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Jackson Launches Web Site For Financial Consumers, LinkedIn Group For Advisors

LANSING -- Jackson National Life Insurance Co. announced today the launch of the Center for Financial Insight, a new Web site for consumers, advisors and Jackson employees, and The Alternative Investment Learning Center, a LinkedIn community designed exclusively for registered advisors.

The two new online resources are intended to serve as central components of Jackson's educational strategy, offering insights on many aspects of financial planning, from basic terminology and fundamental investment concepts to information on investment vehicles and trends.

"In an increasingly complicated financial world, all stakeholders in the investing process – advisors, investors and even our own employees – need access to educational resources that cater to their specific knowledge level and unique investment goals," said Clifford Jack, executive vice president and head of retail for Jackson. "Our educational campaign is designed to bring clarity to an industry that many believe to be overly complex and confusing. As integral pieces of our overall business strategy, these new communities will serve as a complement to our already robust alternative investment and retirement planning education efforts across the industry."

Located within Jackson National Life's existing Web site, www.jackson.com, the Center for Financial Insight will help to bring the financial planning environment into focus for today's investors, offering educational content, ideas and commentary from some of the top thought leaders in the financial services industry. The online resource provides a wealth of proprietary research, informational videos, white papers, industry commentary and "Investor 101" materials. Fresh content will be added to the website frequently, expanding the library to include an increasingly broader range of resources.

"Providing educational content for investors and advisors through the Center for Financial Insight is an innovative idea in the financial services world, and is a transparent and progressive representation of Jackson's commitment to closing the knowledge gap that exists in our industry," said Matt Gonring, vice president of corporate communications for Jackson. "Above all, we want to support the partnership between advisors and investors by positioning them on the same side of the table, and these digital platforms provide us with a great venue to do so."

Examples of the content on the Center currently include:
• An exclusive survey from Jackson and AdvisorOne.com on "Social Media and Technology Adoption Among Advisors," highlighting benefits, obstacles and pitfalls to using social media;
• Greg Cicotte, president, Jackson National Life Distributors, LLC., discusses variable annuities in the new video: "60 Years and Growing: The History of Variable Annuities;"
•Clifford Jack outlines reasons why alternative investments are becoming an integral part of the retirement planning conversation in "Alternative Investments in Today's Changing Environment."

The Alternative Investment Learning Center, Powered by Jackson, one of the first LinkedIn groups to offer dedicated alternative investment education to advisors, is designed specifically as an idea-sharing forum for registered representatives who hold at least a FINRA Series 6 or 7 registration. The group, which will launch this week, will serve as a mutually supportive community, in which advisors across the nation can access educational materials and discuss alternative investment strategies, portfolio planning tools and industry best practices, allowing each individual member to take advantage of the collective knowledge of the group.

LinkedIn is the world's largest online professional network, with more than 200 million users, 250,000 of which are advisors. Jackson plans to first invite advisors from its affiliated broker-dealer network National Planning Holdings Inc., to join the group, and will invite advisors from other broker-dealers to join as the company receives approval from their broker-dealer back offices.

In addition to the LinkedIn group and the Center for Financial Insight, Jackson's educational efforts include a focus on alternative investment strategies, a growing area in portfolio planning. In January, Jackson announced an ambitious plan for alternative education training in 2013, including 30 regional half-day training events, six national full-day training sessions, 120 alternative education training sessions, 130 alternative investment Continuing Education (CE) training sessions and a variety of virtual opportunities, including Quarterly Alternative Market Webcasts and monthly alternative investment conference calls.

"Although advisors continue to seek ways to incorporate alternatives within client portfolios, many are unclear on how to effectively utilize these asset classes and confidently explain alternatives to their clients," said Jack. "At Jackson, we are firmly committed to educating advisors on the role that alternative investments can play in helping investors potentially grow returns and manage risk in their portfolios."

The Center for Financial Insight is the latest addition to the award-winning Jackson.com website, which recently garnered several Annuity Monitor Awards for 2012 (report published by Corporate Insight). Jackson received Gold Medals in Client Transaction Capability, Client Statements and Advisor Illustration Systems categories, as well as Silver Medals in Public Education and Public Homepage and Navigation.

To learn more about the Center for Financial Insight, visit www.jackson.com/thoughtleadership. Advisors can learn more about the Alternative Investment Learning Center by sending an email to altlearningcenter@jackson.com. Advisors who wish to learn more about Jackson and its alternative education programs can contact Jackson by calling 800-711-JNLD (5653) or visiting www.jackson.com or www.myeliteaccess.com.

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