In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Heather Kelly, the Senior Vice President of Advisory and Strategic Accounts at Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.
Heather has been in the industry for over 25 years. However, if she was asked at the beginning of her career what wealth tech means, and what it would mean after decades, she would brush it off and continue doing what the mentors before her told her to do.
Heather has been in different roles in different big insurance companies, including United Capital and Allianz. Throughout those years, she offered her expertise and led the conversations about risk management, insurance, retirement planning, and now, fintech innovation and integration. Heather was also the first recipient of The Young Professional Honor for her advocacy in helping women excel in their profession.
Heather and Jack discuss the future of distribution, continuous innovation in the industry, and advocating for increased knowledge of technology.
“Continuing to innovate, continuing to think what the next iteration is going to be, what’s going to make the client experience and the advisor experience even better—that’s something we should talk about in the industry often.” ~ Heather Kelly
Main takeaways
- The most important part of a retirement plan is achieving financial well-being. It’s not about the income, it’s about prioritizing the behavioral aspects of it.
- Advisors have to stay current with technology. Educating yourself about innovative tools, and knowing how to integrate them, keep you from being left behind.
- There are so many fintech tools available, but firms don’t know what to choose and how to adapt to them for the highest ROI.
- Emerging technologies like AI and Machine Learning can change the course of the financial planning and advice industry.
- As financial advisors, we must be attentive to changes and be easily adaptable. Continuing to educate yourself is the key to staying on top.
Links
- Heather on LinkedIn
- About Heather
- Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America
- United Capital
- Modern Wealth: The Roadmap to Improved Investor and Advisor Outcomes
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