The course is filmed at the American College of Financial Services and taught by the College’s adjunct instructor, Don Graves, RICP®. Don is the nation’s first reverse mortgage professional to obtain the Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP®) designation and is widely credited for introducing reverse mortgage planning strategies into the RICP® program and retirement income conversation at the College.
In the 4-hour course, Don distills more than 20,000 advisor/client engagements over two decades into practical, common sense strategies. It is designed to help advisors understand how housing wealth, when incorporated into retirement income planning, can help their clients increase cash flow, reduce risks, preserve assets, improve liquidity and add new investable dollars back into their savings through strategies that are both ethical and compliant.
- Able to identify the main components of a reverse mortgage and the basic rules and regulations surrounding the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), including the aspects of the program that have changed in recent years.
- Internalize the five HECM Foundations—the strategical building blocks for all reverse mortgage strategies—and be able to identify which foundation may be appropriate for the use in clients’ individualized retirement planning.
- Explain the benefits and concerns related to reverse mortgages and evaluate if a reverse mortgage is in the client’s best interest.
- Explore asset allocation models, portfolio coordination and sustainable withdrawal rates to allow for a reasonable chance of a portfolio lasting over the client’s lifetime; understand the mechanisms whereby reverse mortgages can coordinate with retirement spending from investments.
- Demonstrate how reverse mortgages incorporate with retirement income, investments, annuities, and insurances—WITHOUT using loan proceeds—to create enhanced outcomes not otherwise achievable.
- Incorporate advanced and tax-efficient reverse mortgage strategies into a comprehensive retirement income planning process, especially as it pertains to Roth IRA rollovers.
Lesson 1: The Changing Reverse Mortgage Client
The profile of today’s reverse mortgage candidate has shifted. A more educated, higher net worth client with healthy savings is now the norm. Why did this shift happen and what should advisors know about these new emerging clients?
Lesson 2: Are You the Next Steve Jobs?
Reverse mortgages have grown in popularity among financial advisors, thought leaders, organizations and institutions. However, many advisors still have outdated information about how this tool can help their clients and strengthen their practice. The Certified Housing Wealth Advisor course is designed to help advisors overcome those challenges.
Lesson 3: The Changing Retirement Planning Landscape
Today’s financial advisor needs every legitimate tool available in order to meet their clients’ retirement goals and maintain a viable practice. Reverse Mortgages have become one such tool.
Lesson 4: The Changing Role of the Advisor
Financial professionals are being asked to know more, do more and solve bigger problems. In light of higher client expectations and fierce competition, can housing wealth education give advisors a competitive advantage? Can it help them impact more clients, find new opportunities, generate more revenue and stay 100% complaint and ethical?
Lesson 1 & 2: Reverse Mortgage Basics
Understanding the basics of the HECM Reverse Mortgage: what it is, how it works, how it came to be and the most common misconceptions surrounding it.
Lesson 3: The Five Most Important Conversations
Where do we start the housing wealth conversation? A good place to begin is with the 5 client concerns and the questions that address them.
Lesson 1: Line of Credit
The HECM foundations will serve as the backbone for all strategies covered in this course with the Line of Credit having extra significance–so much so, it’s called the 8th Wonder of the Financial World!
Lesson 2: Monthly Payment
Most retirees are used to some form of monthly income. In this lesson, see how the HECM Line of Credit can be turned into two distinct types of monthly payments and how this can dramatically increase their retirement income experience.
Lesson 3: Mortgage Replacement
The majority of boomers will enter retirement with a loan payment. Discover how using a reverse mortgage can eliminate those payments and improve retirement outcomes and client satisfaction.
Lesson 4: Mortgage Exchange
A little known technique for creating a deferred income steam or large reserve fund…all without clients having to alter their current financial behavior.
Lesson 5: HECM for Purchase
A new type of reverse mortgage allows clients to purchase a home for 50%-60% down and have no monthly mortgage payments. An entire module later in the course is devoted to how this strategy can add significant dollars to a client’s savings.
Lesson 1: Inflation, Volatility and Longevity
These three major retirement risks must be accounted for when developing retirement income plans.
Lesson 2: Mitigating Portfolio Risk
For clients in the market, having a back up plan for risk and volatility makes sense. See how housing wealth can shift outcomes and change the conversation.
Lesson 3: Buy Income and Invest the Difference
How HECMs can enhance the commonly used strategy of creating more fixed income for risk averse clients, while leaving more money in vehicles that have higher return potential.
Lesson 4: Overlooked Planning Opportunities
Most advisors are looking for new planning opportunities. What many don’t realize is that those clients may be closer than they think.
Lesson 1: Adding to Retirement Savings with the New HECM for Purchase
Discover how the HECM for Purchase can be a powerful solution for savings shortfall.
Lesson 1: Are Reverse Mortgages Expensive?
Do the costs of a reverse mortgage make sense for your client?
Lesson 1: Roth Conversions
The majority of baby boomers are concerned about future taxes; tax planning and asset class diversification are critical to retirement income planning. How housing wealth can be used to pay the taxes for a Roth IRA conversion plus secure a non-correlated asset buffer and create additional planning opportunities.
Lesson 2: Healthcare Planning in Retirement
Gaps between what clients expect to pay and the reality of long-term care costs in retirement are significant; here’s how to solve the problem.
Lesson 3: Gray Divorce Plus Six Strategies that Benefit Women
Women will live longer than men, but often make less money over the course of their lifetime. Special attention must given to female planning to ensure a successful retirement.
Lesson 1: Introducing the Subject with Clients
Learn the step-by-step process for incorporating housing wealth in your practice.
Certificate Exam
- Number of questions: 75-100
- Passing score: 70% or higher
- Time limit: 60 minutes
- Attempts: 2
- Print: You will be able to print you Certificate after passing the final exam
- Results: You will receive an email with your score and the list of questions you answered incorrectly.
Don Graves, RICP®, CLTC®, CSA is the president and founder of the Housing Wealth Institute and an adjunct instructor of Retirement Income at the American College of Financial Services. He is considered of the nation’s leading educations on incorporating housing wealth into retirement income planning.
Don has been quoted in Forbes Magazine, featured on PBS-sponsored shows, and recognized as one of the American College’s 11 Retirement Income Alumni you need to read. He is a sought-after professional speaker and his workshops are helping advisors across the country to grow their practices.
Discover How to Generate More Planning Conversations with the New Reverse Mortgage
- Prevent missed planning opportunities.
- Differentiate your practice.
- Stay compliant, ethical and legal.
- Retain current clients.
- Gain new clients.
- Be indispensable.
- Grow your practice.
- Have the most up-to-date information.