85% of respondents say deepfake technology poses an existential crisis to the business’ financial security.

Ahmed Fessi, Chief Transformation & Information Officer, explains: “Today’s CEOs and CFOs have large digital footprints. They have speeches, interviews and videos plastered across YouTube, LinkedIn and corporate websites. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can now use existing online audio content to create fake audio that sounds just like business leaders. Scammers are creating fake audio clips of CEOs and CFOs and calling the finance team asking them to pay bogus suppliers.”

When asked, the vast majority of professionals (87%) admitted that they would make a payment if they were “called” by their CEO or CFO to make a payment. This is concerning as more than half (57%) of financial professionals can independently make financial transactions without additional approval.

Yet only 40% of professionals say protecting the business from deepfakes is a top priority. A third (33%) of employees don’t feel well educated in deepfakes. There is also little faith in colleagues, as only 36% of professionals are very confident a colleague would spot a deepfake fraud attempt.

The lack of education appears true as when asked if and what technology their business uses to protect itself against deepfakes, only 5% knew what this technology was.

Fessi continues: “There are three important factors to prevent falling victim to deepfake attacks. One is education: employees should understand the threats and know how to counteract them. Second is process. Too many businesses allow employees to make payments without the right checks and balances. Third is technology. AI is a force for good for finance professionals if deployed correctly as it can spot anomalous transactions based on large data sets.”

Traditional phishing attacks involve fraudulent emails or websites that trick individuals into divulging sensitive information or performing unauthorized transactions. Deepfakes elevate this deception to a new level, generating hyper-realistic audio or video impersonations of trusted individuals (such as CEOs or CFOs) and deceiving even the most vigilant professionals. Just as organizations have safeguards and technology in place to protect against and educate on phishing, it’s critical that the same tools and processes are leveraged to increase readiness to respond to deepfake attacks.

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With 25 years of financial planning experience, Strategic Wealth Partners owner Ryan Rayburn, CFP®, occupied various leadership, recruitment and mentorship roles throughout his career before stepping back to work more closely with individuals and multi-generational families. He is joined by fellow advisor R.E. “Mike” Woodard III, CFP®, and a six-member office staff.

Based in Dallas, with an additional registered office in Minden, La., the Strategic Wealth Partners team offers personalized, in-depth financial planning and investment analysis. They take a holistic approach to wealth management and act as a quarterback for their clients’ financial needs by working closely with CPAs and attorneys to provide a comprehensive financial picture.

After learning Lincoln would be acquired, Rayburn and team embarked on a due diligence quest that led them to LPL for the next chapter of their business.

“The north star of everything we do has always been for the client, and LPL emerged as the most seamless platform for our clients’ future financial needs,” Rayburn said. “I wanted to align with an organization that makes large investments in tools and technology and has a strong track record of supporting advisors. LPL’s comprehensive suite of tools and resources were pivotal in our decision-making and will enable us to deliver differentiated services experiences that our clients expect.”

Rayburn is eager to expand his team by welcoming new advisors, particularly those of a younger generation, and guiding them to become integral members of the practice. He believes LPL’s scope and size creates a strong value proposition in his recruitment efforts.

Outside of work, the Strategic Wealth Partners team is passionate about giving back to local Dallas charities and strengthening the community by regularly supporting HopeKids and Jonathan’s Place.

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With EarlyBird’s newest launch, they aim to foster financial growth for children by introducing a unique community-based investing experience that connects family and friends to the children they love through the celebration of meaningful milestones and moments.

“After three years of supporting tens of thousands of families on their investment journey, we have applied all of these powerful learnings to deliver EarlyBird 2.0,” says Jordan Wexler, CEO at EarlyBird. “EarlyBird originally set out to disrupt how families gift to the kids they love by enabling the ability to send investments with a beautiful video/photo memory attached. After successfully becoming the simplest way to gift a financial asset to a child, we knew it was time to expand and create a true community-based investing platform.”

With the exciting launch of Moments in October 2022, EarlyBird now delivers on the team’s full vision with EarlyBird 2.0, providing parents the ability to “Build their Nest.” The Nest is a private, secure, and centralized network where all who support a child can capture, share, and invest as little as $1 to celebrate a child’s most precious moments.

The Nest eliminates the need for families to manage multiple Google Photo albums, navigate uncomfortable and very public social media posts, or juggle fragmented family iMessage groups. With its unified platform, EarlyBird 2.0 addresses all these needs under one roof, empowering families to focus on what truly matters: building a better financial future for their children.

“EarlyBird 2.0 is not just about investing; it’s about creating meaningful connections and leaving a lasting impact on a child’s life,” says Caleb Frankel, COO at EarlyBird. “We understand that these investments are more than just financial; they are about building memories, a legacy, and providing a secure future for our children.”

EarlyBird is dedicated to transforming the investment landscape for all families. With EarlyBird 2.0, parents have an unprecedented opportunity to build wealth through community support and create lasting financial security for their children, while preserving and celebrating cherished memories. Through the Nest, EarlyBird fosters connection and empowers families and friends to collectively build a priceless time capsule for generations to come.

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As CEO, Buchwald will drive Russell Investments’ continued growth and results at a time when the firm’s client-focused approach is directly aligned with the intensifying need for outcome-oriented solutions, and when the global capital markets are demanding agile, risk-managed total portfolio management.

“We believe Zach is the ideal leader to further Russell Investments’ legacy of innovation in asset management,” said Todd R. Crockett, a managing director at TA, which, along with Reverence Capital Partners, acquired Russell Investments in 2016. “We are excited to welcome Zach and fully expect his leadership, along with President and Chief Investment Officer Kate El-Hillow and others on the leadership team, will help propel the firm through the next phase of growth, with a focus on delivering a superior client experience.”

“I am deeply honored to join Russell Investments,” said Buchwald, former managing director at BlackRock, Inc. “I’ve long admired Russell Investments’ unique legacy as a pioneer in investment consulting, OCIO, portfolio implementation, and much more. Today’s Russell is differentiated by its commitment to a total portfolio approach, which is critical in our inter-connected investment universe. I am excited to work with this innovative team to help clients achieve their investment goals with the best possible toolkit.”

Buchwald joins Russell Investments from BlackRock, where as the head of its institutional business in North America he was responsible for delivering BlackRock’s investment capabilities to the firm’s institutional clients. Prior to this role, he led BlackRock’s Financial Institutions Group, and earlier he helped establish its Retirement Solutions and Financial Markets Advisory platforms. Buchwald has focused much of his career on improving financial security for retirees, which is also central to Russell Investments’ stated mission.

At BlackRock, he also served on the firm’s Global Operating Committee, the US/Canada Executive Committee, and as sponsor of its LGBT employee network.

Prior to joining BlackRock in 2008, Buchwald served as a managing director at Morgan Stanley, where he held positions of increasing responsibility within the firm’s fixed income division, with leadership responsibility for the bank’s collateralized loan obligation (CLO) platform by the end of his tenure.

“This is great news for Russell Investments’ clients. I look forward to working with Zach, especially benefiting from his stellar record of innovating client solutions to deliver on their desired investment outcomes,” said Kate El-Hillow, president and chief investment officer at Russell Investments. “Zach is expertly prepared to further the firm’s innovation success—from cutting-edge asset allocation and unparalleled money manager insights to some of the earliest forays into factor exposures, and a competitively recognized implementation capability—to address the exacting demands of investors globally.”

Milton R. Berlinski, managing partner at Reverence Capital Partners, added, “Our extensive search process produced a CEO with proven leadership skills and deep industry experience who fully values Russell Investments’ mission of improving people’s financial security. Together with the firm’s leadership team, we are confident Zach will successfully further the firm’s client-centric focus and momentum from day one.”

More about Zach Buchwald

Zach Buchwald earned a B.A. in English with honors from Harvard College. He is a trustee of the Public Theater, producer of Hamilton, Fun Home and Girl from the North Country, and serves on the board of directors of the Jericho Project, a non-profit homeless service organization. He also is a frequent contributor to LinkedIn News and his work has appeared in Newsweek and Fortune magazine.

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Dayforward launched in 2021 with the mission to help families across the country create financial security for the people they love. Its innovative term life insurance offering guarantees the policyholder’s family will continue to receive their income in the event that the policyholder passes away. The company’s latest funding round brings the company’s aggregate amount of capital raised to $45M, will allow Dayforward to invest in three key areas in 2023: scaling its business nationwide, continuing to launch its proprietary solutions through strategic partners, and developing new insurance products for its portfolio.

“Today, families go through great difficulty to get the financial security they need. Life insurance can be a tedious and confusing process,” said Aaron Shapiro, Founding CEO of Dayforward. “We’ve made life insurance simple and easy to buy, with smarter coverage for families. We’re excited that we can now offer life insurance through Dayforward to families across most of America, with the rest of the country soon to follow.”

The acquisition of Commercial Travelers Life Insurance Company (CTLIC) will enable Dayforward to expand nationally and broaden its product lines across life, health, disability and retirement, making the company a more comprehensive financial security solution to its customers and partners. Dayforward’s proprietary technology and automated underwriting system deliver a best-in-class consumer experience that allows customers to complete a simple application online and get an instant decision at a great price. Dayforward is also available through a growing number of partners across the country. Its policies are reinsured by Munich Re Life US, a member of the Munich Re Group, which is one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, primary insurance and insurance-related risk solutions.

“Dayforward is a product-first, tech-enabled life insurance start-up that now has the ability to distribute through multiple channels – direct, agent, and partner – almost nationally,” said Vikas Singhal, Founding Partner of HSCM Ventures. “As a full-stack insurance company with a focus on automated underwriting and a streamlined front-end, Dayforward is positioned to innovate across core areas of the industry and seeks to bring customized products to the market that fit specific customer needs. We are excited to partner with Aaron and the team.”

Dayforward is founded and led by senior executives from across the technology, marketing and insurance spaces. Shapiro was previously Founder and CEO of Huge, a digital transformation consultancy acquired by the Interpublic Group and Founder and CEO of Silverpop, a marketing automation SaaS that was sold to IBM. Matthew Wolf, Dayforward’s Head of Insurance Product and Actuary, was previously Actuarial Lead at Haven Life, the digital innovation unit of MassMutual. Other executives include Head of Finance Zohaib Rathore, previously the Chief Risk Officer and Chief Actuary of LogitudeRe; Zoe Nolan, Head of Operations, who previously worked with Shapiro at Huge and was most recently part of the leadership team at Havas; Austin Riendeau, Head of Technology, who joined from Bitly; and Felicia McElhaney, Head of Underwriting, who previously held underwriting leadership roles at National Life Group and Crump Insurance Services.

Dayforward’s Board of Directors also has extensive industry experience as well, including: Maria T. Vullo, former Superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services; Paul Rooney, former Global Chief Operating Officer of Manulife; Elaine A. Sarsynski, former Chairwoman, President and CEO of MassMutual International; and Ronald Pressman, former CEO of TIAA-CREF Institutional.

“Companies have talked about the life insurance gap in the US forever. Dayforward is on a mission to help close this gap and bring financial security to million of under-insured Americans by rethinking the life insurance buying process from the group up starting with an innovative product design, a modern way of educating and approaching customers and delivering a seamless buying experience powered by clean UI and data driven underwriting. We are thrilled to be part of their journey and partner with Aaron and the team in building a great company.” Says Manish Agarwal, General Partner at AVP.

“The life insurance industry is going through a massive transformation and Dayforward has been driving significant change in the space. Dayforward is paving a first-of-its-kind path as a digitally-native, full stack insurance provider with the core infrastructure needed to build best-in-class products for the modern customer, across all channels,” saidPatrick Chun, Founding and Managing Partner of Juxtapose. “We’re thrilled to partner with Aaron and his team as they continue to redefine insurance products across the industry.”

Dayforward purchased Commercial Travelers Life Insurance Company from National Guardian Life Insurance Company upon receipt of all regulatory approvals. With the acquisition, Dayforward will continue to honor and service existing Commercial Travelers Life Insurance Company policies that include disability, accident, and other ancillary health products. Knut Olson, NGL’s President & CEO stated: “NGL is pleased to have completed this transaction with Dayforward and wish them well in their endeavors. This transaction represents one of the final pieces in our 4 year journey to simplify our business model and to focus our capital on our social purpose of helping more Americans pre-plan and fund their funerals.”

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Intellicheck CEO Bryan Lewis said fraud is attacking the economic backbone of communities nationwide. “Criminals don’t stop committing identity theft for a pandemic. With stores closed, they have just accelerated online fraud. Given social distancing and curbside pickup, we are seeing an increase in the use of stolen credit card numbers for buy online, pickup in store transactions. The CDC distancing guidelines also mean less bank visits and more calls to the bank call center – leading to more account takeover and account opening losses.”

Lewis said the company is committed to making a difference. “Our technology, which requires no integration, just a log in to a website, puts a stop to it for the businesses who use Retail ID Web and their customers. We are honored to do our part by providing our powerful online fraud fighting weapon at no cost to protect the economic vitality of our communities.”

With more than 99% accuracy, Retail ID Web quickly and seamlessly responds to business and consumer financial services and purchase requests, whether through call centers or online access. Retail ID Web deters losses associated with fraudulent account take-overs, new account applications and purchases. Information on terms of usage and how to obtain Retail ID Web at no cost can be obtained through Intellicheck’s website on the contact page.

The growing cost of coronavirus-related scams adds to the already record-setting pace of data breaches fueling incidents of identity theft and fraud. 165 million records containing personal data were exposed through data breaches in 2019. Javelin’s recently released 2020 Identity Theft Survey highlighted that the $16.9 billion in losses to identity theft in 2019 is only part of the story. The survey found account takeovers rose 72% in 2019. Verizon’s 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report found card-not-present fraud now accounts for nearly 75% of all card-related fraud. Formjacking, where fraudsters steal credit card data from online payment forms, is up 117% according to the Identity Theft Resource Center and other research shows new account credit card fraud climbed 88%.

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The third-annual survey examining financial literacy among 1,000 college-educated respondents found that while many feel behind, there are stark differences in the financial behaviors and priorities of men vs. women, notably in their efforts to request a raise.

Shockingly, just 40% of working females requested a raise in 2019, vs. 70% of males. Of those who sought a raise, half (49%) of women received as much or more than what they asked for, compared to nearly three quarters (72%) of men.  The 2019 study found that only 38% of working females requested a raise the prior year compared to 58% of males, and of those, 86% of females were successful, vs. 95% of males.

“Securing a raise is perhaps the quickest and most effective way for one to accelerate meeting their financial goals. However, we are seeing women not speaking up at work as much as men, resulting in them not getting the compensation they need and deserve to set them up for future financial success,” said Alyssa Schaefer, Chief Marketing Officer of Laurel Road. “The data also shows that, unfortunately, the pay gap continues to disadvantage women. While we await systemic change, women will need to continue to fight this uphill battle individually and create supportive, empowering environments for other women to do so. Women need to know their worth and ask for it!”

Is a Confidence Crisis At The Root of Gender Discrepancies?
When respondents were asked if statements with basic financial information were true¹, 67% of males and 64% of women answered one to three questions incorrectly, demonstrating they have a near-equal understanding of personal finance basics. Fintech News

Despite this similarity, women have less confidence when putting their knowledge into practice. When asked about their ability to invest their money smartly, less than two-thirds (62%) of women said they were confident, compared to 85% of men. The survey discovered a similar crisis confidence faces women when planning to pay for college, showing 84% of men vs. 67% of women were confident that they thoroughly understood their financing options to pay for college when they were applying.Investments

Schaefer added: “We know from past surveys that women face more financial difficulties than men from the outset, only to be further crippled by student debt and the pay gap. When sharing our findings, I am always asked: why? We wanted to dig into the root of these discrepancies in this survey, and we found that women and men have similar levels of basic financial literacy. What women lack is confidence in their abilities, which seems to be preventing them from thinking longer-term about their finances and taking risks – even calculated ones – like investing in a home or the stock market.”

Investing in the ‘Here and Now’ vs. Long-Haul Priorities

More than three quarters (78%) of college-educated Americans are spending more time proactively managing their personal finances this year. However, when asked about their financial plans for the next five years, women show a focus on more immediate financial priorities, such as paying down credit card debt (35% women vs. 28% of men).

Men indicated that future-looking investments such as stocks and bonds (35% of men vs. 23% of women) and real estate/homeownership (28% of men vs. 16% of women) were of more importance to them. The same priorities emerged when asked about top financial regrets over the past five years.

With $1.6 trillion in student debt weighing on Americans, one-in-five (20%) see paying off student loans as part of their financial plan for the next five years, with more respondents seeing it as a priority over asking for a raise (14%).

When Reflecting on Personal Finance, Hindsight is 20/20

Looking back, 85% of respondents regret certain financial behaviors. Of those with regrets, the top five regrets are:

• Not saving more for retirement (40%)
• Not saving more in their emergency fund (38%)
• Not paying down more debt (31%)
• Not investing more in stocks or bonds (27%)
• Not paying off a loan (17%)

Interestingly, saving for retirement topped the list of past regrets as well as future priorities (51%) when respondents with regrets were asked to look back and ahead five years. This is also the area in which Americans feel the most lag: among those who feel behind schedule, a majority cite retirement savings (55%), more than any other reason.

Additional Findings:

What’s to Blame: Among the 77% of Americans who say they are behind schedule regarding their personal financial security, the top reasons are as follows, but vary amongst men and women:

• 53% didn’t have enough money (Male – 41% vs Female – 63%)
• 40% had too many other responsibilities (Male – 46% vs. Female – 35%)
• 18% didn’t know how to do it (Male – 18% vs. Female – 18%)
• 17% didn’t have enough time (Male – 25% vs. Female – 10%)
• 14% didn’t feel confident in their abilities (Male – 15% vs. Female – 14%)
• 10% didn’t believe they could do it themselves (Male – 14% vs. Female – 6%)

Millennial Matters: Not surprisingly, millennials (32%) are the most likely generation to feel behind schedule in paying off their student debt (Gen X – 20% vs. Boomers – 11%). They are also the generation that is most prioritizing saving for college tuition for their kid(s) (35%) over the next five years (Gen X – 29% vs. Boomer – 3%).

School’s Out: Men surveyed have taken an average of five personal finance classes during college while women have taken an average of three, suggesting that women are prioritizing this knowledge less during school. Past surveys have also shown that millennial women (79%) were less likely than millennial men (94%) to prioritize earning power over passions when selecting a major during college.

Methodology
This survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 1,000 nationally representative U.S. college-educated adults, with 50% of respondents who have a graduate degree, between February 20th and February 26th 2020, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas have been set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of 1,000 nationally representative U.S. college-educated adults. The margin of error was +/- 3.1%.

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The OCC guidance (OCC Bulletin 2019-37) prescribes a framework strongly aligned with existing AML/BSA compliance and risk management frameworks. The NICE Actimize Fraud Essentials solution, based on an integrated Fraud and AML platform, enables all sizes and types of FSOs to address each of the key requirements recommended in the Bulletin through a single source, integrated solution that may be integrated and launched rapidly through its cloud-based deployment capability.

“While many large financial institutions currently have much of the recommended OCC framework in place today, there are still many mid-sized financial institutions that do not have all the pieces prescribed in the Bulletin as part of their fraud program,” said Craig Costigan, CEO, NICE Actimize. “As a comprehensive integrated, turnkey solution, our offerings bolster fraud management programs for FI’s of all sizes, preparing them to address the OCC guidance.”

NICE Actimize Fraud Essentials leverages NICE Actimize’s market-leading payments fraud prevention, digital banking protection, and case management capabilities to help firms address monitoring, detection, reporting and governance requirements stated in the OCC bulletin. Some of the key features of NICE Actimize’s Fraud Essentials solution providing support to the OCC guidelines include:

• An integrated platform that supports anti-money laundering operations as well as fraud detection and prevention controls.
• Fraud risk management preventative controls like real-time transaction analysis and behavioral analytics.
• Fraud risk management detection controls such as cross channel, line of business and payment type fraud detection models.
• Fraud risk management measuring and reporting capabilities, including out-of-the-box reports as suggested in the bulletin.
• Model Governance and auditing applications that fit the size, complexity, organizational structure and risk profile of the organization.

To learn more about the OCC Fraud Risk Management Guidelines, please read our blog post, “The OCC and Fraud Risk: Leveraging AML Frameworks to Manage Fraud.” To review the OCC Bulletin 2019-37 addressing its Fraud Risk Management Guidelines, please click here.

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“Aarti is known for leading a global team of several thousand employees through digital transformation and we welcome her perspective as we further refine our integrated customer experience and data strategies,” said Northwestern Mutual Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer John E. Schlifske. “She understands how digital and non-digital aspects of a customer’s overall experience contribute to relevance in the marketplace and position a business for growth.”

Shah began her tenure at Eli Lilly in 1994 as a senior statistician and was promoted to research scientist in 1999. She attained positions of increasing responsibility, and was promoted to senior vice president and chief information officer in 2016. Shah sits on several nonprofit boards, including the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation, Center for Interfaith Co-operation, the Indiana India Business Council and is a trustee of Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care, USA. In 2019 she was named one of four finalists for the 12th Annual MIT Sloan CIO Leadership Award and was named CTO of the year by the Indiana Business Journal and TechPoint. She also served on the Northwestern Mutual Policyowners’ Examining Committee in the fall of 2019.

Shah received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in statistics and mathematics in India before earning her Ph.D. in applied statistics at the University of California-Riverside. Her appointment takes effect March 1, 2020.

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