Richard Unangst attended Brigham Young University and in 1961 he was hired by Frihoff Allen, Founder and President of American Savings Life Insurance Company and served as their Accountant Controller for eleven years. Richard then went out on his own and performed the accounting, filing of Annual Statements with State Regulators, and doing consulting for several small Life Insurance Companies in Arizona. Richard was then hired by the Arizona Department of Insurance as an Insurance Examiner conducting Solvency and Market Conduct examinations; he also was an Insurance Examiner for the State of Delaware. During the 6 ½ years that Richard was an Insurance Examiner he examined among other Insurance Companies, New York Life, Metropolitan Life’s Property and Casualty Company, and Jackson National Life Insurance Company.
In 1997 Richard was invited to join the Arizona Securities Division as a financial Institution examiner because of his extensive financial auditing and insurance background. In 1999 he was appointed Supervisor of all of the Division’s Examiners, supervising the examinations of Broker Dealers and Investment Advisors for state statute and sales practice compliance. He also worked closely with staff members of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the National Association of Securities Dealers Regulation (NASD), and other state regulators. He was a member of the North American Administrator’s Associations (NASAA) Investment Advisor outreach project group, which worked on developing a national electronic filing and registration depository for investment advisors. Richard served as Chairman of the NASAA Investment Advisor Outreach Committee, where he was specifically recognized for his work in preparing PowerPoint presentations for investment advisors in transitioning to an electronic filing and registration system, and preparing the State Regulators with PowerPoint presentations to accept the transitioning of the Investment Advisor’s to the electronic filing system. His PowerPoint Presentations were posted on NASAA’s National website for 8 years. In May of 2004 Richard retired from State Service, and was awarded a Special Recognition Plaque with his retired Badge affixed, thanking him for his friendship and service to the Arizona Securities Division.
From June of 2004 to November of 2006 Richard worked as a compliance examiner for the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) at District #8 in Chicago IL. The NASD is a self-regulatory organization (SRO), which regulates all Broker Dealers in the United States and is over sited by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). Richard retired from the NASD after two years of service.
In January of 2009 Richard was invited by David Allen Chairman of the Board and Byron Allen President to return to American Savings Life as Compliance Officer to help with the development and electronic filings with Arizona and Utah of Annuity Products for the company. After the successful filings, he was asked to do the underwriting for the Annuity Products and continue to assist with additional Annuity Product development and filings. With 15 years of experience as a regulator he is dedicated to making sure that American Savings is compliant with the Insurance Statues and Rules. In underwriting he is committed to determining that our Insurance Policies and Annuity Contracts are “Suitable” for the applicants focusing on their financial goals and assuring them and their family’s future.
On a personal note: Richard is the Father of 7 Children, Grandfather of 19 Grandchildren, and the Great Grandfather of 37 Great Grandchildren. He loves to dance and is an avid runner, preaching consistence exercise for a better quality of life and health.