Following
the
company’s
initial
public
offering
(IPO)
and
its
choice
to
focus
exclusively
on
retirement
solutions,
FOA’s
acquisition
of
AAG
was
a
natural
way
to
stake
a
major
claim
of
leadership
in
the
business.

The
acquisition
has
created
opportunities
for
Sieffert
in
her
new
leadership
position,
having
been

elevated
to
the
role
of
FOA
president
shortly
after
the
acquisition
of
AAG
was
finalized.

“We
believe
there’s
a
significant
opportunity
to
bring
home
equity
for
retirement
into
the
mainstream,”
she
said.

Challenges
associated
with
retirement
help
emphasize
the
importance
of
having
a
more
mainstream
conversation,
since
those
living
on
fixed
incomes
find
themselves
worrying
about
costs
of
living
stemming
from
inflation,
longevity
planning
and
unexpected
health
care
costs,
she
said.

It’s
becoming
more
important
to
emphasize
that
health
care
costs
can
often
arise
unexpectedly,
she
explained,
and
having
a
plan
to
deal
with
them
can
be
critical
to
maintaining
quality
of
life
in
retirement.

Reverse
mortgages
for
purchase
are
taking
up
more
conversation
on
the
reverse
side
of
the
business
recently.
Sieffert
explained
how
FOA
and
FAR
see
an
opportunity
there,
particularly
when
it
comes
to
bringing
aboard
partners
from
the
real
estate
industry.

“Obviously,
it’s
hard
to
move
right
now,
but
people
do
have
a
lot
of
equity,”
she
said.
“So,
if
you
can
afford
to
put
maybe
a
50%
to
70%
down
payment
on
a
home,
but
you
still
can’t
afford
the
mortgage
payment
because
of
interest
rates,
you
could
use
a
reverse
for
purchase
so
that
you
don’t
have
a
payment
on
that
gap.”

Sieffert
also
suggested
bringing
more
financial
planners
up
to
speed
on
the
product
mechanics.
They
could
potentially
advise
their
senior
clients
about
the
use
of
a
reverse
mortgage
to
protect
against
sequence-of-returns
risk,
where
a
reverse
mortgage
line
of
credit
is
tapped
in
times
of
market
volatility
until
an
investment
portfolio
stabilizes.

The
acquisition
of
AAG
also
presents
a
unique
marketing
opportunity
for
FAR
to
make
use
of
a
ubiquitous
spokesperson.
Tom
Selleck,
as
well
as
the
development
of
additional
products
in
the
space
to
meet
the
growing
needs
of
the
senior
demographic.

But
by
introducing
the
reverse
mortgage
product
concept
to
more
professionals
in
the
forward
mortgage
and
real
estate
spaces,
Sieffert
hopes
that
additional
technology
tools
can
be
developed
to
further
enhance
the
business-
and
consumer-facing
sides
of
the
industry.

Sieffert
previously
shared
that
FOA
has
a
“word
of
the
year,”
and
for
2020,

that
word
was
“resilience.”
This
year,
while
many
are
saying
“survive
until
2025,”
she
aimed
to
choose
a
different
word
for
her
team.

“This
year,
it’s
‘prevail,’”
she
said.
“And
really,
the
idea
is
we
understand
that
the
team
feels
in
some
ways
like
we’re
in
this
battle.
It
feels
hard,
but
we
do
feel
confident
that
we
will
win,
ultimately,
and
we’ll
do
that
by
providing
the
best
value
to
everybody
that
we
serve.”