Chris Payer
About
In today’s competitive marketplace, advisors constantly seek unique and compelling ways to add value, increase revenue and grow their practice. No advisor is an island, and elite advisors recognize that to attract, retain, protect and sustain high value clients, they require a trusted network of external experts to enhance their value beyond their own unique abilities.
For over 27 years, Chris has focused his knowledge, passion and purpose to elevate insurance and collaborative wealth protection to an art form. His trusted advice and advocacy goes beyond products, to deliver customized wealth strategies that create more clarity, opportunity, and certainty in life. Leading a coordinated team, Chris proactively designs, troubleshoots and coordinates the specialties of asset protection, executive compensation, business succession, estate liquidity, and legacy definition. Through a unique 15-point value proposition, he helps elite advisors better serve their clients, engage hard to reach prospects, partner with centers of influence, and facilitate purposeful multi-generational client connections.
Having lost his father in his early twenties to a tragic accident, and concurrently witnessed the spend-down of family assets for his grandparents’ long-term care, Chris has seen firsthand the reality of mortality and the power and purpose of insurance. Shaped by his own family’s loss and circumstances, Chris approaches his professional responsibilities with integrity, embracing accountability and leadership of the sales and underwriting process. He believes every situation is unique, and the key to purposeful planning is first understanding each client’s personal “story” which runs deeper than mere facts and figures. His work is his calling and he gains great satisfaction in helping advisors deepen client relationships and employ results-oriented strategies to encourage gratitude and unity to protect and empower families.
Known for his leadership, Chris delivers targeted expertise to financial advisors, banks, trust departments, philanthropic organizations, property & casualty agencies, accountants, family offices, and national financial institutions. He represents over 70 carriers across multiple product lines for advanced insurance strategies, field-based point-of-sale support, and underwriting advocacy. He also consults with regional multi-office firms to design, implement and support highly effective insurance distribution programs. Chris enhances the professionalism, visibility, and profitability of advisors by helping them grow revenue, strengthen client relationships, gain valuable new referral sources, and solidify multi-generational family engagements. His mission is to bring clarity and understanding to risk planning — to make the complex understandable, to seek opportunities for purposeful financial leverage, and to provide a planning backstop to help ensure the money outlives the people.
Chris has been with Highland for over 20 years and has consistently been a nationally recognized leader. During this time, he is most proud of having served the financial security needs of over 5,000 clients and facilitated over $6 billion in coverage for clients of his advisor-partners. More important though than any product or strategy he could recommend, are the forward-thinking, clarity conversations that he has helped advisors facilitate with their key clients. When approached properly, strategies find their appropriate place, and any product recommendations are wisely made within the overall planning context and family mission.
Chris graduated from Skidmore College with a B.S. in Business and Government, and then went on to 3 years of master’s study in Landscape Architecture at Cornell University. He lives just outside of Saratoga Springs, New York with his wife and family. He enjoys composing and performing music, water and snow skiing, and the great outdoors. Chris is a contributing author to the book Splendid Legacy: The Guide to Creating Your Family Foundation, published by the National Center for Family Philanthropy.
Highland Capital Brokerage is an industry leading, national, independent insurance distribution firm committed to helping successful financial professionals grow their business with high net-worth clients and business owners. Highland professionally facilitates risk-management services, coast-to-coast for over 20 national financial institutions, thousands of independent advisors/RIA's and over 200 community banks in more than 32 states.
Registered representatives offer securities through Securities America, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Financial advisors offer advisory services through Securities America Advisors, Inc. Highland and Securities America are separate entities.