NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–New York Life, America’s largest¹ and most admired² mutual life insurer, today announced the launch of an exclusive partnership with The American College of Financial Services that marks a major step forward in defining and supporting the path to specialization for the company’s financial professionals. The partnership includes a new curriculum featuring five modular development tracks including Financial Guidance, Retirement Planning, Wealth Advisory, Business Solutions, and Estate Planning. The Financial Guidance and Retirement Planning curriculum modules are currently available, and the other three modules will become available over the next year.

“New York Life has a long history of equipping financial professionals with the knowledge and tools to meet the needs of clients and develop long-term relationships. The launch of this new curriculum marks the next stage in the evolution of New York Life’s development program, which is designed to help new and established financial professionals serve a variety of client needs supported by the full breadth of New York Life’s product solutions,” said Mark Madgett, Executive Vice President and Head of Agency. “By collaborating with The College, we have created a best-in-class, repeatable path that will lead our financial professionals to become credentialed specialists in the practice model of their choice, on a timeline that will equip them for success faster. In addition to bolstering our position as a leader in agent development, we believe this new curriculum will also benefit consumers by increasing access to more credentialed financial professionals with broader and deeper expertise to support their unique needs.”

Each of the five new modules is designed to provide agents an opportunity to receive a comprehensive career roadmap and a path to specialization aligned with New York Life’s suite of product solutions, with The College providing the knowledge base for each track:

• The Financial Guidance path addresses foundational needs, including family protection, income protection, and planning for retirement
• The Retirement Planning path focuses on diagnosing and addressing needs around investing for retirement and creating income to help clients thrive in retirement
• The Wealth Advisory path helps agents identify and address wealth accumulation strategies using a goals-based approach
• The Business Solutions path focuses on addressing the specific needs of small business owners
• The Estate Planning module path strategies for optimally managing and passing on assets, while minimizing estate and other taxes

Upon the completion of each track, New York Life financial professionals will have finished the coursework necessary to attain relevant designations from The College and will earn specialist titles only available to graduates. New York Life will cover 100% of the tuition for development track coursework at The College, and financial professionals can earn any of the following professional designations through their education:

• Financial Services Certified Professional® (FSCP®)
• Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®)
• Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®)
• Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®)
• Wealth Management Certified Professional® (WMCP®)

“When you think about what’s most important to the consumer, it’s trust—people look for financial guidance from knowledgeable professionals whom they trust,” said George Nichols III, President and CEO of The American College of Financial Services. “Since 1927, The American College of Financial Services has educated some of the industry’s leading financial professionals in keeping with the highest ethical standards. Through this partnership, New York Life financial professionals will have access to relevant applied knowledge and be able to earn industry-recognized designations and credentials that will equip them with specialized expertise to help them better serve their clients and the public.”

This partnership builds upon the longstanding relationship between New York Life and The College and deepens the organizations’ shared commitment to excellence, integrity, and knowledge-based approaches to financial guidance that ensure consumer needs are not only being met, but also understood.

ABOUT NEW YORK LIFE

New York Life Insurance Company (www.newyorklife.com), a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States¹ and one of the largest life insurers in the world. Headquartered in New York City, New York Life’s family of companies offers life insurance, retirement income, investments and long-term care insurance. New York Life has the highest financial strength ratings currently awarded to any U.S. life insurer from all four of the major credit rating agencies³.

New York Life Group Benefit Solutions products and services are provided exclusively by or through Life Insurance Company of North America or New York Life Group Insurance Company of NY, formerly known as Cigna Life Insurance Company of New York (New York, NY), or by or through affiliates or subsidiaries of Cigna Corporation. Life Insurance Company of North America is not authorized in New York and does not conduct insurance business in New York.

¹ Based on revenue as reported by “Fortune 500 ranked within Industries, Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual),” Fortune magazine, 6/2/2021. For methodology, please see http://fortune.com/fortune500/.

² As reported by “Fortune 2021 World’s Most Admired Companies ranking within Insurance (Life and Health),” Fortune magazine, 2/1/2021. For methodology, please see https://fortune.com/franchise-list-page/methodology-worlds-most-admired-companies-2021/.

³ Individual independent rating agency commentary as of 10/15/2020: A.M. Best (A++), Fitch (AAA), Moody’s Investors Service (Aaa), Standard & Poor’s (AA+).

ABOUT THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

The American College of Financial Services was founded in 1927 and is the nation’s largest nonprofit educational institution devoted to financial services. Holding the highest level of academic accreditation, The College has educated one in five financial advisors across the United States and offers master’s degrees in management and financial planning, along with prestigious financial planning designations such as the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®), Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®), Wealth Management Certified Professional® (WMCP®), Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®), Chartered Special Needs Consultant® (ChSNC®), Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®), and education leading to the Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) certification. The College’s faculty represents some of the foremost thought leaders in the financial services profession. Visit TheAmericanCollege.edu and connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.