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12/10/2019

ANNEXUS NYC

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Pictured: Jason Waters, Ashley Hopkins, Rob Williams, Matt Ruddick, Chris Yokley, Nick Yokley
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 Chris Yokley, and Nick Yokley Join an Elite Group of Financial Professionals at Annexus NYC.
Exclusive Advisor Training Focused on New Retirement Solutions
By: 
Emma Bradford
Social Media Manager 

Elgin, IL  –  Chris Yokley, Founder at Advocate Financial Partners, attended Annexus NYC, a conference for elite financial professionals, to learn the newest advanced planning strategies. The attendees engaged with some of the world’s largest investment banks and academic thought leaders, including Yale University Professor Robert Shiller, a leading expert on financial markets and architect of the widely recognized CAPE™ Index and Yale University Professor Emeritus Roger Ibbotson, one of the nation’s most influential experts in asset allocation.
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 Pictured: Matt Ruddick, Executive Partner
“Many Americans aren’t saving enough for their retirement because they don’t see any appealing choices,” said Professor Shiller. “Some investors are overextended and overexposed to equities, creating significant risk if there’s a market downturn. At the same time, interest rates remain near historic lows and may not provide sufficient income for retirement. New innovations are needed.”

“Traditionally, people nearing or in retirement seek to reduce risk by increasing their allocation to bonds, but today is different,” said Professor Ibbotson. “Today’s low interest rates and longer durations mean that investors may see negative bond returns going forward. Traditional thinking may no longer apply.”

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Chris Yokley was one of just 100 elite professionals from across the nation invited to Annexus NYC. 

“Our program is designed to help already exceptional advisors become even better, said Annexus Co-Founder Ron Shurts. “We provide an unparalleled level of expertise designed around smarter strategies to help meet clients retirement goals. Annexus NYC helps elite advisors become even better equipped to serve their clients.”

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1 Guarantees and protections are based on the claims-paying ability of the issuing carrier.
About Annexus 
Annexus designs solutions to help Americans grow and protect their retirement savings.
ANX21379 – Annexus Dec NYC Advisor Press Release
For over a decade, Annexus has developed market-leading retirement-focused-insurance
products. Find out more about Annexus and its products at www.annexus.com.


10/29/2019

The Brokerage World

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Pictured: (Left to Right) Kurt Cheesbro, Dave Wagner, Emma Bradford, Samantha Katchen, Maggie Garcia, Matt Ruddick 
Within the industry there are many different avenues to venture down while looking for a career path. At Advocate Financial Partners we focus on personal lines of insurance including life, health, disability, and long-term care. All of the agents that are associated with Advocate are contracted with all of the top rated insurance companies that offer these products. This allows our agents to have a wide variety of products, companies, and underwriting guidelines to work with. Not all insurance agents work in this type of environment, many are what is classified as "captive" rather than "broker". Partner, Samantha Katchen shares her ventures in the insurance industry filled with trials, tribulations, and success.   
By:
Emma Bradford
Social Media Manager 

In The Beginning 
Samantha  graduated from college with high hopes and expectations for her bright future. She was entertaining a few different options for career paths, but settled on insurance, something in this industry just clicked with her so she gave it a go. She worked at Bankers Life for 2 and a half years, moving from the trainee to the trainer and quickly into management. 
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Pictured: Samantha Katchen, Emma Bradford
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Pictured: Samantha Katchen 
"After the first six months, I began training new agents how to connect with clients and run their business. After about a year, I was running a team of 10 agents under me while still maintaining my own business. Keeping up with current clients, reaching out and finding more people who needed help, and managing a team of agents taught me so much."
After a Little While 
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Pictured: Samantha Katchen
After being in the business for about three years, Sam started noticing something. There were more options in the market with other companies that her clients were asking about. At Bankers Life she was only able to offer certain products, this is what is called a captive agency. Over time as she build up a larger client base, she started thinking more about her clients, and realizing that there may be better options!
"I knew what I knew at Bankers Life, and did not look into other options. I quickly realized that people were knowingly playing much higher premiums for their policies than they needed to, just because they wanted to work with me. If people were going out of their way to do this and they really liked my service, I really wanted to make sure that I was doing the best thing out there for them. Not just within my company, but the best solution available in the market place."
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Pictured: Samantha Katchen, Chris Yokley

Now I Realize 

Before when Samantha would meet with clients, she would go into an appointment with the mindset of closing business that day. It was much simpler than what she is doing now, but simple does not mean better. The easy solution is often masked as the best, when in reality sometimes it is better to look at various options, discuss them with clients, and see what they feel comfortable with considering needs, budget, and health. 
Previously, if someone wanted a certain product but they couldn't qualify... I was unable to help them. Where now, I am able to help anyone find a solution for their specific needs, regardless of health background. ​
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Pictured: Samantha Katchen, Matt Ruddick  
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Pictured: Samantha Katchen, Emma Bradford 
"I now take the time to get to know my clients personally, and really understand their whole situation. I then go back to my office and team, do research and find unique solutions. It feels good to have been changing lives and helping so many more people now."

It Takes Awhile

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Pictured: Emma Bradford, Maggie Garcia, Chris Yokley, Samantha Katchen
Being in the insurance industry is a career path that takes time. Many people, when they first start out expect to be successful and make a significant amount of money right away. Unfortunately, this is not that kind of business. It is important to build a good rapport with clients, learn the sales process, and understand your product portfolio. You must put the time in that it requires to be successful. 
"Looking back now I would encourage anyone that is in the insurance industry to open your eyes. There is more out there than you think and you only know what you know. Do not have your blinders on and do your due diligence and research. Someone shared an analogy with me once, and I would like to share it with you. You see someone digging in the sand with a small shovel. You have a big shovel. That other person is doing fine with their small shovel, they are getting by...but imagine how much more efficacy they would be if they had the bigger shovel. Always be looking for the bigger shovel."
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Pictured: Mike Rice, Samantha Katchen, Emma Bradford

"Loving what you do, who you work with, and being in the right environment makes all the difference." 

9/18/2019

Life Insurance Awareness

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Pictured: Kurt Cheesbro, Emma Bradford, Chris Yokley, Matt Ruddick, Mike Rice, Dave Wagner
Life insurance awareness is something we at Advocate feel very passionate about. Throughout this blog we want to highlight some key aspects of what our agents see on a daily basis; from the perspective of one of our Partners, Mike Rice. 
By: Emma Bradford
Social Media Manager 

Now is the time

Often times, purchasing life insurance is not viewed as a priority to some clients. There was once a client I met with who understood that he needed life insurance but was more focused on pressing financial needs. For whatever reason he decided to put a hold on moving forward with the life insurance policy he wanted. Unfortunately when he passed...his wife and daughters were still left with having to deal with the mortgage while also dealing with the loss of their father and husband. They were left trying to put together the pieces of the families finances. They were used to him providing for them financially. Now they are trying to figure out how to make ends meet.
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Peace of mind 

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Single parents have a difficult job. They are responsible for driving their children to various events, making sure they are doing their homework, and financially providing for them. One of my clients is a single mom. She had prepared a will, insuring that when she passed her estate would be handled the way that she wished. The only thing that her estate planning was missing was life insurance.  She expressed to me how she felt after putting life insurance in place to financially protect her four children. ​
"Having the the comfort of knowing, should something happen to me...the kids would be taken care of financially."

Health matters

Many people think that they are too old to put life insurance in place. There is always the excuse of being too this, or too that. Sometimes people are unable to health qualify for the life insurance plan that they want. You can still be young and have health issues and not be able to get the plan you want. It isn't so much that you cant get it...it just becomes more expensive.  If your health prevents you from getting a regular policy that will pay out immediately, you might have to go a different route. You can still get it but the insurance companies will only offer you a special policy where there is a 2 or 3 year waiting period until the full benefit is paid out. Should something happen after that, only then will the insurance company pay the full benefit.
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Getting your life insurance through work 

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This is a personal story, about my family and I. There was a time where my wife had life insurance through her job.  Unfortunately, her department went through a significant downsizing. Nine out of thirteen people in her department were let go. The moment that they were let go, all of their benefits stopped that same day as well. So at that time my wife was left without any life insurance. It just so happens that we also had an 18 month old child, and my wife was six months pregnant with our next child. She was very worried about not having life insurance and did not want to leave my son and I in a situation where I would be trying to figure everything out after a loss and organizing the finances myself. That was a huge lesson learned for us, to not have all of your eggs in one basket. From then on we made sure to have separate stand alone policies separate from our jobs, that we control ourselves.

Financial Protection

Personally, I find comfort in knowing if something should happen to me, my wife is taken care of. My children will be provided for. It is one thing for a family to have to deal with the grief of a loss one, but on top of that trying to figure out how to take care of the day to day financial things. How to pay for the mortgage, how to get the kids into school, pay for clothes, utilities, and all of those other things. I know that my family will go through enough grief trying to deal with the loss, that I don't want to add onto that by not having financial protection. It is my job as a husband and a father to not only provide for my family while I am here but to do so as well when I am gone. I want to make sure that my wife and children have as much protection as possible. That is what life insurance means to me!
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What does life insurance mean to you?

7/31/2019

Level UP!

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Click the linked photo to watch!
​​CEO & Founder Chris Yokley started his career working for a captive agency. Captive agencies are insurance companies that only sell one companies products. He realized how much this limited how he could help his clients, so he made the move to the independent world. Independent agents can work for many different insurance companies, but keeping records, payment schedules, tracking leads, managing contracts, and all of the back office support is left up to the agent to do themselves. Doing all of these tasks on your own on top of seeing clients, booking appointments, plus writing and tracking business can be a lot to manage. Partnering with a marketing organization in the business that helps with all of the back office and administrative tasks is key for success.
By:
Emma Bradford
​Social Media Manager 
Advocate Financial Partners ​
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Chris Founded Advocate out of the frustration between the captive insurance industry and the independent insurance industry. Both sides have positives and struggles. Only being able to offer your clients two or three different products was not really allowing him to provide a solution to a clients need. While having all of the companies in the state to choose from but no training, or support presented difficult as well. Advocate combines the best of both worlds by offering agents a home where they can partner alongside other like minded individuals who strive to make a difference in their clients life, their communities, and the insurance industry as a whole. It supports a culture of collaboration and teamwork focused on serving and protecting families. We aim to build authentic relationships through our passion to see others fulfill their purpose while acting with courage to do what is right in all situations. ​
“The creation of Advocate Financial Partners came from the passion to
serve alongside others on their financial journey, clients and agents alike.”
​~ CEO/Founder Chris Yokley
​
American Senior Benefits
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Five years ago Chris made the decision to partner with American Senior Benefits on his quest to educate and empower the senior community. American Senior Benefits provides agents not only with the company support that they need but the very best product portfolio, and gives managers the ability to focus on building a team. Advocate Financial Partners would not be what it is today without the power of an amazing Field Marketing Organization like American Senior Benefits. The need to provide customers with a “one size fits all” solution is eliminated. ASB helps satellite offices like Advocate Financial Partners obtain a model that creates a culture of teamwork, innovation, and a shared drive for success all centered around the client’s needs and satisfaction. With more than 1,400 affiliated agents operating out of 100+ nationwide locations, ASB has created an infrastructure and support to meet the needs of both the agent and the client. Although American Senior Benefits has grown to be one of the major market leaders in providing Medicare, Life Insurance, Annuities, Long Term Care, and other specialized health care insurance products; it was time to take things to the next level and position itself by creating a partnership that would be beneficial to all parties. ​
“Integrity understands that agents are the engine of success for our entire organization
and this industry. With Integrity in our corner, we will continue to run
​American Senior Benefits as before, but the sky’s the limit on what we can achieve together.” ~Co-Founder of American Senior Benefits Clay LeGeyt
Integrity Marketing Group
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Founded in 2006, Integrity Marketing Group is the nation’s leading independent distributor of life and health insurance products focused on serving the Senior Market. The number one Field Marketing Organization in the insurance world, focuses on supporting its partners with Finance, Technology, Human Resources, Legal, Compliance and Corporate Marketing. They allow insurance carriers, agents, and agencies to utilize Integrity to gain a clear path towards diversifying their product mix and deepening distribution. With proven distribution relationships, they now serve as the marketing resource for many large insurance companies. They help streamline the sales process to increase profitability across the value chain. With 50 states reached, over 200,000 agents served, and 800,000 new clients per year, American Senior Benefits and Advocate Financial Partners alike are pleased to join forces to make an impact and serve the senior market to the best of our abilities! ​
“Joining forces with American Senior Benefits is transformational for
​Integrity and will catapult us to even higher levels of success by combining
two of the largest organizations in the Senior Market”
~ Co-Founder & CEO of Integrity Bryan W. Adams
Sources: 
​Integritymarketing.com
Americanseniorbenefits.com
Advocatefinancialpartners.com


7/8/2019

Advocate Financial Partners Expands South!

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Pictured: Advocate CEO & Founder Chris Yokley, his family & Chicago team, and Advocate Chief Operating Officer Andrew Spain
In the beginning of 2019, Advocate Financial Partners set its sights high. Currently on track to reach all of our goals, we have expanded south bound. Our CEO & Founder Chris Yokley has moved to the Lonestar State. Since shifting our headquarters south, he has found partnership with Andrew Spain and his office Lonestar. We are excited to announce this partnership and the impact, expectations, and strategies that will be implemented! A few words from Andrew Spain on the merging of Advocate and Lonestar. 
By:
Emma Bradford
​Social Media Manager
 
Expectations
The saying "you are only as great as the impact you make" lies very true here. We are excited for the vision and view of the future of Advocate Financial Partners as it expands into Dallas Texas. 
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Pictured: Advocate Lonestar Team 
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Pictured: Advocate Lonestar Team
The hope for this expansion is to impact more lives, agents and clients alike. We are hoping to see an increase of up to 40 new writing agents as well as an office that is 2,000 square feet larger than what we currently have. In 2020 our goal is to have our offices in 5 additional states, information on that to come soon. 
Strategy
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Pictured: Andrew Spain
Lonestar has mastered the data capture and back house systems when it ​comes to being a broker. This expansion will allow Advocate to have people working to their strengths, focusing on those and fine tuning them. ​
Advocate Chicago has always had a great broker training program, which we are excited to implement at Advocate TX. Both Lonestar and Advocate have an unbreakable foundation, merging the spectacular office support and data capture with active agent training will allow for us to reach greater heights. ​
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Pictured: Andrew Spain
Impact
Chris Yokley, Founder and CEO of Advocate Financial Partners spoke in regards to the expansion into Texas. Chris believes it is crucial for the growth of the organization as a whole. 
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Pictured: Andrew Spain & Chris Yokley
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Pictured: Andrew & his wife Joslyn, and Chris & his wife Danielle  
"Adding Andrew Spain as Chief Operations Officer for the Lonestar portion (of Advocate Financial Partners) will greatly increase our ability to reach more people, have more conversations, and educate & empower on a whole new level."

6/11/2019

One year later...What happens after you graduate college??

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Pictured: Dave Wagner (left), Emma Bradford (right)
​From the desk of our founder: 
This month I thought it would be a great opportunity to feature somebody so important to the AFP family. A year ago I had the opportunity to meet someone that instantly sparked my passion to reach the younger generation coming out of college. So many times young college kids come out of school looking for a job that tells them what they are worth. I believe we are all called to serve a purpose in life, each persons calling is unique. Not all college graduates need to end up in a corporate environment in order to fulfill that calling. Emma Bradford from the moment I met her was somebody that said she was going to take on the world and make her own path. It’s been very inspiring to watch her go from admin to marketing director to now handling all of our social media as well as running her own day-to-day schedule taking on new clients. I have loved watching her succeed. We are so thankful for her hard work and behind-the-scenes efforts with our website, social media, and representing Advocate at numerous networking events that she attends. Thanks for all you do Emma and keep telling your story! 
By:
Emma Bradford
Social Media Manager

April 2018

At Illinois State University I was a part of a few student run organizations where most of my peers were also graduating. They were all sharing stories of how many companies they applied for, and how they were going to be a part of an awesome company in an unbelievable building, with a pretty simple ladder of success to follow. I watched them get so excited about the possibility of getting the position, and then become so disappointed when it did not come though. This process repeated over and over again until they ended up getting a job they were okay with, where someone would tell them how much they were worth. ​
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Pictured: Dave Wagner, Mike Rice, Emma Bradford,
​Matt Ruddick, Kurt Cheesbro

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5/8/2019

The Best of Both Worlds: The holistic approach to finance and insurance

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Pictured: Mike Morrell, Shawn Cook, Chris Yokley, Chris McMath, Nick Yokley
Often times, financial professionals have a business structure that is geared towards helping clients create a portfolio with one "simple solve". While providing advice and information on only one product can make the process easier on both parties, it can also lead to major gaps. We are in the business of providing a holistic approach to your financial plan by exploring all options available in the insurance and financial market. That way, no matter where life may take you, there will always be multiple layers of protection. ​
"Everyone needs someone to be an Advocate for them,
​and that is what we aim to be"
Shawn Cook, the Wealth Adviser at Advocate Financial Partners, shares his experiences and expertise in the financial industry & the insurance industry. His background as an educator has played a vital role in developing his approach and how he serves clients each and every day.

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3/30/2019

3 Things To Do If You Ever Want To Retire

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Nick Yokley, an Executive Partner at Advocate Financial Partners, teaches the team of new agents about the different types of life insurance available in the marketplace today. 
Executive Partner Nick Yokley, shares with us 3 things that are vital to every retirement plan if you ever want to get there. ​Retirement is a stage of life that everyone looks forward to, but few plan for consciously. His unique perspective sheds light on actionable steps you can take today to make life more enjoyable later. 
By Emma Bradford
March 30th 2019 

1. Get a harness on your health 
"Wealth is nothing without the health to enjoy it"
My siblings and I watched how hard my dad worked his whole life. It was tough for us to have to convince him that it the time for him to retire might be coming soon. We were worried that if he didn't retire now he wouldn't be able to get the chance to enjoy the fruits of his labor.  
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Nick Yokley (center), Mike Rice (right)
"Secure your health with the right plan"
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Matt Ruddick (left), Nick Yokley (right)
A recent study looked into seniors knowledge of Long Term Care policies. The study showed that 82% of seniors know that they will need some form of long term care. Surprisingly, only 20% of them have actually purchased a policy insuring themselves for it. That means that 62% of seniors realize that they will need this care, but have not yet purchased a policy to assist them financially.
2. Purposefully plan your finances 
"The key is to Plan, Protect, and Preserve"
All too many of the people that I talk to each day say "Oh I have everything taken care of". When the reality of their plan is much too diversified. No one person knows all of the information that will be needed, should something happen to them.  They think that because the wheel isn't broken there is no need to fix it. My approach doesn't center around fixing the wheel, but making it run better.  
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Nick Yokley (left), Chris McMath (right)
"The way that you plan for retirement now looks a lot different than it did when your parents did"
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Nick Yokley (front), Jim Horvath (back)
Investment vehicles and how you use them have changed. One of the most powerful of those vehicles is life insurance. Those who adapt and plan won't need to depend on the government for social security, or continue working until they are 70. They will be able to actually use the money that they saved their whole lives and enjoy it. 

3. Do #1 and #2 early so you can focus on finding your passion

"Peace of mind comes from taking care of your health and wealth first" 
It's everyone's least favorite topics to actually step back and analyze themselves on. Managing & maintaining your health, and putting a solid financial plan in place. The good news is, once you take a real look at what you are doing and where you are at, you can set a goal of where you want to be, and put a plan in place to get there! That is what I get to help people do everyday, and I love it.    
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Nick Yokley (left), Brad Rackshe (right)
"Start planning earlier, you will have less stress later on!"
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Nick Yokley (left), Chris Yokley (right)
Sometimes I find clients who are well into retirement and still are working a full time job. They are worried about dealing with the complicated systems of Medicare and Social Security. Their whole lives they have let their employer worry about their 401(k) and health plan. Since they have never done these things on their own, they are nervous to start and end up continuing to work. 

2/28/2019

Motivation from Matt

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 Executive Partner Matt Ruddick (middle) shares his tips & tricks to being and staying motivated, successful, and grounded. From learning lessons that hit close to the heart, making a change to stand up for what is right, and his instant success....
​this is something you wont want to miss.


​ 

Understanding who Advocate Financial Partners is requires a deeper knowledge of the Executive Partners in our organization. Matt Ruddick opens up about his story,
​discussing some of the most vital topics all entrepreneurs reflect on.
By Emma Bradford
March 1, 2019

Lets start from the beginning..

"At Rockford College I completed my Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Finance. After graduating I joined my family in our farming business, where I owned a trucking company for a few years. My grandfather was ready to retire so I sold the trucking company and put my resume out there. An insurance company, Bankers Life, called me. While there I learned a lot, and it was good general training."
"After awhile I felt that it was time for me to move on,
I was being called to do more"
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"When I was considering leaving, I really analyzed all aspects of my business. I would not allow myself to become complacent and comfortable. If I did, I knew that I would never reach my full potential. Shortly after leaving, I met Chris Yokley and saw a great opportunity to plug into Advocate Financial Partners. In my first 3 months I opened my own office in Elgin"

Pictured: Matt Ruddick (left), Chris Yokley (center),
​Brad Rachke (right)

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1/31/2019

Catching Up With Chris

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Founder and CEO Chris Yokley (middle) shares his "why" about how Advocate Financial Partners went from a goal to a number one satellite office at American Senior Benefits.  
We would like to open the doors of Advocate Financial Partners and help you understand who we really are and why we do what we do. In an effort to do this, our first blog post will dive into the mind of our founder and CEO Chris Yokley. We will explore the experiences that he has had in his life and what lead him to create Advocate Financial Partners, his hopes for the future, and some insights into…..

By Emma Bradford 
Feb. 1, 2019

Why did you create Advocate Financial Partners? 


“Five years ago, I found myself trusting everyone that was surrounding me in the world of insurance. I quickly realized that all they cared about in this cut throat and deceitful environment was the money. Sleepless and stomach aching, I realized that I was being called for something bigger.”

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