From his first job and his best life lesson to his thoughts about the future of the reverse mortgage industry, we get the personal and professional facts from Mark Acchione, managing director of capital markets at One Reverse Mortgage, in our monthly edition of The Hot Seat.
You can’t always be wrong, so I’ve got that going for me.
My favorite vacation was at The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman.
My celebrity crush is Lisabeth Watson.
If I were a professional athlete I would be an NFL cornerback in Tampa Bay.
My first car was an ’86 Buick Skylark in baby blue.
My most embarrassing moment was when I was 15 and invited to a pool party at the house directly behind mine. The houses were divided by a 6-foot fence. Instead of walking all the way around the block I climbed over the fence as I did almost daily to visit my friend. At the top of the fence my shoe got caught, causing me to lose my balance and I fell, violently, into the pool area. I took a good portion of the wooden fence down with me. As I stood up the entire 10th grade class was in a hysterical frenzy rating the botched dismount. The embarrassment wasn’t from the fall itself, rather from the laughter that was coming from my own patio where my parents were eating dinner, watching the whole event.
The craziest thing I’ve ever done was drive my mother’s car to school without asking. I was 13 years old.
If I had three wishes they would be health and prosperity for Sarah, Gracie, Jacob and Olivia; a new kitchen and bathroom for my wife; and for a Swedish Fish to be in my left pocket every time I reached into it.
If I could meet anyone, past or present, it would be Wilbur and Orville Wright. There’s something about people who rebuke the impossible that I admire.
My favorite movie is a toss-up between The Hunt for Red October and Gladiator.
My favorite website is wsj.com.
I never miss an episode of The Profit on CNBC.
When I was younger I wanted to be a fighter jet pilot.
Every morning I stop at a McDonalds drive-thru for coffee and an Egg McMuffin.
I can’t go without coffee and Egg McMuffins.
When I was a kid I told my third grade teacher that my father played professional football. It subsequently made for an interesting parent/teacher conference.
I’ll never forget my grandmother, Nona. If God plants angels on earth to show us what good humans are capable of, she was one of them.
My first job was working for my father’s company, unloading semi-truck trailers full of 50-100lb bags of soil. I learned the meaning of the term “a hard day’s work” when I was 12 years old.
The best lesson I’ve ever learned was that if it’s not in writing, it didn’t happen.
The worst purchase I’ve ever made was a convertible. It was nice until I got it home and tried to strap two car seats into what they claimed was a backseat.
My favorite book is The Big Short by Michael Lewis.
If I could trade places with someone for a day, it would be Bob “The General” Yeary. But not without insuring my body before giving it to him for the day.
If I could time travel, I would be in 1983, on the set of Knight Rider.
The most important thing financial advisors can learn about reverse mortgages is that when properly aligned, they are the best retirement product to use in building their clients’ financial profiles.
The influence technology will have on reverse mortgages is tremendous. The wave of baby boomers approaching 62 brings with it a very savvy, tech-loving consumer. Those of us who embrace and use technology to bring information to the client will improve the client experience and penetrate a broader consumer base. In addition to a creating great experience, technology puts important information at the client’s fingertips, giving them peace of mind about the transaction.
There isn’t much about this industry that doesn’t fascinate me. However, the people who work in this field are the most notable. I’ve been a part of many assemblages in my business career, but I’ve never experienced a group of professionals who work together toward a common goal quite like this one. The strength of an industry rests on its people. Those who embrace a cooperative culture and truly cherish the spirit of their objectives will thrive in a
world of change and more change.
The biggest impact reverse mortgages offer to seniors is impossible to summarize. I came up with a list of 36 words that can fill this space. At the top of that list were “sovereignty and assurance.” I can only hope that as I enter my golden years, a broad equity product will be available that will enable me to access the investment my wife and I work so hard for every day. Without that, I will have wasted a lot of blood, sweat and tears.
Industry growth is dependent upon so much. This industry will rely on technology and a more direct marketing approach to increase the incredibly low penetration rate we experience today (about 2 percent last time I checked). The remarkable people in this industry must continue their walk toward a perfect offering—one that will benefit the consumer first, while maintaining a relatively low level of risk for the agency and originator. I also believe a proprietary product will help mitigate the industry’s uninhibited dependence, taking the program to the next level.
