New Investment Firm for Independent Advisors Launches
New Investment Firm for Independent Advisors Launches
David B. Ciotta
David B. Ciotta
 
Chief Executive Officer, Cofounder
Iselin, NJ, November 11, 2014

TAGS: Retirement Planning, Independent Advisors, public sector, ABMM Financial

 

In Response to Growing Need for Retirement Planning For Public Sector and Not-for-Profit Employees

At a time when news reports of underfunded pension plans for teachers and municipal employees have become commonplace and America’s troubled Social Security system offers little comfort for future financial security, David B. Ciotta, formerly Senior Vice President for one of the nation’s largest insurance manufacturers and investment advisory companies, recently announced the launch of ABMM Financial, an investment firm based in Iselin, NJ.

One of the primary goals of ABMM Financial is to provide employees of all types of not-for-profit organizations, in particular public schools, with a broader range of retirement savings options, with an emphasis on improving participation.  The company is equally committed to providing professional investment advisors with the widest variety of retirement plan platforms and investment management tools available, backed by a much higher level of consumer-facing marketing support than is customary in the industry.

In making the announcement, Mr. Ciotta said ABMM Financial is dedicated to making it easier for public sector and not-for-profit employees to set up and access information about retirement planning aided by the use of the most progressive online platforms, social media and other forward-thinking communications technologies.

A 16-year veteran of AXA Advisors – and the son of two lifelong educators – Mr. Ciotta, ABMM’s CEO and co-founder, and Michael R. Zarelli, ABMM’s CFO and co-founder, are both keenly aware that only approximately 30 percent of school employees are currently enrolled in school-sponsored 403(b) plans1 and that participation in some school districts is as low as 18 to 20 percent.2  This statistic stands in stark contrast to private sector employees’ approximately 71 percent participation rate in 401(k) retirement plans.3

“We founded ABMM Financial to better educate people in the not-for-profit community about investing in their future,” Ciotta said, “and to provide these dedicated, hard-working individuals with a wider range of best-in-class investment product options from which to choose.

According to Mr. Ciotta, most people who work in the public sector don’t have a clear understanding of the retirement challenges they will face. 

“Some employees don’t even think they need the help, so they don’t work with a professional investment advisor they can rely on for advice,” Ciotta said, “and others are uncertain about the true value a professional investment advisor can bring to the table.” 

He said the company also wants to make it easier for independent investment advisors to interact directly with ABMM, and with their clients, by providing them with a golden opportunity to diversify their retirement investment product offerings, while at the same time helping these advisors manage their clients’ retirement savings accounts more efficiently through the use of cutting-edge technology.

“ABMM is going to fill the gap,” Ciotta said, “between what the typical insurance company offers its career agents and what the independent advisors would otherwise have to find, develop and pay for themselves.”

For more information about ABMM Financial, visit: abmmfinancial.revsystems.net.

Securities and Advisory Services Offered through GWN Securities, Inc.
a Registered Investment Advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC.
11440 N Jog Road, Palm Beach Gardens FL 33418 (561) 472-2700.
ABMM & GWN Securities, Inc. are non-affiliated companies.

1 Life Insurance Market and Research Association (LIMRA), “Retirement Plans – Increasing Participation Rates in the K-12 403(b) Market,” August 2014.
2 Ellie Lowder, Editor, National Tax-deferred Savings Association (NTSA) “Market Beat.”
3 U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, “National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2013.”

ABMM Financial Contact Info

517 Route 1 South
Suite 4100
Iselin, NJ 08830
P (732) 475-0340
F (732) 391-4284