AALU and GAMA Members Approve Combination

The members of the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU) and GAMA International have voted to approve the organizations' proposed combination, the groups announced today.

Resources

A copy of AALU-GAMA membership vote announcement is available here.
An earlier article about the AALU-GAMA combination is available here.

The groups did not release vote tallies, but Marc Cadin, AALU's president, said in a written comment that the groups received an "overhwelming amount of yes votes."

Cadin said the vote for the AALU-GAMA International combination shows that there is strong support for unifying the financial security profession.

"It is time to change the status quo, and now we can officially get started," Cadin said.

Bonnie Godsman, GAMA International's chief executive officer, said that "the members have spoken."

"There is no doubt that creating this new organization is what our profession needs," Godsman said.

AALU is a Washington-based group for life insurance and retirement planning professionals that was founded in 1957. It has been active in working to shape financial services policymaking in Washington.

GAMA International — a group formerly known as the General Agents and Managers Association — is a Falls Church, Virginia-based provider of education and networking opportunities for field managers at life insurance companies and investment companies. It was founded about 85 years ago.

The groups announced plans to combine their operations in July.

The groups today described the proposed transaction as an effort to create "a new organization that will represent the financial security profession."

They did not use words such as "merger" or "acquisition."

The groups said that their members have approved the dissolution of each organization. The members will join a new organization, with a new board of directors, the groups said.

"In the coming months, AALU and GAMA will announce the new organization's name, host their annual meetings, Lamp and Transform, combine operations and memberships, and officially become one organization," the groups said.

Cadin will be the chief executive officer of the new organization, and Godsman will be the president, the groups said.

The groups said the incoming chair of the new organization's board will be Kelly Kidwell of Pacific Advisors, a Guardian Life Insurance Company of America agency.

Jeri Turley of Winged Keel, an M Financial firm, will be the chair-elect.

— Read GAMA Foundation Follows Sister Into AALU Deal, on ThinkAdvisor.

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