFC designation Franklin, TN CLU, RFC to the membership. Your continuing [email protected] restrictive standards and improved Constance O. Luttrell website are as helpful as I had hoped Available Free For IARFC Members RFC® and may well be worth the $50 dollar [email protected] increase in membership fees next year The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Ruth Lytton (but let’s not get too carried away). I have publishes a quarterly magazine titled MS, Ph.D., RFC® been disappointed with the membership Economic Review. This publication is [email protected] churn at CSA and the huge drop in available at no cost for IARFC members. James McCarty, Secretary membership at SFSP where I used to be To receive this journal simply write and CLU, RHU, LUTCF, RFC® a member. ask to be placed on the mailing list to: [email protected] Charles Luedtke, RFC® Public Affairs Department Burnett Marus, Treasurer Mesquite, TX Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta RFC® [email protected] 1000 Peachtree Street, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30309-4470 William J. Nelson Helping Keep Everything Going ® LUTCF, CEP, RFC Under The Big Top! Keep up the good work for all the IARFC [email protected] members. See you at the Forum in May! Ruben Ruiz The IARFC and the Register guide ChFC, CLU, MSFS, CSA, RFC® advisors who are trying to help their Lester W. Anderson, MBA, RFC® [email protected] clients deal with the “Circus of Life.” Duluth, GA _________________________________ Wendy M. Kennedy, Editor [email protected] The Register welcomes your articles about the profession, planning techniques and Stephanie Langster, Administrative Assistant practice management. You may submit articles of 300 to 1,500 words via [email protected] e-mail, with an electronic photo and a short bio of not more than 100 words. Page 2 The Register • December 2005 continued from page 1 O’Dell Profile INTERNATIONAL From this early setback, which almost made have more options to save. Everybody him quit the industry, to being a top wants a piece of this action. But we have IARFC executive in one of the world’s most been focusing on our true mission — which COORDINATORS established insurance firms overseeing one is to offer protection. Nobody can take that of Southeast Asia’s most developed from us.” insurance markets. O’Dell says that his Jeffrey Chiew professional trajectory has been forged by a In fact, AIA Singapore has maintained its Asia Chair belief in building and maintaining strong number one position in the country under DBA, CLU, ChFC, CFP®, RFC® personal relationships.