Lincoln National opens Coastal Financial office in L.A.

Lincoln National Corp. announced today that it has opened a new Los Angeles office to help it sell more Lincoln Financial Group life insurance products to small-business owners and high-net-worth individuals on the West Coast. The office, doing business under the name of Coastal Financial Partners Group, is led by Gary R. Schulte, a 35-year industry veteran, according to a statement. Mr. Schulte heads a team of about five producers who came together six months ago. That group opened the doors of Coastal Financial in January, according to Jeff VanPelt, a spokesman for Lincoln Financial Group, a marketing name for Lincoln National. Coastal Financial is expected to add about 10 to 15 producers this year, and to bring in at least $1 million in life insurance sales, Mr. VanPelt said. “Our overall strategy is to increase the sale of Lincoln products through the addition of highly producing financial services representatives,” Tom Eusebio, vice president for agency building and general agency operations of Lincoln Financial Group, said in an interview. “We were lucky to find Mr. Schulte's team,” he added. “We look for those kinds of opportunities on a regular basis.” The companies of Lincoln Financial Group had assets under management of $137 billion as of Sept. 30. The firm currently has more than 7,600 representatives around the U.S.