It's May 7, 2006 and I'm writing this en route to the National Structured Trade Association ("NSSTA") Annual Meeting, this year at the Westin Rio Mar in Puerto Rico. Once there I am going to , in no particular order, have fun, see some friends, make some new ones, learn something new, share some ideas, get some continuing education credits and build and enhance business relationships. In the meantime I'm catching up on required reading.
It's therefore fitting that today's post is about business ethics. Ronald F. Duska, PhD , Professor of Ethics at the American College and chair holder Charles Lamont Post Chair of Ethics and the Professions for the last 10 years has written a great article called "On Melancholy" published in the May 2006 Journal of Financial Service Professionals.
Duska states and I concur that "the foundation of the American College", which is responsible for many of the financial service industry's (and structured settlement industry's) most recognized professional designations such as Chartered Life Underwriter ("CLU"), Chartered Financial Consultant ("ChFC"), Chartered Adviser in Senior Living ("CASL") and Master of Science in Financial Services ("MSFS") and more, "rests on the premise that insurance sales", which include annuities…structured settlement annuities, "can and must be carried out in a professional manner".
The NSSTA also has a statement of ethics which forms its foundation
The written statement is evidence that as a group people its members believe that it is possible to act ethically in business.
A small number of people in our industry appear to start out with the premise that people or companies are basically unethical
This embodiment is evident in how they carry out their business and interact with others. This is a toxic way to be, is untrue, and it should stop.
The NSSTA's Broker Relations solution is evidence of a professional assocation that is interested and has taken the intiative to achieve successful organizational and industry change
Broker Relations offers a new avenue for conflict resolution through an independent firm, d3, which specializes in this area. In its initial stages Lynn Courier, d3's representative will be in contact with with heads of each NSSTA member structured settlement brokerage firm to gain an understanding of their perspective. The best way to effect change is to get involved.
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