Small Steps, Big Wins | Myles Lambert | The Evolution of the Life Insurance Industry

Well, Paul, as always, it's great to be with you, and I echo your comments. I wish we certainly could be together in person, but it was great catching up over breakfast a few weeks ago. So it's an honor to be here with you and spend a little time. So 25 years, it seems like a long time. It feels like it went by real fast. But just like any other kid coming out of college, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do. I went through the career fair at my college and had the opportunity to secure a bunch of interviews, and I was granted the opportunity to come work for a major Wall Street firm. The opportunity that was presented to me was to work in essence on a sales desk supporting the life insurance business at that organization. It was attractive to me for a few reasons. First, it was a competitive type of role. I like the idea of being in sales. You certainly measure and benchmark yourself versus your peers. I was told that if I was any good in the role, the role would have a certain level of autonomy associated with it, and that sounded pretty good. And then lastly, it seemed like there was some real upside from a compensation perspective if I performed well. Compensation can improve over time, and that was certainly attractive as I was starting my career off. And then a little bit about life insurance products, I was intrigued to learn more. I think most of us understand what protecting solutions are all about, but I could see the value in this product set, and I was intrigued to learn more about it. So I took the opportunity, and frankly, I've never looked back.

Yeah, a lot has changed, but a lot is still very similar as relates to when I started back in the business 25 years ago. I think the biggest change that I've seen is on a few different fronts. The first was that 25 years ago, you led quite a bit with product. You led quite a bit with product. And I think what's happened over time, for the benefit of our customers and our clients, is that more often than not, most of your better advisors now lead with planning, and the product solutions become a part of the planning process. So I think that's been a big shift in the industry. The other shift that's been quite noticeable is the shift from more commission-based products to fee-based structures. I think fee-based structures in a lot of instances make sense, depending on whatever it is the advisor and the customer are looking to accomplish, and I believe that trend is only going to continue to grow. And I guess the last thing I would say is the evolution of simpler, lower-cost products is very much more in vogue today, with passive type of investment opportunities at lower cost structures than it was in decades past. So those are a few of the trends that I've really noticed throughout my career.

Yeah, I mean, look, I think you can always build out an expertise in a few product areas or one product area to be a specialist at some of these organizations. I think being an advisor, it would be difficult to just be honed in on a couple of different products. I think you have to take a comprehensive, holistic planning approach to meet your customer needs. Now, there are obviously different customer segments, right? So the level of planning may change based on net worth or where they're at as it relates to their life cycle. But I think generally speaking, to be a successful advisor in today's market, you have to have an approach that's very holistic as it relates to whatever the wealth management and planning needs of the client are.

Yeah, I mean, I think like anything else, you have to have a plan, right? You have to have a vision not only for yourself and your career but your business. And I guess the way I've kind of thought about it, frankly, no matter what part of the journey I've been in on my career, is how do I really kind of differentiate myself as it relates to the things that I believe that I'm good at, the things that I enjoy doing, really kind of focus in on those areas and use it as an opportunity to differentiate myself so that I can be successful. But also at the same time, you have to have a great understanding of the totality of what you're doing. And you can never have, whether you're an advisor or a leader, a blind spot in your approach that could hamper your success or hamper the success of your team or your business. So that's the way I've always kind of approached it. Really kind of focus in on my strengths and the things I enjoy doing, but making sure I'm not ignoring the totality of my role or what's happening in the business or what's happening within the industry so that my approach, my team's approach, is very much well-rounded so that we can be successful on many different fronts.

I mean, no doubt. One of the things that I learned very early on in my career is that the most successful leaders aren't afraid to surround themselves with top talent. But I think the key is, just like any good team, any good business, any good enterprise, the team has to be well-rounded, right? So when I think about building a team, a corporate team, a business unit, it's got to be complimentary in nature. There's got to be diversity amongst the team. So to your point, it allows me to focus in on the things that I feel that I'm good at, that I enjoy doing, and you do have the opportunity to then plug in talent that's exceptionally strong in areas that you might not be, so that overall, like I was saying a moment ago, the totality of the business unit is strong where you can compete in a variety of different ways.

Yeah, and bringing it back to the advisor and bringing it back to the most successful advisor teams that I have worked with in my career, it is about that diversity of expertise amongst the team. And to your point, if the team is over-concentrated with people that are very strong as it relates to investment management or very strong pertaining to planning, or there might be very strong team members associated with protection, that's too much concentration in a given area. You want to have that level of expertise across the entire spectrum of the team so that you can best serve your customers and your clients, and that the team overall can have more success.

Yeah, so I think specifically as it relates to protection type products, life insurance and annuity solutions, I think we have to continue to evolve as it relates to providing education around the benefit of these products. I think unfortunately, there's been a number of other organizations that talk about some of the shortcomings associated with these products. I think we got to make sure that our customers, our clients, see the value in these products, they understand the benefits that these products can provide. So I think specific to the insurance business, that's something that we need to continue to work on. That's general education. As it relates to overall financial services, overall wealth management, I think a couple of things come to mind. I think you're starting to see convergence as it relates to different support models, and I think that's only going to continue. And we need to take a step back and think about what do consumers want? Consumers want to do business on their terms, and their expectation is that it's up to us to make sure that doing business with us is easier now than ever before. Customers, clients, they expect a modern digital approach as relates to the experience they're looking for from whomever their provider may be. So I think that you'll continue to see the evolution of our distribution support models continue, meaning that customers are going to want some experience as it relates to transactions on their own, being able to do it digitally and virtually. I mean, it's table stakes if you want to buy a stock now, if you want to sell a stock or buy a bond, there needs to be digital tools in order for a customer to transact. But then when you think about the full spectrum of what a client may need, there's comprehensive planning, we keep talking about planning that needs to happen. It could be retirement planning, estate planning, whatever the case may be. I believe customers are always going to look to the advice of an advisor when it comes to more complicated financial planning matters. So what does that support model look like? What does that omni approach look like from a wealth management organization so that they can serve the full spectrum of what the customer's experience needs to be? But I guess in addition to that, what I would also say is I think the industry needs to continue to evolve as it relates to simpler product being offered at a lower cost. And we talked about that a little bit earlier. I think we've done a good job of that on a number of different fronts as relates to different product categories, as it relates to making the products a little bit simpler for the customer to understand. That also helps with the education process we just talked a few moments ago. And then the access points to get these products are less expensive than they've been in the past. I think that's how our industry continues to evolve.

Yeah, I think you've seen it happen already. I agree with you that there are still some really complex products in the marketplace today, but I think you've seen it on the asset management side, I think you've seen it on the annuity side a bit, where there are some offerings out there that are simpler than maybe other current offerings, and absolutely simpler than some of the offerings we've seen in the past. And those products have gained some real traction. And I think as an industry, that's where we need to continue to challenge ourselves. How do we continue to make our offering more appealing to a broader audience? And I think the way you do that is by making sure your offering, your product set, your product solution, is as simple as it possibly can be, and that it's being offered at different cost points so that there's more access to more consumers.

Yeah, I think that the demographics and the aging population of our advisors is certainly something that I keep an eye on. And as you said a few moments ago, you alluded to it, you don't have the same scale and size with some of the career systems, some of the other channels that used to do a lot of recruiting and developing as relates to bringing new talent into our industry. I do believe that advisor teaming, as it relates to the path forward of bringing new advisors into the business, and having the training and development happening at the local level, will be key to our success moving forward. And I've seen a number of firms, including Baird, frankly, do it as well as any firm that I've ever seen, implement a team selling structure and then have a coordinated plan as it relates to bringing new talent into the organization through that team selling structure to be successful as it pertains to the next generation of talent. So I think that's needed. But I would also say that, along the lines of what we were just talking about a moment ago, I think that as we continue to evolve as an industry, maybe there's not the need for the same number of advisors that we've had in the past, as we continue to automate and deliver products in a different way based on some of the technology platforms that continue to emerge in the industry today. And I know you're leveraging a lot of those platforms as well, because there are a number of different customer segments that we want to connect with. And as I said a few moments ago, with some customer segments, the access point from a price standpoint and the planning and or the products that are needed can be delivered digitally, and that's better for the customer, it's better for the client. While the more comprehensive planning that needs to happen will continue to get done at the advisor level. So having that comprehensive approach to how we support different customers and distribute different products with an emphasis on technology, I think will be key to our success moving forward.

No, I mean, the advances in technology have created efficiencies. And that was my point. They have created efficiencies that probably allow us as an industry to remain very effective with a population of advisors that continues to potentially shrink a little bit.

Yeah, I mean, just a personal story myself. When it comes to meeting with my CPA every year to do my taxes, or a couple of times with my attorney, since the pandemic, to your point earlier, my preference is absolutely to do it virtually because it's just so much more efficient. Now, there's always an element of trust that needs to be established in these relationships. And those two instances that I just referenced, I've been working with those professionals for years. But to your point, once the trust is established, the level of efficiency that exists today, whether it's video technology or some of the digital platforms that I referenced a few moments ago, allow us to all be that much more effective in our jobs.

Yeah, so the short of it is, we hired out a bunch of different level experts across a variety of different topics to support our advisors as it relates to things that we think are important to them or important to their client base. So it's kind of a think tank unique to Brighthouse that we can provide a certain level of expertise to advisors on a number of different fronts. But I guess taking a step back, the reason why we did it is that we're really challenging ourselves to add value to either firms or advisors outside of just being a product manufacturer. I'm very proud of the products that we manufacture and distribute, but as you know, Paul, this is an incredibly competitive industry that we're in. You have to be able to differentiate yourself in other ways. And I think this insights panel has allowed us to do that because we always challenge ourselves internally on how do we help an advisor build their business? Like, how are the different ways that we can potentially add value outside of just having good competitive product? And I feel like you have to do that. That's table stakes at this point.

Yeah, so we've tried to do it on a number of different fronts, whether it's other initiatives that our marketing organization is responsible for, we do a lot around data and analytics. I think we've been doing a nice job of providing advisors with digital tools to help them within their business. But the insights panel, we get a lot of favorable feedback on. And whether it's the insights panel or a few of the other things that I just mentioned, we're always challenging ourselves on how do we be more than just a product manufacturer and distributor to our advisors. How do we engage with them to actually help them build their business? And I think this is just one good example of that.

Yeah, we use those insights panelists to be guest speakers at certain events, as you know, provide content for us regarding whatever their level of expertise may be. And we're going to continue to figure out other creative ways that we can create content or deliver whatever information is needed to our advisors so that again, we can play a small role in helping contribute to their overall business.

Yeah, great question. I think like many, the pandemic gave me the opportunity to kind of level set a bit. And sometimes we get so focused on our habits, some of them are good and some of them bad, no doubt. I'm a believer that human beings are habit forming by nature, and sometimes you need the opportunity to kind of hit the reset button. And the pandemic, as awful as it was, did a lot for me. And my approach, and I try to take this approach with my team, I try to take this approach with my business, like we have to try to find some of the silver linings that may exist with this awful situation being the global pandemic. I mean, I think we talked about some of them already from a business perspective as it relates to some of the technology and digital advancements that came out of it. But personally for me, it helped me on a few different fronts. The first is that I recognized that a lot of what I was doing in person, on the road all the time, because I mean you knew my travel schedule, it was extensive, a lot of it could be done virtually. And I'd start with my family. That has given me the latitude to say no to a lot of in-person things because I can accomplish a lot virtually, whether it's via Zoom or Teams or some of these other platforms we spoke about earlier. So I've been around more and made some of the important things, whether it's my kids or my wife, that I needed to be at that sometimes in the past I would miss because I just didn't have the education that I can accomplish as much virtually. But in addition to that, it gave me the opportunity to kind of focus a little bit more on myself as well, and recognize that you can have a little bit more of a balanced approach because more things can be done virtually. So I just got back into the habit of making it a priority that six days a week I'm getting back into the gym. And I always got up early, but when you're on the road a lot less, it's a lot easier to work out and stay into your routine. And that's kind of been my focus. So the pandemic really helped me to understand how to balance my personal life, my work life a little bit better, because again, I can accomplish more virtually than I thought I could in the past, and it gave me a little extra time to kind of build in some things that I wanted to focus on, like to your point, getting really back into training hard again.

I hope so. I think it has.

Like, look, when you're traveling as much as I was at one point in time, you're out to dinner every night. And no matter how disciplined you are, you're not controlling the ingredients that are going into your food. I've really made it a focus to cut gluten out of my diet, which has made a big difference for me. The other big thing is, you and I have talked about this a lot in the past, like sleep. Good sleep happens, and it's even to this day, it's tough to sleep in a hotel room. So I think the combination of having more control of your diet because you're not eating out every night, coupled with a regular workout routine and good night sleep, it's all just kind of come together and it's made a pretty favorable difference for me over the last couple years.

Yeah, I mean, there's a couple things that drive me. And I mean this sincerely, we're in a noble profession. And so many of the mentors in my life have taught me that along the way. People, customers, clients, they need our help. As much as I keep saying more education, simpler products, lower cost products, it's great, but to your earlier point, what we do is still complicated. It's still complicated. But it's so important. It really is so important. Making sure that you're protecting your family in the event that something tragic happens, making sure you're saving enough for college education, making sure that you're planning for your retirement, these are all super important things. So what still motivates me is that I really believe that we're in a noble industry, and I really believe that we're doing our fellow citizens good as it relates to the planning and the advice we're trying to give them along the way. So that's certainly first and foremost for me. But in addition to that, at the stage of career that I'm at, if it's not being outwardly focused on our customers, it's inwardly focused on our employees, especially the ones within my organization. The greatest joy that I get out of my career at the juncture that I'm at is when I can play a small part in helping somebody, influencing somebody, teaching somebody certain aspects of business so that I can help them advance their career, so that I can help them achieve their career aspirations. I mean, those are the two things that are still super important to me. And I love our industry. And I think that we've had some success over the past several years. I think we're navigating a tricky macroeconomic environment right now, but what we do is important not only for our employees, but it's important for our fellow citizens, and that feels good.

Well, absolutely, Paul. This was a blast. And you've been instrumental in my life. I've learned a ton from you. And to continue to see the success that you're having and your incredible organization continues to grow leaps and bounds, it's been fun to be on this journey with you. And I hope that this is one of many conversations that we have in this type of forum moving forward.

All right, thanks Paul.