MassMutual Opens White Plains Agency, Names New General Agent

WHITE PLAINS, NY June 16, 2009 - When John Blumberg returned from college 25 years ago in his beat-up ’69 Firebird, he had $42,000 in student loans, his car had logged over 300,000 miles, and he was embarrassed to drive it to business meetings.

Now, Blumberg has been tapped to head True North Financial Solutions; the firm will serve Westchester County as a new agency in White Plains for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, a FORTUNE 500 firm.

“John is leading the company into a new phase of growth driven by an interesting economic twist and intriguing way consumers are reacting to the recession,” said John Vaccaro, MassMutual corporate vice president.

“Because of the difficult economy, many people are taking fewer risks and are seeking products to help give them peace-of-mind and a feeling of certainty in this uncertain economy,” said Vaccaro.

White Plains is a key market and area of future growth for MassMutual. Blumberg is opening his office with a staff of 22 agents with plans to recruit 15 more agents in the coming year.

Blumberg’s local business model calls for opening satellite offices across the area. He wants to create smaller, more comfortable settings where clients can discuss their financial goals and plans with their financial services professionals.

“The ‘winged tipped’ Wall Street style financial planning factories of the last two decades have lost their appeal to most New Yorkers. Discussions and decisions are happening in intimate neighborhood offices, or even living rooms, where everybody can feel relaxed.” said Blumberg.

Blumberg says there has been a seismic shift in the way consumers think and plan for their financial future.

“Many people aren’t as willing to take chances on publicly traded stock companies; they want to take a more cautious approach with mutual companies that offer stable, guaranteed financial insurance products – call it ‘a flight to safety,’” said Blumberg. Blumberg graduated from the University of Pennsylvania where he studied business at the prestigious Wharton School and today finds himself living and building wealth for his clients through a conservative investment philosophy.

“The focus of wealth building should not be maximizing the return on your investment; rather it should be the discipline involved in maximizing the amount of your investment.”

Blumberg says while many people rely on stocks, one of his biggest assets is his whole life insurance policy. He says many of his most successful clients approach their financial planning with caution, and also use whole life as the foundation for their plans. Whole life insurance has many guarantees including a generally tax-free death benefit, strong history of paying dividends, and guaranteed annual increase in cash value.

“Financial Planning is not about stock picking or market timing—instead it’s about shutting off all of the leaky faucets in your life and putting the largest possible amount of your income into a safe place.”

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