Firm educates clients on retirement solutions

Dolph Janis (left) founded Clear Income Strategies Group in 2005. Jeff Conyers joined the company as an associate last year. Paul Nielsen/MMHW photo

CHARLOTTE – When Medicare, life insurance and extended care financial solutions professional Jeff Conyers was thinking about becoming an associate at Clear Income Strategies Group in south Charlotte, he had just one question for company founder Dolph Janis.

Janis has been in the retirement services industry since 2005. His company strives to find common-sense solutions for individual retirement needs.

“He wanted to find someone that is doing right for the clients,” Janis said. “One of the first questions he asked me is: What do I do for my clients? The answer was what is best for them.”

Conyers, who owns Carolina Living Benefits, signed on about nine months ago as an associate. He said the company’s emphasis on customer service was one reason he joined the company.

“We don’t work for an insurance company. We don’t work for a bank. We don’t work for a brokerage,” Conyers said. “We work for our clients.”

Janis said educating clients about different retirement strategies is extremely important to the associates at Clear Income Strategies. Janis also offers his clients a variety of annuity options that best fit their needs.

“We don’t charge fees for services. We get compensation from the companies we work with,” Janis said. “Last year alone, I wrote with 19 different companies. You go to a standard advisor, they have probably written with one or two, sometimes three companies, if you get lucky. We tell people the truth. We are going to do what is best for the client. One person’s situation is different from everybody else. Your strategy is going to be different from everybody else that we talk to. The clients are making the choices. We are not making the choices. Some advisors are going to try and sway you one way.”

Before getting into retirement services almost 15 years ago, Janis managed a casino and a restaurant in addition to being a golf professional.

“I had a lot of people I know that got destroyed in 2001, and I have been an educator my whole life,” Janis said. “I have done my fair share of educating. When I got in this business I said, ‘How can we educate people in the right way.’

“We are built on customer service. A lot of these people run these one-man shops and they will meet with you once a year if you are lucky. They are going to hear from us weekly, monthly just to stay in touch. Our focus is that nobody is ever forgotten. They don’t contact you until they need you.’’

Conyers said a personal experience led him to become a Medicare, life insurance and extended care financial solutions professional.

“My dad had Alzheimer’s and what I realized in helping him with all of his personal decisions was that the folks he was trusting to lead and guide him were not necessarily doing that,” Conyers said. “They were more interested in lining their own pockets. As I learned the Medicare business and got licensed, I started helping folks at church, as well as my dad. When I lost my corporate consumer products job, I decided to do this full time.

“At the end of the day, there are a lot of people in this business for a number of different reasons. But at the end of the day, my motivation was to help folks and do as I would want done to me.”

On the web: https://clearincomeforlife.com.