President Donald Trump's summer White House, the 128-room Palm Beach mansion Mar-a-Lago resort, will have at least three gala events not returning to the venue next year, Town And Country magazine reports. The reason: "The venue should do no harm," Greg Propper, co-president of social impact agency Propper Daley, tells the magazine. Galas are supposed to be celebratory, make people feel good and move them to open their checkbooks. Controversy can spoil the fun, like when 3,000 protestors assembled outside the Red Cross Ball last February. Still, the Washington Post reported that more than 45 events were held at Mar-a-Lago since Election Day, with at least 10 larger and raising more money than in previous years.
Startup Helps Financial Advisors Predict Medical Costs
A new startup that just launched out of stealth aims to help financial advisors and their clients predict medical costs and plan their finances accordingly. Genivity uses proprietary algorithms to project out-of-pocket medical and assisted living costs that help ensure clients are spending their money smartly on current health care costs while also saving enough for long-term expenses, according to ChicagoInno. Genivity's Halo Assessment, which takes clients through 13 questions regarding hereditary health and personal habits, predicts how many healthy, active years a person is likely to live, how long they should expect to require assisted living care and how much they should expect to pay. The assessment costs $2,500 a year while GenivityFamily, which allows users to add family members to create a fuller picture of the family's health and potential costs, has a tiered pricing model based on the number of households and level of client service. Genivity also recently went through the Envestnet/Yodlee fintech incubator and is integrated with Yodlee.
(L-R) Anthony Conte, Frank Conte and Trent Gain
A team of hybrid advisors in Pennsylvania has launched a full-service business platform for FAs looking to go independent. Anthony Conte, Frank Conte and Trent Gain have established a platform called The Independent Grid. Cambridge Investment Research will serve as its broker/dealer. Advisors who join will be able to keep their own brand. The Independent Grid will provide administrative support, a multicustodial platform, an automatic contingency/succession plan, transition support, a dedicated marketing/business development team, financial planning services and retirement plan consulting services. "The independent space can at times be intimidating to some advisors. Some still feel that to be independent means you are totally on your own — left to your own resourcefulness," said Gain. "But gone are the days of having to go it alone."
