Women in Insurance and Financial Services (WIFS)

Ways Membership Can Help to Advance Your Career

Evelyn Gellar Michelle Harm Jessica Jeffers

marketing and lead generationpractice managementAs Seen in Leading Edge MagazinePenn Mutual is pleased to provide its advisors with the latest thought leadership and insights in its quarterly field publication, Leading Edge.

One important way Penn Mutual demonstrates its commitment to women is through

its involvement in Women in Insurance & Financial Services (WIFS), an 80 year old

national organization with 20 chapters across the United States and 1,100 members

nationwide. The mission of WIFS is to attract, develop and advance women in the

financial services industry. For several years, Penn Mutual has supported WIFS in the

Partners for Excellence program. In 2015 and 2016, Penn Mutual has been the only

organization that has partnered at the highest level, known as the Leadership Level.

Two of the eight members of the WIFS Executive Board

are af f iliated with Penn Mutual, including President-Elect

Evelyn Gellar, LUTCF, Empire Wealth Strategies (Cooper

Agency), New York, NY; and Director Michelle L. Harm, The

Heartland Group (Corteen-Rotter Agency), Southf ield, MI.

The women of Penn Mutual have taken leadership roles

on the national board of WIFS and Penn Mutual advisors

are founders and leaders of several WIFS chapters around

the country. Currently there are 63 WIFS members in total

af f iliated with Penn Mutual. Penn Mutual Chairman & CEO

Eileen McDonnell delivered the keynote address at WIFS’

2015 National Conference, entitled Our Time Is Now! Chart

Your Course toward Career Success.

According to the 2015 Penn Mutual Female Advisor Survey,

the top f ive areas in which female advisors say a women’s

resource group should of fer support are listed below. And to

no surprise, WIFS is committed to helping women in each of

these areas:

1. A mentorship program

2. Women advisor study groups

3. Practice development forums

4. Educational events for female advisors

5. Personal development forums

Thanks to Penn Mutual’s corporate support, any advisor or

f ield leader af f iliated with Penn Mutual (male or female)

can join the national organization at the reduced Partner

Member rate of $130 in 2016. Annual membership fees to

local chapters with one of WIFS’s 20 local chapters range

from $25 to $65. As a corporate partner, Penn Mutual

associates and advisors can join the national organization at

the reduced national membership of $130 in 2016.

This is an excellent time to become a WIFS member, if you

have not done so already. In this article, seven great reasons

to get involved with WIFS are highlighted, as explained by

Penn Mutual women who are active in the organization.

#1 – Mentorship ProgramThe WIFS Mentorship Program matches mentors and

mentees for two time blocks per year: Power Start f rom

January 15 to May 30 and Finish Strong from July 14 to

November 30. Mentors may sign up to participate in either

session at any time, while mentees must apply during

session-specif ic enrollment periods – e.g., April 1 to May 5 for

the 2016 Finish Strong session.

“Our mentorship program is designed as a safe haven where

WIFS members can talk through their businesses, practices,

obstacles and opportunities and receive feedback on

ways to look at issues dif ferently,” says Evelyn Gellar. “Each

mentoring pair is matched based on similar personality

styles, and we also match people with dif ferent experience

and perspectives. As a baby boomer mentoring a millennial,

I have found that this relationship has led to reverse

mentoring, and I have learned as much from her as she has

learned from me. I believe our mentoring program is one of

the most important reasons today’s younger generation is

attracted to WIFS.”

Jessica Jef fers, Associate Partner and Sales Manager,

Cambridge Financial Center (Andrus Agency), Salt Lake

City, UT, participated in the WIFS mentorship program in

2015 as both a mentor and mentee. She says the program

helped her open new lines of communication outside her

own agency for addressing both personal and business

issues. “One of the biggest issues for women in our business

involves managing the work-life balance. How do you build

your practice and still get home at night to take care of your

family? As a WIFS mentor, it is your responsibility to reinforce

that this can be done.”

#2 Networking OpportunitiesMichelle Harm’s practice is a business partnership

with Donna DeGennaro, whom she met through WIFS

net work ing. Both women were instrumental in forming

WIFS’s Michigan chapter, starting in 2008. At the time,

Michelle was af f iliated with National Life of Vermont and

Donna with New England Financial. They continued to

build the chapter together, and eventually both joined

the Metro Detroit branch of The Heartland Group, Penn

Mutual ’s career agency in Chicago. Currently, Michelle

serves as the Michigan chapter’s Past President and Donna

as its Vice President.

Says Michelle: “I was fortunate to have found the networking

support I needed from WIFS at the right time, when I knew

I needed to make a career and company change. I was able

to draw on trusted relationships with other WIFS members

for advice and counseling. We like to say that we are all

colleagues at WIFS, even though we may be competitors out

on the street. You never know whom you will meet at WIFS,

and fortunately I met Donna, whose experience and skills

complement mine.”

#3 EducationWIFS educates members on several levels, starting with

monthly webinars that can be accessed live or via archive.

The webinars’ special edge, according to Evelyn, is their

emphasis on how women approach f inancial services

dif ferently than men. “Our members say they want

education on relationship-centered practice management,

with a strong focus on client communication. The webinars

address subjects such as building strong bonds with clients

through empathy, how women view money, and how to

meet women’s needs for f inancial security.”

Through partnership

with The American

College, WIFS is

co-sponsoring a new

program that launched

in January 2016 to help

its members attain the

Retirement Income

Certif ied Professional®

(RICP) professional

designation in one

year of concentrated

study, at a discounted

group tuition rate. The

membership’s desire

to earn this particular

designation emerged

from a survey conducted at the 2015 WIFS National

Conference in Baltimore last October.

Also in 2016, for the f irst t ime, WIFS members will learn

f rom each other through volunteer and self directed

Mastermind study groups that exchange best practices.

Designed for non-managers, they meet v irtually once

a month for a year and each participant facilitates the

monthly topic. A Managers study group has also been

formed with similar objectives where members commit

to a year long process, holding each other accountable to

discuss relevant topics.

Evelyn says WIFS has steadily grown its membership at a

“ I was fortunate to have found the

networking support I

needed from WIFS at

the right time, when I

knew I needed to make

a career and company

change."

6-7% annual rate by staying attuned to changing needs of

professional women, especially education. “A top goal of our

Executive Board is to engage every single WIFS member so

they are leveraging all member benef its.”

#4 LeadershipWIFS provides local support through its chapters and anyone

who wants to start a local chapter will be helped by leaders

f rom the national organization, headquartered in Albany,

NY. Leaders in these local chapters who produce results

can move up to the National Board as Directors, as Evelyn

and Michelle have done. Directors of special merit are also

chosen to serve on the Executive Board, moving “through

the chairs” of Treasurer, Secretary, President-Elect and

President. At the WIFS National Conference in October

of 2016, Evelyn will be installed as the incoming President,

succeeding Susan Glass, LUTC, of New York Life (Atlanta).

Evelyn will be WIFS’s f irst Hispanic President ever.

Michelle recalls that when she f irst became involved with

WIFS in 2008, there was no chapter in Michigan and she

didn’t even know a national organization existed. “It began

with a few like-minded women who held an event to get

better acquainted, and from that we grew our chapter.

At a time when

many associations

are having

trouble attracting

members, WIFS is

healthy and keeps

growing because

it has a core group

of very successful

women. I knew I

wanted to be part of

it, and I also wanted

the challenge of

growing myself

through leadership

in the chapter and

at the national level – making a name for myself out there.”

To expedite decision-making and promote new leaders,

WIFS operates with a lean Executive Board of just eight

members, while assigning project work to member-

based committees and task forces. Evelyn says a priority

of the current Executive Board is to promote leadership

opportunities for younger women in f inancial services.

Jessica Jef fers is leading the ef fort to create a new Utah

WIFS chapter. She is also involved in a committee led by

Michelle Harm for engaging new WIFS members nationally.

“Penn Mutual has made a signif icant investment to support

the growth of the women’s market through the myWorth

program and also its support of WIFS,” Jessica says. “I

appreciate that commitment and want to be part of it.”

#5 Role ModelsWIFS provides a showcase for some of the most successful

women working in f inancial services. At the annual three-

day National Conference, members of the organization’s

Circle of Excellence are recognized, based on industry

achievement and income.

In 2015, WIFS published its f irst research study in book form,

Women at the Top. Written by Arthea Reed and Diane

Dixon, it profiles 23 top women advisors and their journeys

to success. “Most of these women earn $500,000 and up.

Four earn more than $1 million and two have earned more

than $10 million in a single year,” says Evelyn. The book can be

ordered in hard copy, paperback or e-book formats. (Search

on iUniverse.com for the title.)

For Jessica, the most valuable WIFS role models have been

other women who are successfully balancing careers and

family commitments. In addition to working as an advisor

and sales manager, she is a single mom with a four-year-old

daughter, Paisley, and 16-month-old son, Jayce. “When you

are a woman wearing so many hats, it’s easy to feel you are

failing at one of them. It’s nice to be able to call another WIFS

member who has walked in the same shoes successfully.”

“ I have been able to meet like-minded

women who don’t mind

sharing great ideas.

Women do this business

differently than men,

and one big difference

is the desire to freely

share and support."

#6 Idea-SharingMichelle says one of the most important benefits of

WIFS for her is that “I have been able to meet like-

minded women who don’t mind sharing great ideas.

Women do this business differently than men, and one

big difference is the desire to freely share and support.”

Evelyn adds that “women don’t hold back on idea-

sharing. At our last National Conference, we held

a session called Fast & Furious, at which we invited

WIFS members to share their best idea with the

group. The line to share ideas went out the door.”

Jessica says some of the best ideas she heard at the

2015 WIFS National Conference were offered by an

attorney during a session on planning for divorcees.

“This was an example of how WIFS ideas work hand-

in-hand with Penn Mutual’s myWorth program. Using

myWorth’s Divorce Checklist (PM6571), one woman

on my team has developed a defined process that has

helped her network with several divorce attorneys.”

#7 Industry InvolvementMichelle says that WIFS recognizes the importance

of advocacy and has recently partnered with the

National Association of Insurance and Financial

Advisors (NAIFA) in their Advisor 2020 initiative.

With support f rom the GAMA Foundation, the

initiative aims to help f inancial advisors anticipate

future challenges and positively inf luence them.

WIFS also is working with Penn Mutual and other

corporate Partners for Excellence to develop ideas

for attracting more young women into f inancial

services careers.

Make a Personal Commitment to WIFS

Penn Mutual is very committed to supporting

the growth of WIFS, nationally and through local

chapters, and our involvement is paying of f on

multiple levels. Says Michelle: “In 2012, something

needed to change in my life, and that’s when I made

the decision to join Penn Mutual. The company’s

involvement as a WIFS Partner of Excellence played a

big part in my decision to join The Heartland Group.

Now, three years later, I ’ve just completed my Career

Builder contract with Penn Mutual. I ’ve achieved this

while having a family and creating a new partnership

with another advisor, and all the way WIFS has

given me support, information and encouragement.

Without WIFS, I don’t know where it would have

come from.”

Adds Jessica: “Participating in WIFS requires a

commitment of time and money. But because

Penn Mutual is such a big WIFS supporter, we can

join at a discount on the national dues. I encourage

other people in our company, women and men, to

participate, because WIFS will have a positive impact

on your life and practice.”

To learn more about WIFS, v isit https://wifsnational.

org or contact Jessica Choi at 215-956-8112 or via

email at Choi. Jessica@pennmutual.com.

© 2016 The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company Philadelphia, PA 19172 www.pennmutual.com

T3805 | 03/16 1452568PH_Mar18

Why Men (and Leaders) Should Join WIFSWhen David LaBricciosa attended the 2016 National Conference of Women in Financial Services (WIFS) in Baltimore, he walked into one meeting room, sat down and looked around. He was the only male in sight. The woman sitting next to him said: “Now you know how I have felt being the only woman at most financial industry meetings.”

David was attending in several capacities. As Managing Partner at AspireWealth Planners, Penn Mutual’s agency for the Chesapeake Bay region, Baltimore area and Washington D.C. Metro marketplace, he was the local leadership face of WIFS’ only

Leaders Level Partner for Excellence. He also was supporting three females in his office, two advisors and an agency manager, who are active in WIFS’ Maryland Chapter, to which he also belongs. Finally, he was there to grow as a leader and help his agency adapt to inevitable change.

David joined Penn Mutual in November of 2014 after 20 distinguished years as a life insurance agency leader with another company. “We currently have 23 advisors in our agency, and only two are women,” he says. “I know it’s not the right mix, but it’s what I inherited. It is my goal to create a field force in our agency that is more representative of the community we serve, which has huge numbers of successful women, as well as a large multi-ethnic population.”

“As field leaders, it is our role to help create the future. The only way we will become more than what we are today is to put ourselves outside the traditional model. By becoming a member and participating in WIFS, I have opportunities to learn from different perspectives about the challenges people are facing, to enter and survive in this business.”

WIFS also has given David role models for different ways leaders can communicate with women. One is Penn Mutual CEO Eileen McDonnell, who gave the keynote address at the National Conference David attended. “Trust is a big factor in everything we do, especially in the women’s market,” he says. “In her talk, Eileen built trust by putting herself out there so that the audience could see the whole person – her vision and journey, the ups and downs of her career path.”

Soon after returning from the conference, David addressed members of his agency at a weekly training class, encouraging them to become involved in WIFS. “I talked about the new relationships I had made at the conference and how important relationships are to women. Whether they are professionals giving advice or business owners receiving advice, women want to participate in advice. It’s why we are building our agency on a culture of relationships and financial planning, rather than transactional services.”

In the year David has been a WIFS member, one thing has changed in his life. “I am having many more conversations today with talented women in our market who are interested in joining our industry and company. Penn Mutual has a competitive advantage in this market, not just because it sponsors WIFS but also because it is supportive of the evolution women represent. But if we personally don’t get out of our comfort zone and do non-traditional things, we will not take our company and our own businesses to the next level.”