American General Enters The Halls Of Virtual Academia
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American General Corp. is partnering with Michigan State University with the expectation that the halls of academia will offer new distribution pathways.
As a "branded sponsor" of the new Academy of Multidisciplinary Practice and the Estate and Wealth Strategies Institute being launched at Michigan State, American General will be part of an online effort that will bring "virtual" continuing education to a cross-section of professionals, according to academy co-chancellors Robert Esperti and Renno Peterson.
The Academy's programs can be accessed at www.mdpacademy.com.
Both Peterson and Esperti say there is a need for an educational program that brings together a body of knowledge that is useful to a wide range of financial services professionals.
The Institute will include a "think tank" as well as an academy with three different tracks: wealth planning, business succession planning and planned giving. Completion of each of those tracks results in a designation of multidisciplinary counsellor.
The program includes online classes as well as an estate planning tool kit and an encyclopedia of 3,000 questions on estate planning.
It will feature Webcasts that will make it possible to access the experts' expertise, according to Donald Britton, president with American General Life Companies.
Thus, explains Peterson, the Institute would bring together professionals to explain how the new estate tax law will impact professionals. If, for example, an attorney is working with a life insurance agent on an irrevocable life insurance trust, then the Webcast would provide practical ways for the two professionals to incorporate changes in the law.
Britton cites benefits including access to Cutting-Edge Current, a compilation of relevant estate planning articles for the estate planning professional, and the ability to take any selected course that a professional wants online.
