WASHINGTON (Nov. 14, 2018) — NAFA, the National Association for Fixed Annuities, announced Mike Tripses, partner and co-founder of CreativeOne, as the winner of its 2018 Bo Johnson Spirit Award for Lifetime Achievement. The award recognizes courage, spirit and determination that challenges the status quo, inspires others to achieve, contributes unselfishly to others, and works ethically and conscientiously to improve the fixed annuity marketplace.
“In looking at the tenets of the Bo Johnson Spirit Award, Mike is a no-brainer. But ‘no-brainer’ is the opposite of the words anyone would use to describe Mike,” said Kevin Mechtley, NAFA board member and AVP, legal and director of government affairs at Sammons Financial Group Member Companies. “As one of the industry’s top thought leaders, he continually offers coworkers, colleagues and producers the wisdom and guidance that makes us all better. If you know Mike, you know he takes the same approach to everything he does — always thoughtful, always brilliant and always willing to help.”
Tripses has spent more than 30 years in various leadership roles in the insurance and financial services space. Most notably, he is credited with developing one of the first-ever fixed indexed annuity (FIA) products in 2007, along with an interest-crediting method now offered on 47 percent of the FIAs available to consumers throughout the United States. Subsequently, he has helped bring more than 60 FIA products to market alongside other industry-leading offerings and services.
In addition to his innovation and product development talents, Tripses has long been committed to educating agents and advisors about the value proposition of FIAs and how to position them to help consumers retire well. He spent nearly a decade traveling across the country doing so during his tenure at Creative Marketing prior to becoming president of the organization. He also spent seven years as chief actuary at Integrated Resources Life and American Life and Casualty. Today, Tripses is a partner and co-founder of CreativeOne, a leading independent marketing organization offering diversified financial services to thousands of agents and advisors in the United States.
In a volunteer capacity, Tripses has served twice as chairman of the board of directors for NAFA, as well as on the board of directors for the National Association of Indexed Products. He played a vital role in helping overturn SEC Rule 151a, and showed the same poise, commitment and dedication to the industry in the recent fight against the Department of Labor’s burdensome fiduciary rule. He is also a member of the Society of Actuaries.
Adi Johnson, the daughter of Bo Johnson who is memorialized by the award, announced Tripses as this year’s recipient in a pre-recorded video played for more than 200 attendees at NAFA’s tenth annual Annuity Distribution Summit held last month in Nashville. Tripses accepted the award from the two NAFA members who nominated him. Additionally, CreativeOne shared a captivating tribute video in which various colleagues from Tripses’s present and past underscored the value of his innumerable contributions to the industry.
“Mike Tripses is truly revered in the financial services space and rightfully so,” said Dominic Cursio, NAFA’s chairman of the board of directors. “As an organization, we not only thank him for improving the future of retirement for millions of Americans utilizing the products and crediting strategies he’s built, but also for his longstanding leadership within NAFA.”