We are proud to introduce and welcome our newest LIB Executive Board Member, Adriane Medeiros. Adriane is a Financial Services Professional with New York Life Insurance Company and specializes in life insurance and retirement investment planning. She is a great resource to our community, offering financial tips, seminars, and one-on-one appointments in financial and investment planning.

Adriane Medeiros, Financial Services Professional and LIB Executive Board Member (Photo courtesy Adriane Medeiros)

Originally born in Brazil, she has lived in New Jersey for over 32 years and has a degree in Business with a minor in Economics and Finances, from Kean University in New Jersey.

Transforming lives through investment planning

Adriane has always had a passion for business and finances. In the early days of her career she worked for the Latino market of an investment banking company. However, after the 2009 recession, she decided to reinvent herself and pursue a career as a Registered Financial Professional.

As a Financial Professional, she works directly with individuals and small business owners and takes great pride in getting to know her clients personally one-on-one.

“I want to hear my client’s life story. Every client has a unique set of circumstances,” says Adriane, “and my approach is to learn as much as possible about my client’s financial concerns, so I can help them achieve their goals, and even transform their lives.”

This individualized approach enables Adriane to offer customized recommendations for insurance and financial products that help her clients achieve financial peace of mind.

“The most rewarding part of my career is being able to create lifelong relationships with my clients that are based on trust, service, and integrity!” she says.

Adriane with LIB founder, Susana G. Baumann (Photo courtesy Adriane Medeiros)

Trust and integrity are especially important in a field like finances. Adriane says one of the biggest obstacles she faces in her industry is that the Latino community in general does not trust financial institutions.

“Past experiences can be the reason for this distrust, and as a Latina myself, I understand the struggles that immigrants face, especially regarding financial planning” she says. “But unfortunately, when it is passed from generation to generation, it prevents Latinos from embracing opportunities to create and transfer wealth with something as affordable as life insurance.”

Adriane has seen business owners lose a lifetime of hard work and sacrifice due to lack of information and financial planning. Witnessing these hardships within the Latino community has further motivated her to help Latinos achieve financial empowerment and break the cycles of poverty and violence that are still present in Latino communities.

“My Latino clientele is very diversified, from undocumented, non-English speaking first generation immigrants, to highly educated professionals, but regardless of their background or net worth – It is my promise to treat them with respect and integrity. We work hard, and we all deserve to be a part of the American Dream.”

Life Insurance: Protecting loved ones when we are no longer here

In communities where financial and investment planning is not always the top priority, many may not think to consider a future without them in it when making plans or investments. Few want to think about such a subject as death, but it is a reality and life insurance is one key tool and investment planning strategy many can use to ensure their loved ones are taken care of later in life.

“When premature death strikes a family, it creates a lifetime of struggles and lost opportunities that can last for generations!” says Adriane.

Through her work she has seen the life-changing impact that investment planning can have on a family especially when it comes to unexpected deaths.

Adriane at New York Life Executive Council, 2019 (Photo courtesy Adriane Medeiros)

“I always share my experience when I delivered a life insurance check to a young woman that had suddenly lost her husband. He was self-employed, and they did not have any assets, except for their home which still had a mortgage. My client’s widow was devastated and grieving, but she was extremely thankful that the life insurance death benefit would allow her family to stay in the same house so her children would not have to move to another school system. It also enabled her to keep a comfortable lifestyle and guaranteed that she would be able to afford a college education for her children later. All of that was possible because a few years earlier her late husband purchased a life insurance policy with a premium of less than $40.00 per month!”

A life insurance investment is an investment to protect your family’s future. Adriane describes it as “a love letter that protects our loved ones when we are no longer here to protect them ourselves.”

Creating a life of abundance and financial empowerment

However, when we plan for the future we must also plan for a long, healthy life as well, which is where Adriane’s other area of expertise comes in: retirement planning. Retirement planning is another important, but often overlooked, investment planning strategy.

“As immigrants, we are so eager to work and make a living, that we sometimes forget to live, and we fail to plan for our future,” says Adriane.

Retirement planning is especially important for women who face unique challenges in retirement.

“During their working years, among other things, women (1) usually earn less than men, (2) they save less than men, (3) they are more likely to take time off to be caregivers, and (4) they live longer than men (a 65 year-old woman has a 50% chance of living to age 91).”

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Adriane’s goal is to help all her clients achieve a life of abundance and financial empowerment through investment planning so that they can support their families for generations to come.

Adriane helping out with Dikaion, a non-profit organization in Brazil that she has been involved with for over 20 years (Photo courtesy of Adriane Mederios)

“I love it when I can show my clients how to enjoy their lives during their working years, but also prepare for the unexpected and plan for the future! I see each appointment as an opportunity to educate and empower. I want people to be excited and fully engaged about their own finances because knowledge really is power when it comes to money.”

7 Tips for success

There’s no doubt we all want to be successful in our professional endeavors. If you’re ready to embrace a life of abundance, financial empowerment, and go for you goals, check out Adriane’s top 7 tips for success in business below!

Adriane at Hispanic Heritage Month Event (Photo courtesy Adriane Medeiros)

1. Learn about yourself, and your paradigms!  The more you know about yourself, the sooner you will get rid of paradigms and negative beliefs that are keeping you from the amazing and abundant life that you deserve!
2. Invest in you! Make professional and personal development priorities throughout your life, and please, pay attention to your finances.
3. Take Care of Yourself! It is important to follow all the necessary steps to success, such as preparation, discipline, perseverance, knowledge, etc., but when we face challenges (and we all do) – you must remember that YOU are the most important resource in your business. You have unlimited potential, but you need to pay close attention to the warning signs when physical and mental exhaustion are hurting you and your performance. Remember to put your oxygen mask first so you can help others.
4. Never give up on your goal! Sometimes we must change our plans, and adjust to our circumstances, but have faith that the universe is always working in your favor if you do not give up!
5. Be profoundly grateful! Setbacks can be devastating, and we might not be able to look on the bright side when bad things are happening, but when we are grateful for everything else that we have, and for the lessons that setbacks bring us, we are actually changing our mindset. A grateful mindset restores our faith and makes us resilient!
6. Create a Mission that aligns with your career or business! My knowledge and experience as a financial advisor has enabled me to fulfill my mission to financially empower minorities, and transform lives.
7. Be generous with your money, your time, and your knowledge Always give to those that will never be able to pay you back.  When you start giving without any expectation of getting something in return, you have achieved an abundant and successful life.