ING Launches National Practice Development Campaign With Financial Professionals to Help Grow Their Business
Collaborates With Charlie Epstein to Offer Unique 401k Coach Program
PRNewswire-FirstCall
SAN DIEGO and HARTFORD, Conn.
Feb 26, 2007
ING, a global financial services leader, is launching a national practice development campaign aimed at making it easier for financial professionals to grow and more effectively manage their retirement plan business. ING will collaborate with Charles D. Epstein, CLU ChFC AIF® to offer The 401k Coach® Program, an innovative program for developing, nurturing and building an advisor's retirement plan business, to 200 of its top financial professionals.
The ING 401k Coach Program will be conducted by Epstein, one of the leading experts in the field. He has been named as one of 401kWire.com's 2007 Top 50 Most Influential Individuals in the 401(k) Industry. Charles has been in the financial services industry for over 25 years, and has a wealth of experience in the qualified plan area and practice development. The 401k Coach Program is built around his successes in the retirement plan industry in creating client relationships and strategic alliances, and developing systematized processes to deliver a truly unique and profitable experience.
"We are thrilled to collaborate with Charlie to offer this custom program to our top financial professionals as they invest in growing and expanding their practices," said Lou Bachetti, head of corporate market sales, ING. "We will also offer this program to our corporate market wholesalers so they can provide on-going support and follow-up to the financial professionals to further ensure that training received can be effectively applied and truly impact their business."
To date, over 400 financial professionals have participated in The 401k Coach Program since its inception in 2001. Ted Benna, father of the first 401(k), calls The 401k Coach Program "a great program for holding 401(k) plan advisors accountable toward making progress in this business. They have great material and continue to make it interesting." According to an independent study* conducted in the Spring of 2006 by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst Isenberg School of Management, 80% of members had increases up to $10 million in 401(k) assets in the first year of joining the program; and, 73% reported an increase of up to 20 new 401(k) clients since joining the program.
"The 401k Coach Program takes an advisor beyond just great sales ideas," said Charlie Epstein, founder of The 401k Coach Program. "It focuses on execution and teaching the discipline of developing habits that impact the way financial professionals do business." He adds, "We are pleased that ING has decided to collaborate with us to offer its top financial professionals a truly unique approach to growing and managing their retirement plan business."
"The ING 401k Coach Program is one in a series of practice development programs and tools that ING will introduce over the next couple years designed to help financial professionals grow their practice, manage their business, build their financial knowledge and improve their sales skills," said Rick Mason, senior vice president of corporate market products, business development and strategy, ING.
The ING 401k Coach Program will be offered to ING financial professionals on an invitation only basis. The program will be offered in five cities during 2007 & 2008:
Hartford Tampa Chicago Dallas Los Angeles
Sessions (Mon/Tues) (Thurs/Fri) (Thurs/Fri) (Mon/Tues) (Thurs/Fri)
1&2 June 4th June 28th Aug. 16th Sept. 10th Oct. 11th
& 5th & 29th & 17th & 11th & 12th
Session Webcast Webcast Webcast Webcast Webcast
3 Aug. 29th Sept. 12th Nov. 14th Dec. 5th Jan. 9th, 2008
10AM EST 10AM EST 10AM CENTRAL 10AM CENTRAL 10AM PACIFIC
11AM EST 11AM EST 1PM EST
Session (Friday) (Friday) (Monday) (Friday) (Friday)
4 Dec. 14th Jan 18th, April 14th, April 25th, May 16th,
2008 2008 2008 2008
For more information on the ING 401k Coach Program, please contact The 401k Coach directly at: (877) 932-6236.
*In the Spring of 2006, The 401k Coach Program commissioned an independent study by the University of Massachusetts Amherst Isenberg School of Management. Out of the 198 members surveyed, 52% responded.
About ING
ING Group is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management to more than 60 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a diverse workforce of more than 113,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand.
In the U.S., the ING family of companies offers a comprehensive array of financial services to retail and institutional clients, which include life insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, managed accounts, alternative investments, direct banking, institutional investment management, annuities, employee benefits, financial planning and reinsurance. ING holds top-tier rankings in key U.S. markets and serves more than 15 million customers across the nation. For more information, visit www.ing.com.
Other than the ING companies identified, no other entities, whether distributing or listed on the material, are affiliated with the ING family of companies.
About Charles D. Epstein, CLU ChFC AIF®
Charles D. Epstein, CLU ChFC AIF® has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. He is a founding partner of Benefits Consulting
Group, LLC, the principal of Epstein Financial Group, and the founder and coach of The 401k Coach Program. These companies specialize in retirement plan design and administration, executive compensation planning, fee for service financial planning and business and estate preservation programs. He is also the Founder of the Family Business Center at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA. The Family Business Center is committed to supporting continued success and succession of family-owned businesses from one generation to the next. The 401k Coach Program is built around Charlie's successes in the retirement plan industry in creating exceptional client relationships and strategic alliances, and developing unique systematized processes to deliver a unique experience. For more information, visit www.the401kcoach.com.
First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: caroline.campbell@us.ing.com
SOURCE: ING Financial Services
CONTACT: Caroline Campbell of ING, +1-212-309-5931, or
caroline.campbell@us.ing.com