NEW YORK, Sept. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- National Financial Partners Corp. (NYSE: NFP), a leading provider of benefits, insurance and wealth management services, announced today that Anne Long has joined NFP as president of NFP Life, which includes management responsibility over all of NFP's life insurance businesses.  In addition, Ms. Long will serve as a member of the Advisory Board of PartnersFinancial, NFP's life insurance membership organization.  NFP is also pleased to announce the promotion of Mike James to president of PartnersFinancial.  Mr. James will continue as chief sales officer of PartnersFinancial.

Earlier this year, NFP engaged Ms. Long on a long-term consulting basis to help strategically evaluate NFP's life insurance businesses and assist with day-to-day management responsibilities.  Ms. Long has provided great insight and proven herself to be a valuable leader and team player.

Reporting directly to NFP's president and chief operating officer Douglas Hammond, Ms. Long has oversight responsibility for all strategic and operational decisions for NFP's life businesses and will continue to focus on developing and improving the strategic alignment of its various complementary life resources.  NFP is fully committed to the life insurance business and believes it is a strong complement to the rest of its core businesses of corporate benefits, wealth management and property and casualty.  NFP's goal is to extend its leadership position in the life insurance business by ensuring that it offers the highest quality value proposition for clients and advisers.

Commenting on this announcement, Mr. Hammond said, "Anne has broad expertise in the life insurance industry and a comprehensive understanding of NFP's culture based on her history with the company. We are thrilled that she has rejoined us to provide new thinking and new solutions that will usher in our next phase of growth, further cementing our position as a leading independent life insurance distributor."

From 1998 to 2004, Ms. Long served as the executive vice president of NFP Insurance Services, Inc. and was a member of the PartnersFinancial Advisory Board.  Since 2004, Ms. Long has operated her own strategic and operational consulting business, Long Consulting Group (LCG).  Since its inception, LCG focused on designing and implementing reorganization and growth strategies for insurance and financial services companies.  LCG's client base included small and midsized insurance and financial advisory practices, as well as larger public distribution companies. NFP believes that her professional background uniquely qualifies Ms. Long for this role.

Also commenting, Ms. Long said, "NFP represents the very best in the business and I am honored to have the opportunity to be a part of this innovative company. I look forward to helping NFP Life capitalize on its wealth of intellectual capital and industry relationships, as well as leading the expansion of its diversity and depth."

Ms. Long continued, "Mike James has a proven track record of success in independent life insurance distribution.  His vision and energy will help us capitalize on opportunities for PartnersFinancial."  

Mr. James has held various sales roles within NFP, most recently as senior vice president of NFP Insurance Services, Inc. and chief sales officer of PartnersFinancial.  Mr. James will continue to focus on recruiting and sales and marketing for PartnersFinancial.  Mr. James's background and strong personal relationships embody the culture and values of the PartnersFinancial organization.  Mr. James's knowledge of the industry and the marketplace are invaluable assets for PartnersFinancial as it seeks to further strengthen and develop its relationships with its member firms and core carriers.  Mr. James will report directly to Ms. Long. 

About NFP

National Financial Partners Corp. (NYSE: NFP), and its benefits, insurance and wealth management businesses provide diversified advisory and brokerage services to companies and high net worth individuals, partnering with them to preserve their assets and prosper over the long term. NFP advisors provide innovative and comprehensive solutions, backed by NFP's national scale and resources. NFP operates in three business segments. The Corporate Client Group provides corporate and executive benefits, retirement plans and property and casualty insurance. The Individual Client Group includes retail and wholesale life insurance brokerage and wealth management advisory services. The Advisor Services Group serves independent financial advisors by offering broker-dealer and asset management products and services. Most recently NFP was ranked eighth on Business Insurance's 100 Largest Brokers of U.S. Business; as the ninth Top Global Insurance Broker by Best's Review; operated the fourth largest Executive Benefits Provider of nonqualified deferred compensation plans administered for recordkeeping clients as ranked by PlanSponsor; operated a top ten Independent Broker Dealer as ranked by Investment Advisor; had three advisors ranked in Barron's Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors and is a leading independent life insurance distributor according to many top-tier carriers.  For more information, visit www.nfp.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains statements which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may project, indicate or imply future results, events, performance or achievements, and may contain the words "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "may," "project," "will," "continue" and similar expressions of a future or forward-looking nature. Forward-looking statements may include discussions concerning revenue, expenses, earnings, cash flow, impairments, losses, dividends, capital structure, market and industry conditions, premium and commission rates, interest rates, contingencies, the direction or outcome of regulatory investigations and litigation, income taxes and the Company's operations or strategy.  These forward-looking statements are based on management's current views with respect to future results. Forward-looking statements are based on beliefs and assumptions made by management using currently-available information, such as market and industry materials, experts' reports and opinions, and current financial trends. These statements are only predictions and are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by a forward-looking statement. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation: (1) the ability of the Company to execute on its strategy of increasing recurring revenue and other business initiatives; (2) NFP's ability, through its operating structure, to respond quickly to operational, financial or regulatory situations impacting its businesses; (3) the ability of the Company's businesses to perform successfully following acquisition, including through the diversification of product and service offerings, and NFP's ability to manage its business effectively and profitably through its principals and employees and through the Company's reportable segments; (4) any losses that NFP may take with respect to dispositions, restructures, the collectability of amounts owed to it or otherwise; (5) seasonality or an economic environment that results in fewer sales of financial products or services; (6) NFP's success in acquiring and retaining high-quality independent financial services businesses and their managers and key producers, and the ability of the Company to retain its broker-dealers' financial advisors and recruit new financial advisors; (7) changes in premiums and commission rates or the rates of other fees paid to the Company's businesses, due to requirements related to medical loss ratios stemming from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or otherwise; (8) NFP's ability to operate effectively within the restrictive covenants of its credit facility; (9) changes that adversely affect NFP's ability to manage its indebtedness or capital structure, including changes in interest rates or credit market conditions; (10) the impact of capital markets behavior, such as fluctuations in the price of NFP's common stock, or the dilutive impact of capital raising efforts; (11) adverse results or other consequences from matters including litigation, arbitration, settlements, regulatory investigations or compliance initiatives, such as those related to business practices, compensation agreements with insurance companies, policy rescissions or chargebacks, or activities within the life settlements industry; (12) the impact of legislation or regulations on NFP's businesses, such as the possible adoption of exclusive federal regulation over interstate insurers, the uncertain impact of legislation regulating the financial services industry, such as the recent Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the impact of the adoption of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and resulting changes in business practices, potential changes in estate tax laws, or changes in regulations affecting the value or use of benefits programs, any of which may adversely affect the demand for or profitability of the Company's services; (13) adverse developments in the Company's markets, such as those related to compensation agreements with insurance companies or activities within the life settlements industry, which could result in decreased sales of financial products or services; (14) the effectiveness or financial impact of NFP's incentive plans; (15) the impact of the adoption or change in interpretation of certain accounting treatments or policies and changes in underlying assumptions relating to such treatments or policies, which may lead to adverse financial statement results; (16) the loss of services of key members of senior management; (17) failure by the Company's broker-dealers to comply with net capital requirements; (18) the Company's ability to compete against competitors with greater resources, such as those with greater name recognition; (19) developments in the availability, pricing, design, tax treatment or underwriting of insurance products, including insurance carriers' potential change in accounting for deferred acquisition costs, revisions in mortality tables by life expectancy underwriters or changes in the Company's relationships with insurance companies; (20) the reduction of the Company's revenue and earnings due to the elimination or modification of compensation arrangements, including contingent compensation arrangements and the adoption of internal initiatives to enhance compensation transparency, including the transparency of fees paid for life settlements transactions; (21) the occurrence of adverse economic conditions or an adverse legal or regulatory climate in New York, Florida or California; and (22) the Company's ability to effect smooth succession planning.  Additional factors are set forth in NFP's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, filed with the SEC on February 13, 2012.  Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made. NFP expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE National Financial Partners