Roxana Daniel joined New York Life as an agent going on two years ago, following a 12-year stint in strategic brand marketing. She offers a variety of products that can help clients meet a number of insurance and financial needs. Roxana’s focus includes college funding, retirement, managing costs for extended periods of care, and lifetime income strategies.
WHAT IS YOUR FOCUS WITH NEW YORK LIFE?
I introduce myself as a financial professional and work with savvy business owners and affluent families as well as young professionals. My goal? It’s to help them strengthen and protect their financial future. I am especially interested in helping women become financially solid.
WHAT DREW YOU TO THIS FIELD?
It wasn’t necessarily the field that interested me, it was the company. I made the shift to New York Life mainly because of how strong the company is, how strong the brand is, and because of the flexibility it allows me with my two children — a six year old and a four and a half year old — and my husband Anthony. Even alongside that flexibility, there is still so much room for opportunity and growth. And I love helping families protect their finances and loved ones.
CAN YOU SHARE AN EXAMPLE OF HOW YOU HELP PEOPLE?
Laura Yameen and her husband Anthony run a very successful business, but they had never really thought about planning and protecting their financial future. My job is to take a holistic approach with the entire family. It’s important to me that both mom and dad are involved in whatever financial decisions the family makes. A lot of women don’t get involved, but I believe that protecting their family and finances together makes their family unit even stronger.
HOW DOES YOUR PERSONAL INTEREST IN EMPOWERING WOMEN TIE IN?
The number of women working in the finance field is very finite. For every 10 men there are only two women. So, my purpose when I meet with families is to get women to use their voice, to ask me questions that are important to them, and to get involved. I want them to feel like everyone is on the same team. I also really enjoy working with stay-at-home and working moms as well as single moms, and helping them get financially solid.
WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT STEPS PEOPLE CAN TAKE?
I advise them to look at what they have and take steps to protect and strengthen their finances. Both of these things are important. Depending on the policies, one is going to protect their family’s financial future in the event that something happens to them. We also have policies that will strengthen a family’s investments and financial position by adding more to what they have, and it’s safe.
WHAT TENDS TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM TAKING ACTION?
A lot of the time it’s just not knowing what to do. Lack of awareness, lack of resources and not knowing that there are options out there besides putting it all in your bank account, where it’s not working for you. People tend to trust their bank, so for them the bank is safe. But trusting other people, that can be hard. That’s why I like to build a relationship first so my clients know they can trust me. Referrals are also a big part of my business because it lets prospective clients know I can be trusted.
WHAT IS YOUR BEST ADVICE FOR OUR READERS?
It is never too early or too late to start planning and protecting what you have. For example, getting married and merging your personal and financial lives means figuring out what works best for both people. You can customize a plan to protect you now and grow with you into the future. In addition, we can help you protect your biggest assets and give you access to funds to help with large expenses such as tuition, or surprise expenses like medical bills and home repairs. I also work with people who are pre-retirees or already retired, and help them live comfortably in retirement. There are policies that will help you save, help to cover some costs for extended periods of care, or provide a stream of income when you retire.