Meet Maram

When I joined the industry over a decade ago, I did so with the intent of disrupting the racism and greed that plagued insurance and wealth management systems. This was not my opinion; “racial capitalism” and “economic racism” were proven to both be fundamental to and deliberately sketched into our financial ecosystem. I had no plans to shine or receive grand trophies on fabricated stages. I had left my own company, reeling both from Founder’s syndrome and a court deemed “malicious” board of directors who over a period of 20 years turned my social justice home into a nepotistic pool of deceit. Money has always been the source of evil, but those like me understood that it could also be the source of bliss if ethical capitalism and value-based planning took center stage.

I yearned for a less dramatic, less public authority role in life and found great comfort in the privacy and confidentially that financial planning offered. For once, I could listen, educate, offer advice, and even laugh or cry with a client and everyone would have to respect the fact that I would never talk about it publicly or reveal any private details. It was a very far cry from having to speak openly and on a public stage five days of the week or having life be an open book. The silence and privacy were gratifying. This type of work was often soul soothing for me, but nevertheless extremely stressful. The industry was foul and tainted by swindlers and xenophobes. It still is. I learned that this just meant that while client time was confidential, certain industry truths still needed to be shared out loud.

Maram Financial Services empowers clients to align their assets with their values, follow their moral compass and foster portfolios that are life-affirming- exiting whenever possible investments that fund weapons of war, vice stocks, or any form of social or environmental injustice. We believe in God and in rigorously allocating capital towards innovations that promote dignity, human rights for everyone regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation, and we only support initiatives that further peace and prosperity for all.

After conducing cohort driven academic research at an “industry leader” in financial services and working my way up the Partner ladder at a fortune 100 company, I made a big decision on my 48th birthday. I would not turn 50 working for a company that had 40-50 discrimination cases filed against it each year. It was December of 2019, and like so many others on the planet, I decided that the big 2020 was the best year to start my transition. If I could complete my transition in 2020, then I would turn 50 in a new decade (Jan 2021), establish a new home with a new space to think and a new mission. I did.

2020

In 2020 I transitioned to Preferred Financial Planners in Troy, Michigan, where I served as the Vice President of Business Development for three years. The core insurance partner for the PFP offices at that time was National Life Group, where I was also enlisted as a Managing Director. Despite Covid-19 and all the unexpected challenges that came with it, I won National Life Group’s National “Top Recruiter Trophy” for 2020 and was the first Manager in the Detroit Agency to have a first-year agent (one who had never been licensed or in financial services before) qualify for the Company’s President’s Club. I learned a lot. Not all of it was good, but all of it was educational.

The agency system is as imperfect as the industry. By my 3rd year, I was filling four roles at the Detroit agency, including teaching courses at a Birmingham based Financial Training Institute on behalf of the General Agent and getting paid nothing to do it. It was taking a toll on the time I had for my own clients. It took several months for me to realize that I was the agency’s primary resource. I needed to be supported, not be the primary supporter again. With that, I appreciated the Living Benefits and people I met through my National Life Group service, which did help me earn a living, and as such, I accepted a new role as Director of Cultural Markets for True North, a much larger and more established National Life Group Agency in White Plains, New York.

2023

Within a year of my transition to the White Plains agency, and not having the pressure of filling four other positions simultaneously, I won the Top Agency Award as #1 proprietary credit producer and the #1 annuity producer for 2023. This was significant in that most of the agency, like most other financial services agencies, consisted primarily of Caucasian men who were being funded and/or often financially, emotionally, and physically supported by management. I was not. Never. In fact, I was not included in essential planning meetings which made it harder to plan for industry next steps. In hind sight, this made me stronger as I pursued other 3rd party avenues to continue my self-studies and as a result, learned from a broader base of professionals with far more experience.

Within a year of my production and role as Director of Cultural Markets with True North in White Plains, the agency leadership shifted abruptly (overnight) and my Director of Cultural Markets role was eliminated with the departure of True North leadership. While I am appreciative of my partnership with the new leader who is based in Latham, New York, the vision of the agency also shifted.

2024

As is typical in the industry, and despite my status as the number one female life producer on the East Coast and the Midwest and Southeast in 2024 (only 1 female produced more life business in the affiliated National Life Agencies at the time and ironically, she was from a cultural market in California, my home State) and a top 5 producer overall in an agency of over 200, it became obvious that I needed to be even more independent to fulfill my mission and to foster the equity and inclusion that I believe is necessary for any agency to thrive.

Furthermore, and despite producing at the highest production tiers, I was the only leader not receiving leverage or financial or recruiting resources to support my business. I learned then that there was no rhyme or reason to focus on one agency. I needed to do what was in the best interest of my clients, and that meant leveraging resources that could make me more efficient for them and better able to service more of their needs.

2025

In 2025, I expanded my footprint to include Blue Zone Brokerage, which started with 2 brokers this past summer and has expanded to 4 in just the past month. Blue Zone Brokerage specializes in burial policies, disability, enhanced fixed tax efficient annuities and long-term care, which was the subject of my first graduate thesis. Through my broker-dealer, Equity Services Inc, I also shifted my focus to helping clients invest ethically and bring their “assets under management” in alignment with their values. Additionally, Maram Financial Services, with its core provider National Life Group, expanded its life insurance, retirement planning, pensions, college planning, and estate planning and tax mitigation strategies business. Previously having expanded from one to two offices in the historic Bagley Mansion in the Detroit Riverfront District and then to three offices, Maram Financial recently negotiated a 4th space for 2026. My offices are not funded by anyone other than myself, leaving me free to truly working in the best interest of my clients. The goal is to add a full-time accountant to the practice and a branding manager.

Also in 2025, National Life Group recognized me as the “Agent Do Good” award leader for its national affiliated channel. I was nominated for the award by the new agency leader I partner with, Conor Boyd, who has been very supportive of my public work. As such, I was proud to be the first agent/adviser to bring a National Award to the Capital Region, Upstate New York, and White Plain agencies he leads. Please visit our online album and celebrations tab for recent photos and videos.

Having recently been nominated for the “Top 100 Innovators” in the nation by “Top 100 Magazine”, I enlisted our multi region agency leader, Conor Boyd of Thoroughbred Advisors, to help me expand services. This July, he took a new approach with my offices which I will discuss in the magazine, scheduled to be released January 2026! It has been interesting to discover new opportunities and adventures that await when one’s long-term vision is unobstructed! And I look forward to my new work with Mr. Boyd on some new and exciting services—stay tuned!

I also look forward to working with other agency leaders across the country to continuously improve and expand value-based services to the communities we live and work in.

Please see Part 2 of my bio for additional 2025 accomplishments and more details on 2026 business planning and trajectory.

In the interim, here is the last publicly posted bio and historical view on my career prior to going “independent.”

Maram was a Partner with a fortune one hundred insurance company and has been an agent and Registered Representative since 2012. During her first 18 months in the financial industry at New York Life Insurance and Securities, Maram achieved both President's Council and Million Dollar Round Table* membership, and over a dozen awards including Life Case Rate Leader Award, Life Stars Individual Life Award, Career Life Producer Award, LIMRA Award for Largest Life Insurance Face Amount, Rookie of the Year and New Associate of the Year Awards, the Life Foundation Award, Greater San Francisco General Office MVP of the Year (Life Sales) Award, Cultural Market Awards, and the Greater San Francisco General Office Agency Builder of the Year Award for 2015. Also, during her time in the high performing San Francisco based office, Maram was continuously appointed as part of office's Leadership team and was a mentor to her fellow new agents. She used her training in conflict resolution and background in collaborative leadership to help mitigate challenging situations in a large office environment. As an effective advocate, Maram’s peers elected her to serve as a member of the San Francisco Office's Agent Advisory Board for three years in a row to represent their interests to management, and she remained on the Board throughout her time in San Francisco.

Maram relocated to a Detroit based office in October 2016 to be closer to elderly family. Just a few short months into her arrival to Detroit, Maram achieved a “Triple Crown Award” for production and Agent of the Year for 2016. She accomplished this while being an MDRT member and mentor and helping other agents become first time members of MDRT.

In late 2019, Maram realized that she could not expand on her interests in empowering and serving disenfranchised communities while being captive in a corporate position. Now she partners with a team of industry leaders, and educators equally committed to and focused on education and improving the quality of life for all communities.

Maram Alaiwat has a bachelor's degree in Health Services Administration from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, and a Masters’ Degree in Collaborative Educational Leadership from Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California, and a second Master’s Degree, this time in instruction and curriculum, Med. from the same University. In addition, Ms. Alaiwat has completed doctoral level coursework (PhD and EdD) in “organizational development and behavior”, “corporate ethics,” “structural inequality and the wealth gap” and “systems thinking.”

Many evenings, you will find Maram working with local public-school administrators and/or public education media sources to further the cause of environmental, health and financial justice and education.

Maram is also a Trustee of Detroit PBS and WRCJ Radio (formerly Detroit Public TV and Radio) and the Board Chair of the American Lung Association of Michigan.