Chris
Clow/RMD:
Comparing
where
we
were
in
2019
and
2020
when
seeking
conversations
with
financial
planners,
how
have
they
changed?
You
said
they’ve
gotten
better,
but
is
there
any
particular
way
that
it
has
become
easier
to
connect
with
potential
partners?

Steve
Resch:
Well,
I
think
there’s
been
so
much
research
that
has
been
published
—
and
thank
you
to

Wade
Pfau,

Jamie
Hopkins
and
everyone
else
who
has
published
research.
Advisers
have
read
this,
and
they
are
hearing
the
messaging.
We’re

cornerstone
partners
with
the


Financial
Planning
Association
(FPA),
where
I
do
webinars
for
them,
speak
at
their
conferences,
and
they’re
starting
to
hear
that
message
and
they’re
absorbing
it.

One
thing
about
advisers
is
that
they
are
slow
to
move,
and
it
can
take
a
while
for
them
to
[come
around].
Going
back
to
conferences
in
2019,
we’d
be
there,
and
people
would
come
up
and
say,
“What
is
Finance
of
America?”
And
I’d
say,
“Well,
we
work
with
home
equity,”
and
they’d
say,
“Oh,
reverse
mortgages,”
and
then
turn
around
and
walk
away.
And
it’s
the
exact
opposite
now.
…
“Oh,
reverse
mortgages,
great.
I
want
to
talk
to
you
about
this.”

So,
the
whole
tenor
of
the
conversation
has
changed
completely.
We
are
not
embarrassed
to
be
there,
and
hopefully
someone
won’t
be
walking
away
from
us.
Instead,
we’re
excited
to
be
there
at
these
conferences,
and
people
are
excited
to
have
us,
and
are
walking
up
and
starting
conversations.

Clow:
What
do
you
think
industry
professionals
should
most
keep
in
mind
if
they
want
to
seek
out
a
financial
planner
partner?

Resch:
I
think
the
biggest
thing,
and
I
see
this
a
lot
when
I
talk
to
industry
professionals,
is
that
there’s
an
intimidation
factor
about
working
with
the
advising
community.
That
shouldn’t
be
there,
because
the
fact
of
the
matter
is
[mortgage
professionals]
have
a
product
that
the
advisers
could
use.
And
I
don’t
think
our
industry
professionals
need
to
know
all
of
the
financial
planning
applications.
The
advisers
will
figure
out
what
to
do
with
it.
The
advisers
don’t
know
how
the
program
works.
We
can
tell
them
over
and
over
again,
but
they
don’t
know
it.

This
is
where
tools
—
for
example,
like
our
Illustrator
—
come
into
play.
I
sit
with
advisers,
and
I
show
them
graphically
how
our
story
can
grow
and
compound.
You
can
see
the
light
go
on
in
their
head.
It’s
like,
“I
knew
a
curve,
but
I
didn’t
realize
it
could
[work
a
certain
way].“
And
so,
I
think
my
message
to
the
industry
professionals
is,
know
your
product,
know
how
it
works
and
focus
on
that.
You
have
a
unique
opportunity
to
help
the
adviser
bring
home
equity
into
a
financial
plan.
And
that’s
what
their
conversations
need
to
be
about.

Clow:
Is
that
easier
said
than
done?
What
would
be
a
good
first
step?

Resch:
I’ll
go
back
to
how
I
first
got
involved
in
this
industry.
It
was
a
loan
professional
who
came
to
me
in
my
financial
planning
office.
He
asked
me
if
I
could
better
safeguard
or
enhance
my
client’s
retirement
if
I
had
access
to
several
hundred
thousand
dollars.

Immediately,
my
head
went
to,
“Oh
my
gosh,
I
have
all
these
clients
who
don’t
have
long-term
care
protection.
They
don’t
have
backup
funding
for
poor
sequences
of
returns.“
My
head
went
to
all
the
applications.
I
didn’t
know
there
was
a
tool
out
there
that
could
help
me
manage
those
gaps.

So,
that’s
my
message
to
the
industry
professionals:
Know
your
product,
know
it
well,
know
it
inside
and
out,
and
be
able
to
go
to
the
adviser
and
talk
about
a
solution
that
they
may
have
for
some
gaps
in
their
clients’
financial
plans.

Clow:
What
kinds
of
steps
at
the
local
level
can
an
industry
professional
take
to
start
being
more
exposed
to
the
planners
around
them?

Resch:
Well,
I
think
they
should
all
be
involved
in
their
local
Financial
Planners
Association.
The
associations
are
all
over
the
country,
and
a
lot
of
reverse
professionals
are
involved
in
them.
The
advisers
definitely
know
them
—
they
see
them
at
conferences,
luncheons
or
what
have
you.
So,
I
think
that’s
something
that
you
really
want
to
be
a
part
of
—
your
local
advising
community.
The
FPA
is
probably
the
biggest
one
throughout
the
country.

Clow:
What
did
I
miss?
What
haven’t
we
touched
on
that
you
think
our
industry
audience
should
most
know
about
this
topic?

Resch:
I
think
it’s
really
just
understanding,
as
I
said
before,
how
the
program
works.
The
advisers
have
no
idea
how
this
program
works,
as
much
as
we
talk
to
them
about
it.
And
then
understanding
what
their
needs
are
as
advisers
is
crucial.
A
big
one
is
managing
long-term
care.
Another
is
cash-flow
management
and
paying
off
an
existing
mortgage.

To
that
end,
we
have
seen
some
restrictions
on
that
because
of
the
changes
in
the

principal
limit
factor,
but
it
is
also
a
very
big
opportunity
to
talk
to
advisers
about
eliminating
that
mortgage
payment.
Another
opportunity
is
the
HECM
for
Purchase
(H4P).
Planners
often
don’t
realize
that
they
can
use
that,
and
many
of
us
are
now
dealing
with

gray
divorce
scenarios.
Another
scenario
where
this
really
comes
in
handy
is
relocation.

Clow:
H4P
is
a
much
bigger
conversation
topic
these
days.
How
have
you
seen
it
become
more
prevalent?

Resch:
I
can
tell
you
a
quick
example.
I
had
a
mother
of
one
of
my
clients.
She
and
her
husband
had
retired
to
Florida,
and
they
were
down
there
for
15
years.
Then
the
husband
died
and
the
mother
was
by
herself.
She
wanted
to
move
back
up
north
to
be
near
her
children.

She
had
two
choices:
spend
down
her
invested
assets
—
which
were
providing
her
income
—
to
get
into
the
house
she
wanted,
or
do
a
reverse
for
purchase,
leave
all
her
investments
alone
and
let
them
continue
to
generate
income
for
her.

Relocating
is
going
to
be
a
big
thing,
too,
because
a
lot
of
people
have
moved
to
Florida,
and
when
one
spouse
dies,
they
move
back
to
be
near
family.
So,
I
think
there’s
a
huge
opportunity
there.
Gray
divorce,
eliminating
that
mortgage
payment
and
managing
long-term
care
risks
—
those
are
really,
in
my
mind,
the
biggest
opportunities.