When you ask Melanie Colusci, CFP, and Rich Micliz, CFP, about the most important priority for the CAS Field Development Committee this year, without hesitation, they point to the Teaming Program. Melanie, of Bridger Financial Group (affiliated with 21st Century Financial) and Rich, of Comprehensive Planning Concepts (affiliated with Primary Financial Group), are proud of the committee’s progress this year, particularly in the area of teaming, an important part of Penn Mutual’s distribution strategy.
“Delivering a best-in-class Teaming Value Proposition will deliver the most impact in the short term,” Rich says.
Melanie adds, “We’ve really worked hard to enhance Penn Mutual’s teaming initiative. I believe as a result of the improvements that have been made and the production increases we are seeing for financial professionals on teams, Penn Mutual is once again leading the industry.” In fact, Penn Mutual is already seeing the success of the teaming initiative, through increased production for team members compared to that of solo financial professionals of the same demographic.
But, Melanie says that there’s still a lot to be done for the teaming initiative. “While we’ve made significant enhancements to the program, we are transitioning an industry that has primarily only considered the individual, to considering a group of people as if they were one. We’re still working through bundling different products and services for teams to improve the cost structures and to create better efficiencies for them.”
Teaming isn’t the committee’s only success story this year. According to Rich, “While teaming is impactful in the short term, it organically supports our transition planning work, which I believe is our most important long-term project.”
He adds, “The work our committee does impacts financial professionals through their entire career, from the formation of their practice all the way through transition planning. That makes me most proud of what we do.”
Melanie has devoted more than 20 years to helping individuals, families and business owners create a sound financial future. A native of Montana, Melanie earned her Certified Financial Planner designation in 2003. She moved to Pittsburgh in 2008, and in 2016, she earned her Accredited Estate Planner designation and founded Bridger Financial Group. Melanie is a multi-year Five Star Wealth Manager award winner and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and Forbes Wealth Managers Black Book magazine. |