WEBVTT - Retirement Planning, Fertility Support for Men

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news. You're listening to Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>Business Week with krol Messer and Tim Stenebek on Bloomberg Radio.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, Emily, typically investing for retirement goes like this. When

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<v Speaker 2>you're young and you have many years to work, you

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<v Speaker 2>primarily own volatile assets like stocks. Only a small portion

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<v Speaker 2>of your portfolio is bonds. Then as you get older

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<v Speaker 2>your portfolio grows, that allocation changes, and when you get

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<v Speaker 2>close to retirement a lot more of your portfolio is bonds.

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<v Speaker 2>Then it's stocks. That's the conventional wisdom. But our next

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<v Speaker 2>guest says that's not enough for today. Salkapezi is executive

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<v Speaker 2>vice president at Dunham Dunham in Associates Investment Council. He

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<v Speaker 2>joins us here in the Bloomberg Interactive Brokers Studio. We

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<v Speaker 2>talk a lot about the idea of conventional wisdom for

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<v Speaker 2>retirement being broken. But what specifically do you see not

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<v Speaker 2>working today and why?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, it's what we called the retirement in investment paradox, right,

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<v Speaker 3>and it's exactly what you just described. So when I

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<v Speaker 3>came into this business, our asset allocation was basically what

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<v Speaker 3>they called an age based allocation. Here's how it worked.

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<v Speaker 3>If I was twenty years old, I had a client

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<v Speaker 3>twenty years old, that means I put them twenty percent

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<v Speaker 3>in bonds eighty percent in stocks. That sounds they got older, right, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 3>So are at thirty years old now they have thirty

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<v Speaker 3>percent in bonds. By the time they hit age sixty five,

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<v Speaker 3>they would be sixty five percent in bonds thirty five

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<v Speaker 3>percent in stocks. And that worked for us because there

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<v Speaker 3>was one risk that we were trying to mitigate, and

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<v Speaker 3>that was sequence risk. What we didn't want was for

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<v Speaker 3>them to hit retirement in a bad market and suddenly

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<v Speaker 3>find that their entire retirement portfolio basically was blown apart.

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<v Speaker 3>So that's all we were concerned about because at age

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<v Speaker 3>sixty five back then, we knew they had maybe ten

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<v Speaker 3>to twenty years left in retirement. Today ten twenty years

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<v Speaker 3>before they died, correct before they write before they passed away.

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<v Speaker 3>So what we're seeing today is a little bit different

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<v Speaker 3>because what we're seeing today is there are three major risks.

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<v Speaker 3>There's inflation, there's the fact that we're living longer, and

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<v Speaker 3>their sequence risk, and a financial advisor now has to

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<v Speaker 3>balance those type of those risks. Back in the late nineties,

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<v Speaker 3>there was a major Boston asset management company by the

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<v Speaker 3>Great Big Dick for your new listeners out in Boston,

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<v Speaker 3>and they had a big billboard. As you were sitting

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<v Speaker 3>through traffic, you're watching this billboard and what it said

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<v Speaker 3>was that the first person to live to be one

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<v Speaker 3>hundred and fifty years old is alive today.

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<v Speaker 1>It is.

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<v Speaker 3>It's not a common right now where we know that

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<v Speaker 3>there are people that are over one hundred years old.

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<v Speaker 3>I know three different people that are now over just

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<v Speaker 3>one hundred years old.

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<v Speaker 2>My grandma turns one hundred and two next month and

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<v Speaker 2>I just visited her over the weekend and she's doing fine, right,

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<v Speaker 2>I mean she's one hundred and two. Yeah, she's still

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<v Speaker 2>she still definitely has some of her snappyness.

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<v Speaker 4>Does your own crypto and leverage video?

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<v Speaker 2>No, none of that going on.

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<v Speaker 4>So where do you where do you focus now? Is

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<v Speaker 4>this a change because of this paradox? Is this a

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<v Speaker 4>change that like young people are adding more risk assets

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<v Speaker 4>or you're focusing more on that sixty five and up

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<v Speaker 4>age group and changing that portfolio.

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<v Speaker 3>It's the sixty five on up because that's where we

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<v Speaker 3>have the paradox. Because if we're livid logger. Right, how

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<v Speaker 3>do you what you needed your portfolio was growth? Right?

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<v Speaker 3>Stocks tend to give us growth if you try to

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<v Speaker 3>battle inflation. Right, And even if the FED hits its

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<v Speaker 3>two percent target, the compounding effect of two percent inflation

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<v Speaker 3>for you know someone who's one hundred and two years old, right,

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<v Speaker 3>What it basically means is that that if I retired, Right,

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<v Speaker 3>I'm sixty five, and I go to the supermarket, and

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<v Speaker 3>there are twenty five items that I purchase, right, and

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<v Speaker 3>I purchase those same items. So it's bread, it's milk,

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<v Speaker 3>it's vegetables, it's fruit. I purchased the same items every

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<v Speaker 3>single week at a two percent inflation. By the time

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<v Speaker 3>I forty years later, right, I have to take thirteen

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<v Speaker 3>of those items out of my basket and leave them

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<v Speaker 3>at the supermarket, leaving what just eleven or spending a

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<v Speaker 3>lot more. Right. And so the paradox is what, so

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<v Speaker 3>what is the asset class that is best to handle inflation? Well,

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<v Speaker 3>it's equities, right, It's great job over the years of

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<v Speaker 3>combatied inflation. But what is the one thing if you

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<v Speaker 3>take a look at sequence risk? Right, and this is

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<v Speaker 3>the paradox. What causes sequence risk. It's if you live

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<v Speaker 3>too long equities.

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<v Speaker 2>And if you are in a portfolio where there's a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of volatility, your part portfolio can go down for

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<v Speaker 2>a number of years and you don't have that money.

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<v Speaker 3>Correct SOT And if you go and if you tried

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<v Speaker 3>to combat sequence risk, what do you do? Then you

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<v Speaker 3>look at less viol so you do bonds you do

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<v Speaker 3>or do what ease? You might do bucket strategies, right,

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<v Speaker 3>but if it's too conservative, now you don't have the

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<v Speaker 3>growth to combat the inflation and livy longer. That's the

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<v Speaker 3>paradox that that we're facing.

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<v Speaker 2>So what's the answer here? And also just are we

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<v Speaker 2>doing it wrong with these target date funds because a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of times, you know, we don't have many options

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<v Speaker 2>when it comes to investing in retire for retirement. When

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<v Speaker 2>you have a four to one K with a company,

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<v Speaker 2>for example, throw it into target date fund. These things

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<v Speaker 2>are made for catered for a certain age, right.

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<v Speaker 3>And the question we have to ask ourselves, and we

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<v Speaker 3>ask ourselves this question at DOT them is are those

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<v Speaker 3>the right investments going forward? So if we are going

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<v Speaker 3>to be living longer, right, then is that the right strategy?

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<v Speaker 3>Do we really want to be in bonds at the end,

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<v Speaker 3>or do we as an industry have a responsibility to

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<v Speaker 3>find new type of investments, a new type of overlays

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<v Speaker 3>that we might be able to have that can combat

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<v Speaker 3>sequence risk and perhaps give growth.

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<v Speaker 2>What are some of the options that are out there?

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<v Speaker 2>So at DOUTA we have an option there.

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<v Speaker 3>So this is something that we've been working on, right,

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<v Speaker 3>this is something that we've been working on for a

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<v Speaker 3>number of years now in terms of retirees of this

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<v Speaker 3>concept that we need to be thinking differently. So we

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<v Speaker 3>have a strategy where basically we're buying fear and selling greed.

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<v Speaker 1>Right.

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<v Speaker 3>So it's inspired by Warren Buffett, right, the famous quote

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<v Speaker 3>be fearful when others are greedy, be greedy when others

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<v Speaker 3>are fearful. Right. So what we're basically doing is we're

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<v Speaker 3>taking a look at at the price of equities. Right.

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<v Speaker 3>As prices go higher and as investors are willing to

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<v Speaker 3>pay more, we based on an algorithm. It's math, right,

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<v Speaker 3>it's math at time. Right, As as they're willing to

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<v Speaker 3>pay more, we are selling them the equities when the

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<v Speaker 3>when the market starts to turn and I should stop

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<v Speaker 3>hitting that microphone, I guess so, so when the markets

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<v Speaker 3>turned right, then then and and and and people start

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<v Speaker 3>panicking and they're selling equities at lower prices. Then we're buying.

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<v Speaker 3>But here's the key. What that means is this. That

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<v Speaker 3>means at the top of the mar you own less equities.

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<v Speaker 3>At the bottom of the market, you have more equities.

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<v Speaker 3>So what you're attempting to do, what you potentially could accomplish,

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<v Speaker 3>is mitigating that sequence risk, but at the same time

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<v Speaker 3>you now have the growth.

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<v Speaker 2>But timing the market, we're told is a fool's errand

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<v Speaker 2>how do you do it?

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<v Speaker 3>So we're not tiping the market. We're simply looking at

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<v Speaker 3>the price of the market. We're not trying to pick

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<v Speaker 3>the top, we're not trying to pick the bottom.

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<v Speaker 2>But you're preparing a portfolio to react to situations that

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<v Speaker 2>include the top and the bottom.

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<v Speaker 3>Yes, so a little bit different, right. So Number one,

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<v Speaker 3>it's an overlay. So we have our asset allocation program

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<v Speaker 3>that's been doing this for almost forty years, right, So

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<v Speaker 3>this is simply an overlay that we placed over our

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<v Speaker 3>regular portfolios that we manage specifically for retirees, just to

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<v Speaker 3>help them in this sequence risk and this growth that

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<v Speaker 3>they need. So we're not trying to protect anything. It's

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<v Speaker 3>simply math. Right, So hypothetically right, this is not how

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<v Speaker 3>it works. But you could say, ver tide the market

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<v Speaker 3>moves five percent higher, we're gonna sell, right because we

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<v Speaker 3>can get a better price. Ver Tide the market dips, right,

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<v Speaker 3>and it dips by five percent, will will purchase equities. Right.

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<v Speaker 3>It's a little more complicated than that the overall algorithm,

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<v Speaker 3>but it's not much more complicated. We're not using AI,

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<v Speaker 3>we're not taking forty two different factors into account. It's

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<v Speaker 3>simply math.

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<v Speaker 4>We only have about a minute left. But in your opinion,

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<v Speaker 4>what's the best place to get income from? Because that's

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<v Speaker 4>been such a hot theme in the last few years,

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<v Speaker 4>and I know that retirees like to have an income stream.

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<v Speaker 3>So the so equities provide it. Started markets a to

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<v Speaker 3>prevent this amount of income through there evidens, But clearly

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<v Speaker 3>right now bonds are a place to receive income.

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<v Speaker 1>Right.

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<v Speaker 3>The problem is that is going to start vanishet in

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<v Speaker 3>a couple of weeks as the VET starts lowering rates,

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<v Speaker 3>we're going to be back to that market again. And

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<v Speaker 3>that's why at Dunham what we do is we take

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<v Speaker 3>a look at retirement and we try to create for

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<v Speaker 3>our financial advisors that we work with, we try to

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<v Speaker 3>create a process for them to be able to accomplish

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<v Speaker 3>the income that they that the client needs, but also

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<v Speaker 3>to be able to work hand in hand to get

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<v Speaker 3>that growth, and we do that through this algorithm.

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<v Speaker 2>Very interesting stuff, soal thanks.

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<v Speaker 1>For joining us.

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<v Speaker 3>It's my pleasure. Thank you for having me.

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<v Speaker 2>Salkapezi, Executive vice president at Dunham and Associates Investment Council,

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<v Speaker 2>joining us here in the Bloomberg Interactive Brokers studio.

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<v Speaker 3>When we talk about.

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<v Speaker 2>Fertility, IVF, i UI, it's a really hot button issue

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<v Speaker 2>in politics right now, but some and people have different

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<v Speaker 2>views on how they look at it, and a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of people in different parts of the country have different

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<v Speaker 2>views on it. But you can't argue with the way

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<v Speaker 2>things are going and the stats out there. According to

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<v Speaker 2>the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the number of babies

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<v Speaker 2>born from IVF increased in twenty twenty two to ninety

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<v Speaker 2>one thousand, seven hundred and seventy one. That's up from

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<v Speaker 2>eighty nine thousand, two hundred and eight in twenty twenty one.

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<v Speaker 2>In other words, according to the ASRM, two point five

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<v Speaker 2>percent of all berths in the US that year were

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<v Speaker 2>the result of successful assisted reproductive technology cycles. Somebody who

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<v Speaker 2>watched this closely as Shelley McConnell, chief strategy officer at

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<v Speaker 2>Win Fertility. It's a company that works on family building,

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<v Speaker 2>they work on IVF, IUI, and they provide support around

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<v Speaker 2>those things and full disclosure, I believe it is a

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<v Speaker 2>company that Bloomberg uses in its benefits. Shelley joins us

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<v Speaker 2>from Greenwich, Connecticut. Shelly, good to have you with us.

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<v Speaker 5>How are you hi, Thank you for having me. I'm

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<v Speaker 5>happy to be here.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, thanks for joining us. It's interesting to see these

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<v Speaker 2>numbers because I'll be honest with you, ninety one thousand

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<v Speaker 2>berths from IVF or IUI. That seems low. I think

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<v Speaker 2>if you live in a city and you're of a

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<v Speaker 2>certain age, a lot of people you know have gone

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<v Speaker 2>through IVF for IUI or other assisted fertility. I'm wondering

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<v Speaker 2>from your perspective, why you think it's grown so much

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<v Speaker 2>in such a short time. Is it because we're all

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<v Speaker 2>having kids when we're older.

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<v Speaker 5>Now, that's one of the factors, but it's not all

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<v Speaker 5>of the factors. In fact, when it comes to infertility

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<v Speaker 5>and pregnancy loss. Historically, women have held the stigma and

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<v Speaker 5>the burden, the financial burden, the mental burden, the physical

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<v Speaker 5>burden of treatments and testing and monitoring. But what we

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<v Speaker 5>know now is that male reproductive health contributes to infertility

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<v Speaker 5>as much as female reproductive health. So men and women

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<v Speaker 5>fertility does decrease as we age, but that is not

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<v Speaker 5>the only factor. There are a lot of environmental factors

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<v Speaker 5>and undetermined factors as well.

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<v Speaker 4>What is WIND doing when it comes to these male

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<v Speaker 4>fertility treatments, Because I agree with you, you don't really

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<v Speaker 4>hear that much about the treatments that men can undergo

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<v Speaker 4>for infertility, right, Yes, it's.

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<v Speaker 5>Very important for men early and comprehensively to be tested.

0:13:47.200 --> 0:13:54.280
<v Speaker 5>Anything that can interrupt their hormone levels can impact their fertility.

0:13:54.760 --> 0:13:58.800
<v Speaker 5>So in some cases there are actual procedures to help.

0:13:58.960 --> 0:14:02.440
<v Speaker 5>In other cases they are medical interventions, and in some

0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:05.240
<v Speaker 5>cases there are drug protocols that can help.

0:14:06.920 --> 0:14:10.720
<v Speaker 2>It's so interesting when when you hear about the idea

0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:15.880
<v Speaker 2>of reproductive techniques, you hear a lot about egg freezing.

0:14:16.800 --> 0:14:21.480
<v Speaker 2>What I have not heard about is sperm freezing. And

0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:24.200
<v Speaker 2>I know thanks to our producer Paul Brennan, who sent

0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:28.560
<v Speaker 2>us some notes ahead of time that about a third

0:14:28.560 --> 0:14:33.640
<v Speaker 2>of your clients are offering elective sperm freezing services. That's right,

0:14:34.560 --> 0:14:35.640
<v Speaker 2>talk a little bit about that.

0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:40.560
<v Speaker 5>Sure, you know. We're actually seeing this increase in popularity

0:14:40.840 --> 0:14:45.480
<v Speaker 5>from a few perspectives. One is some acknowledgement that male

0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:49.360
<v Speaker 5>reproductive health and fertility does decrease over time, and so

0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:55.320
<v Speaker 5>having sperm preserved is something that's becoming a little more popular,

0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:59.760
<v Speaker 5>although not nearly, as it's not experiencing nearly the boom

0:14:59.800 --> 0:15:04.600
<v Speaker 5>that egg freezing has been experiencing. The second is that

0:15:04.880 --> 0:15:09.160
<v Speaker 5>often when someone is about to undergo a medical treatment

0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:14.680
<v Speaker 5>that would negatively and significantly compromise their fertility, they choose

0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:19.040
<v Speaker 5>to preserve sperm for future use. An example would be

0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:23.560
<v Speaker 5>certain cancer treatments where they will likely be rendered and

0:15:23.600 --> 0:15:26.120
<v Speaker 5>fertile as a result, they may preserve it for future use.

0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:29.240
<v Speaker 5>And the third would be anyone who would be going

0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:33.640
<v Speaker 5>through gender reassignment should be offered the opportunity to preserve

0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:38.400
<v Speaker 5>egg or sperm prior to undergoing ormone treatment.

0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:44.560
<v Speaker 4>So the sperm freezing is that cheaper than egg freezing.

0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:49.600
<v Speaker 5>Yes, it is much cheaper than egg freezing. Egg freezing

0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:53.600
<v Speaker 5>might be ten to fifteen thousand dollars. That can depend

0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:57.720
<v Speaker 5>on where you are geographically and how successful the cycles are.

0:15:58.120 --> 0:16:01.600
<v Speaker 5>For men, all in it is is maybe seven hundred

0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:02.840
<v Speaker 5>and two one thousand dollars.

0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:05.640
<v Speaker 4>What do we know so far about the success rate

0:16:06.000 --> 0:16:09.200
<v Speaker 4>in that kind of procedure, because with egg freezing it

0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:10.360
<v Speaker 4>doesn't always work.

0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:18.240
<v Speaker 5>No, that's true. And for men, collection of sperm is

0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:22.640
<v Speaker 5>much more straightforward and much easier, and so that is

0:16:22.840 --> 0:16:27.000
<v Speaker 5>that tends to be more successful. What we would have

0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:30.840
<v Speaker 5>concerns about it's not just the quantity but the quality

0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:34.720
<v Speaker 5>of the sperm. And so we know that in mail infertility,

0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:39.120
<v Speaker 5>both the quantity and quality of the sperm are impacting fertility,

0:16:39.720 --> 0:16:43.400
<v Speaker 5>and so making sure that the quality of the sperm

0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:47.280
<v Speaker 5>is very good and has minimal a fragmentation and other

0:16:47.320 --> 0:16:52.320
<v Speaker 5>things that can negatively impact fertility and pregnancy loss.

0:16:53.560 --> 0:17:00.560
<v Speaker 2>I'm wondering about Shelley, the idea of low testoster and

0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:04.520
<v Speaker 2>how from your position at wind Fertility you're looking at

0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:05.919
<v Speaker 2>this phenomenon that we're seeing.

0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:14.200
<v Speaker 5>Yes, significant male testosterone levels typically drop off annually from

0:17:14.240 --> 0:17:18.560
<v Speaker 5>age thirty and above, and can do so quite significantly

0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:23.480
<v Speaker 5>from the age fifty and up. About twenty five percent

0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:31.119
<v Speaker 5>of men report adverse symptoms associated with the decrease in

0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:37.359
<v Speaker 5>testosterone and what is called Andrew pause, and very many

0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:41.000
<v Speaker 5>report that it impacts their work and their ability to

0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:45.480
<v Speaker 5>perform their work functions. So it actually is something that

0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:49.320
<v Speaker 5>has not been well publicized or discussed to the extent

0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:51.280
<v Speaker 5>that it should be, but has a significant impact on

0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:51.879
<v Speaker 5>male health.

0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:59.359
<v Speaker 1>Is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Tim Stenebeck

0:17:59.720 --> 0:18:01.800
<v Speaker 1>on Bloomberg Radio and Television.

0:18:03.280 --> 0:18:05.119
<v Speaker 2>It is Bloomberg Business Week. Let's get back to our

0:18:05.119 --> 0:18:08.280
<v Speaker 2>conversation with Shelley McConnell, chief strategy officer at Wind Fertility,

0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:11.760
<v Speaker 2>joining us from Connecticut. Shelley, Emily and I were talking

0:18:11.800 --> 0:18:14.360
<v Speaker 2>and you mentioned something in our previous conversation that really

0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:15.119
<v Speaker 2>piqued our interests.

0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:18.600
<v Speaker 4>Yeah, so you had said that there were certain environmental

0:18:19.200 --> 0:18:23.960
<v Speaker 4>factors that impact male infertility. Go into some detail on that,

0:18:24.520 --> 0:18:26.440
<v Speaker 4>name a couple of those factors and what people should

0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:27.160
<v Speaker 4>be watching out for.

0:18:28.240 --> 0:18:31.400
<v Speaker 5>Well, there are certainly kind of the age old things

0:18:31.440 --> 0:18:35.600
<v Speaker 5>that we know about, particularly around temperature and keeping cools.

0:18:35.960 --> 0:18:39.919
<v Speaker 5>Some things like boxer shorts are preferred over briefs, but

0:18:40.400 --> 0:18:46.600
<v Speaker 5>men who exercise excessively, which some do can sometimes elevate

0:18:46.800 --> 0:18:50.280
<v Speaker 5>temperature and have a negative impact on sperm. But there

0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:55.320
<v Speaker 5>are also environmental factors like microplastics that are believed to

0:18:55.440 --> 0:19:00.600
<v Speaker 5>have an impact. Anything that could disrupt hormones will will

0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:08.840
<v Speaker 5>impact sperm production again, quality and quantity. So things like

0:19:10.520 --> 0:19:14.800
<v Speaker 5>the rise in insulin resistance in our population, as you

0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:18.680
<v Speaker 5>can see in pre diabetes and diabetes going up so much,

0:19:19.040 --> 0:19:22.240
<v Speaker 5>particularly in our younger generations, that can have an impact

0:19:22.320 --> 0:19:28.479
<v Speaker 5>on fertility. Any endocrine disrupting chemicals in the environment can

0:19:28.520 --> 0:19:32.160
<v Speaker 5>also do so. Microplastics are everywhere.

0:19:32.440 --> 0:19:34.000
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that's well, that's what I was going to ask you.

0:19:34.040 --> 0:19:35.879
<v Speaker 2>It's it's so interesting to hear you talk about this

0:19:36.040 --> 0:19:40.159
<v Speaker 2>because this is not something this is relatively relatively new phenomenon.

0:19:41.320 --> 0:19:44.840
<v Speaker 2>I mean, we used to like microplastics. You know, there

0:19:45.160 --> 0:19:47.600
<v Speaker 2>used to be soaps I think that had microplastics in

0:19:47.640 --> 0:19:51.320
<v Speaker 2>them just so they'd have like abrasive qualities and those

0:19:51.359 --> 0:19:54.119
<v Speaker 2>that would obviously get into the the sewer systems, like

0:19:54.160 --> 0:19:57.800
<v Speaker 2>pretty terrible stuff in hindsight, in retrospect, what should people

0:19:57.880 --> 0:20:02.480
<v Speaker 2>be doing to to mitigate somebody? This stuff is everywhere.

0:20:03.440 --> 0:20:06.359
<v Speaker 5>This stuff is everywhere. And I was reading recently about

0:20:06.359 --> 0:20:09.199
<v Speaker 5>a study where they were trying to impact to assess

0:20:09.240 --> 0:20:15.840
<v Speaker 5>the impact of microplastics on male reproductive organs, and they

0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:19.639
<v Speaker 5>couldn't establish a control group. They could not establish a

0:20:19.680 --> 0:20:24.120
<v Speaker 5>group that did not have the presence of microplastics. So

0:20:24.320 --> 0:20:27.760
<v Speaker 5>I think there is some about being careful of your environment,

0:20:28.200 --> 0:20:30.440
<v Speaker 5>but there are things that we all can control more

0:20:30.520 --> 0:20:39.919
<v Speaker 5>around healthy diets, healthy living, stress, maintaining reducing sugar to

0:20:40.040 --> 0:20:44.000
<v Speaker 5>not impact your insulin levels, and so forth. Those are

0:20:44.000 --> 0:20:48.240
<v Speaker 5>things that you can control, and we would suggest, as

0:20:48.280 --> 0:20:50.840
<v Speaker 5>I mentioned, that if you're going through this process, for

0:20:50.920 --> 0:20:55.320
<v Speaker 5>all men to be tested early and comprehensively so that

0:20:55.359 --> 0:21:03.520
<v Speaker 5>they could potentially be treated. Another factor is that people

0:21:03.560 --> 0:21:07.240
<v Speaker 5>don't always have access to urologists. Sixty percent of counties

0:21:07.240 --> 0:21:10.760
<v Speaker 5>in the US have no urologists, and more than ninety

0:21:10.800 --> 0:21:13.040
<v Speaker 5>percent of urologists are practicing in metropolity.

0:21:13.080 --> 0:21:17.000
<v Speaker 2>You say, what percent of counties in sixty counties in

0:21:17.040 --> 0:21:20.800
<v Speaker 2>the US don't have eurologists percent of counties sixty percent?

0:21:22.520 --> 0:21:23.200
<v Speaker 1>Oh my god.

0:21:23.440 --> 0:21:28.240
<v Speaker 5>Yes, So sometimes virtual care is very part. They're very

0:21:28.480 --> 0:21:32.320
<v Speaker 5>concentrated in the metropolitan areas. Tim That maybe goes a

0:21:32.320 --> 0:21:34.200
<v Speaker 5>little bit to what you were mentioning. At the beginning,

0:21:35.320 --> 0:21:39.200
<v Speaker 5>but having access to virtual care, it can be very

0:21:39.200 --> 0:21:43.520
<v Speaker 5>important for people to be able to access urology and urologists.

0:21:43.680 --> 0:21:47.440
<v Speaker 2>Is our fertility benefits seen as baseline these days.

0:21:48.680 --> 0:21:54.640
<v Speaker 5>Yes, very much so. It's an expectation of employees and

0:21:55.480 --> 0:21:59.760
<v Speaker 5>for the most part, employers have agreed, although the fact

0:21:59.760 --> 0:22:04.119
<v Speaker 5>that the figures can vary, but somewhere between forty and

0:22:04.320 --> 0:22:09.000
<v Speaker 5>above fifty percent of employers offer fertility benefits in some capacity,

0:22:09.119 --> 0:22:12.439
<v Speaker 5>and I expect that that will be much higher in

0:22:12.520 --> 0:22:16.200
<v Speaker 5>the very near future. It is it's a business imperative,

0:22:16.240 --> 0:22:22.440
<v Speaker 5>it's an expectation from an employee recruiting and retention standpoint.

0:22:23.480 --> 0:22:26.560
<v Speaker 2>Hey, I mentioned politics at the top of our interview.

0:22:28.680 --> 0:22:31.720
<v Speaker 2>There was a you know, the there was a February

0:22:31.760 --> 0:22:34.399
<v Speaker 2>sixteenth decision that meant anyone who destroyed embryos could be

0:22:34.440 --> 0:22:38.960
<v Speaker 2>liable for wrongful death. And this is in Alabama. They

0:22:39.040 --> 0:22:42.400
<v Speaker 2>passed a lot of protect IVF treatments after this embryo ruling.

0:22:42.920 --> 0:22:48.960
<v Speaker 2>How do you watch what's happening politically now in your industry, Well.

0:22:48.800 --> 0:22:52.840
<v Speaker 5>We watch it very closely. It's impossible to predict what

0:22:52.960 --> 0:22:55.199
<v Speaker 5>is going to happen. In a lot of places. We

0:22:55.240 --> 0:22:58.320
<v Speaker 5>are short on details as to what is being proposed

0:22:58.320 --> 0:23:05.679
<v Speaker 5>and what may occur. Nonetheless, the elevated visibility of this

0:23:05.880 --> 0:23:11.840
<v Speaker 5>topic across both parties and both campaigns points to the

0:23:11.880 --> 0:23:16.080
<v Speaker 5>fact that this is so important for people to have

0:23:16.160 --> 0:23:20.600
<v Speaker 5>access to these treatments. We continue to watch and we

0:23:20.600 --> 0:23:27.600
<v Speaker 5>would suggest that businesses offer comprehensive benefits that include independent

0:23:27.880 --> 0:23:33.800
<v Speaker 5>clinical guidance for people. This is a very complex clinical experience,

0:23:34.200 --> 0:23:39.399
<v Speaker 5>but it also is a complex legislative environment, and understanding

0:23:39.960 --> 0:23:41.919
<v Speaker 5>and having someone who can help guide you through this

0:23:42.040 --> 0:23:46.679
<v Speaker 5>process is what is helping so many people through and

0:23:47.040 --> 0:23:48.280
<v Speaker 5>to the other end of success.

0:23:49.480 --> 0:23:52.240
<v Speaker 2>Shelley, thanks so much for joining us on Bloomberg Business Week.

0:23:52.280 --> 0:23:56.960
<v Speaker 2>Shelley McConnell is Chief Strategy Officer at Win Fertility. They

0:23:57.000 --> 0:24:01.240
<v Speaker 2>do family building and family well being benefits for companies,

0:24:01.800 --> 0:24:04.719
<v Speaker 2>including full disclosure here at Bloomberg