Holding a BS in economics from St. Lawrence University, James Giacin is an investment professional in St. Louis who brings over 20 years of experience to his role as managing director of a financial firm. St. Louis resident James Giacin spearheads the firm’s strategic endeavors to provide tailored structured finance and asset management solutions to insurance companies.

According to inscipher.com, insurance syndicates write roughly 20 percent of surplus line premiums. An insurance syndicate is a group of insurance providers that jointly underwrite a set of high-risk insurance products. Structured line premiums are charged for providing coverage for large risks that are not typically covered under insurance products by admitted insurers – insurance companies that are licensed to underwrite insurance in certain jurisdictions. Admitted insurers don’t offer surplus lines insurance due to the excessively large potential liability associated with these products.

Non-admitted insurers typically underwrite surplus line policies through licensed entities called surplus lines brokers or agents. The rules governing most surplus line placements are different from those of traditional insurance. Some surplus line policies can be renewed, while others are based on one-off purchases.

A longtime resident of St. Louis, Missouri, James Giacin is an accomplished investment banking professional with extensive experience in structured finance and asset management solutions. He has served as managing director for a local financial firm for four years. In this role, James Giacin of St. Louis has successfully led teams and executed multi-billion dollar transactions for a broad syndication of insurance companies.

An insurance syndicate exists when a group of insurance companies or entities partner to jointly underwrite certain high-risk insurance products. Typically, these products provide coverage for high-risk activities, businesses, or very high-value properties. The goal of an insurance syndicate is to share the risk among diverse entities to protect each member of the syndicate from taking too large a risk while tapping into the ROI these products offer.

Many insurance companies and non-admitted insurers enter syndicate contracts through insurance marketplaces. An insurance marketplace is essentially a platform that facilitates the exchange (buying and selling) of insurance products. Most insurance marketplaces only approve syndicate applicants with a strong business plan, a satisfactory reputation, and a specific level of financial resources. Many also charge varying fees, including syndicate application fees.

James Giacin is a St. Louis-based financial executive with a diverse professional background. His expertise encompasses a wide range of areas, including business development, product development, and client services. The managing director of a financial firm in St. Louis, Missouri, James Giacin provides financial institutions with a range of financial services, including relating to insurance company mergers.

According to mckinsey.com, many insurance companies are leveraging programmatic merger and acquisition plans to generate a high total shareholder return, and the strategy has been efficient. Rather than acquiring and merging with companies to scale, programmatic mergers and acquisitions typically target small to medium-sized companies that offer unique products and new capabilities.

In programmatic mergers and acquisitions, an insurance company leverages growth themes when selecting targets. Growth themes are areas where a company can add value to its target. In most cases, this is about improving the target’s already diverse offerings. Examples could include improving product creation capabilities for personal and commercial property and casualty (P&C) lines or bringing resources that optimize a target’s operations in its unique niche. Companies typically leverage programmatic mergers and acquisitions when organic growth is less practical.

James Giacin is the managing director of a financial firm in St. Louis, Missouri. A former hockey player and coach, he was named to the St. Louis Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019. With over two decades of experience in structured finance, mergers and acquisitions, and insurance asset and liability management, James Giacin also spearheads strategic initiatives.

Strategic initiatives help an organization achieve its long-term goals, vision, and objectives. However, strategic initiatives can fail to yield the intended results because of:

– Misalignment

This happens when strategic initiatives do not reflect an organization’s priorities, fail to address urgent issues, or contradict values. When strategic initiatives are not aligned, they can cause tension in an organization and lose track of the intended goals. Organizations should always prioritize programs that are in line with their mission statement.

– A lack of involvement by organization leaders

Managers should clearly communicate strategic initiatives to bring everyone on board. Decision-makers should understand even the smallest programs in an organization and be part of the initiative. Input from business executives helps to ensure successful strategic initiatives.

– A lack of focus

Companies may fail to implement strategic initiatives because they prioritize too many things, which stresses resources and staff members. Focusing helps companies choose the ideal number of projects to implement, allocate sufficient resources, and hire enough employees to support the strategy.

A former National Hockey League player for St. Louis, Missouri, James Giacin has been in financial services since 1998. Before his role in the St. Louis firm, James Giacin created products for the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC), a federal office that develops policies on emerging risks to bank capital.

In January 2023, the OCC announced it was releasing a list of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance evaluations. The CRA requires that the Federal Reserve and other federal banking regulators promote practices in financial institutions that encourage meeting the financing needs of the communities they serve, especially neighborhoods with low and moderate incomes.

The CRA list contains the names of national banks, insured federal branches of foreign banks, and federal savings associations. The information was collected from September 1, 2022, to November 30, 2022. The evaluations were varied, with 11 institutions rated satisfactory, nine outstanding, and two “needs to improve.” To see how a financial institution fared, visit http://www.occ.gov.

A bachelor of science graduate in economics from St. Lawrence University in New York, St. Louis-based James Giacin has over two decades of experience in structured finance, mergers, and private equity. One of the areas that James Giacin focuses on is strategic finance service to insurance companies through a Financial Institutions Group (FIG).

Banks and other financial institutions, like insurance companies, primarily provide services to clients that includes advice for financial stability and help with financing. Where do these institutions seek assistance themselves?

A FIG is a group of professionals who provide expertise and services to banks, insurers, and specialty asset-management firms. FIG employees typically include financial analysts and experts to provide tailored services such as financing for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and initial public offerings (IPOs).

The FIG business structure varies. Some, especially those for large investment banks and insurance companies, are integrated into the institution as a subset or department. Others, completely autonomous, specialize in a distinct niche, such as insurance, or focus on a more defined industry, such as real estate, healthcare, or media. FIGs often provide financing for their clients’ activities. Their own profits emanate from interest income from the funds they lend, money markets, and deposits.

Missouri is a burgeoning hockey community with more than 6,200 USA Hockey members and is home to the St. Louis Blues National Hockey League (NHL) franchise. Many players from the state have gone on to play college and professional hockey. Wanting to honor players, coaches, executives, and officials who have contributed to the game’s growth in the state, Scott Rupp launched the St. Louis Amateur Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008. The inaugural class featured David Bates, Bud Stege, Eddie Olsen, Herman Kriegshauser, Tom K. Hurster, and Charlie Busenhart.

There are now 90 people in the St. Louis Amateur Hockey Hall of Fame in the following categories: player, coach, administrator, builder, and referee. There was no induction ceremony in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ralph Taylor (builder), Yan Stastny (player), Tom Shinabargar (player), Tony Sansone (builder), Wayne Neis (player), Joe Lunny (player), and Jamie Husgen (player) were inducted as part of the Class of 2020.

Taylor, inducted posthumously, was born in Canada in 1905 and played for the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL. He also played for teams in the International Hockey League (IHL) and American Hockey League (AHL). Taylor last played for the AHL’s St. Louis Flyers and later served the team as a color commentator. He spent his retirement in St. Louis and was highly involved in youth athletics until he died in 1976. Most notably, he co-founded the Missouri Amateur Hockey Association.

Yan Stastny was also born in Canada but relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, when he was 10 years old after his father, Peter, signed with the St. Louis Blues. Yan played for the Junior B St. Louis Jr. Blues and Junior A St. Louis Sting in his youth and won the Clark Cup and Gold Cup National Championship with the Junior A Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League (USHL). He later played two seasons at the University of Notre Dame and was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Yan played 91 games in the NHL, including 50 with the Blues, and represented the United States in the IIHF World Championships in 2005, 2006, and 2011.

Shinabarger, meanwhile, took an interest in hockey after watching the Blues and went on to play in the USHL and for Division-III Bemidji State University. The defenseman concluded his three-year stint at the school with 80 points in 103 games. He was named one of the team’s 50 greatest players in 2006.

Sansone played hockey at the high school level but was inducted as a builder for creating the Blues Special Hockey program, formerly known as Gateway Locomotives, in 1994. The program was the first in the United States to offer organized hockey instruction for individuals with developmental disabilities.

In his childhood, Neis played sports with the Boys Club of St. Louis and was a talented floor hockey player during the 1980s and early 1990s. Lunny, who relocated to St. Louis with his parents in the early 1960s, played youth hockey in the city and later played alongside fellow St. Louis Hall of Fame inductee Mike Robben at the College of the Holy Cross where he remains the school’s all-time leading scorer. He later played in the IHL and East Coast Hockey League. Husgen, a 12th-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets in 1983, signed a contract with the team in 1987 and spent two seasons with the Moncton Hawks in the AHL.

While most prominent investment firms only hire professionals with post-secondary degrees, graduating from college isn’t a requirement to becoming a stockbroker. Prospective stockbrokers do, however, need to pass the Series 7 exam, also known as the General Securities Representative Qualification Examination, in order to qualify to legally purchase or sell securities products such as municipal fund securities, corporate securities, options, and variable contracts. Series 7 exam candidates need to be sponsored by a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member firm.

As of October 1, 2018, exam candidates also need to complete the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam. This is an introductory-level exam that covers a variety of securities topics and was designed to measure each candidate’s knowledge of fundamental concepts, securities products and their risks, and prohibited practices, among other topics. The SIE is a 75-question exam with questions in the following four sections: Knowledge of Capital Market; Understanding Products and Their Risks; Understanding Trading, Customer Accounts, and Prohibited Activities; and Overview of Regulatory Framework.

While Series 7 exam candidates need to be sponsored by a FINRA member firm to take the test, there are no requirements for individuals to take the SIE. Once a person completes the SIE, they have four years to complete the Series 7 exam or other top-off exams like the Series 6 (Investment Company Representative), Series 57 (Securities Trader), or Series 82 (Private Securities Offerings Representative).

Before FINRA introduced the SIE, the Series 7 exam was composed of 250 questions spanning five major job functions. Candidates had to pay $305 to take the exam and had six hours to complete it. Now, the exam contains 125 multiple choice questions and has a time limit of 3 hours and 45 minutes. Exam registration is $245 and the passing score is 72 percent.

The 150 multiple choice questions are broken down into the following sections: 91 questions in Provides Customers with Information about Investments, Makes Suitable Recommendations, Transfers Assets, and Maintains Appropriate Records; 14 questions in Obtains and Verifies Customers’ Purchase and Sales Instructions and Agreements; Processes, Completes, and Confirms Transactions; 11 questions in Opens Accounts after Obtaining and Evaluating Customers’ Financial Profile and Investment Objectives; and nine questions in Seeks Business for the Broker-Dealer from Customers and Potential Customers.

Once a candidate passes the Series 7 exam, they are permitted to sell covered products and activities such as mutual funds, stocks and bonds, exchange-traded funds, direct participation programs, municipal securities, and real estate investment trusts. They are not, however, authorized to sell real estate or life insurance products.

Some states also require stockbrokers and investment professionals to complete the Series 63 exam, in addition to the Series 7, to sell securities. Also known as the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Exam, the 65 multiple choice question test covers specific state laws and regulations and is developed by the North American Securities Administrators Association. FINRA administers the exam.

Those looking to earn their Series 7 license can complete the exam online by filling out and submitting the FINRA Online Exam Administration Request Form. In-person tests are also offered at select locations. There is no physical documentation for proof of exam completion. Instead, employers can access a current or prospective worker’s credentials via FINRA’s Central Registration Depository.