May 10. By Dave Yochum. Bill Cain began preaching as a youngster, even before being ordained at the age of 19. This is a man who pastored a church in Kaplan, La. for two years in the early 1950s.

Now, 60 years later he’s the chairman of the board of the Financial Independence Group, and several related companies, not to mention the primary owner of the Bailey’s Glen development.

We all know the Cain surname by now—Ericka and Bill are the benefactors of the Cain Center for the Arts—but the name Financial Independence Group will become equally prominent over the next couple of years.

The privately held companies will be move into a 70,000 square-foot headquarters that will be built on Westmoreland just to the east of the Alexander Farm mixed-use project.

They’re growing

Financial Independence Group, also known as FIG, occupies 36,600 square feet in various blocks of space at 19520 West Catawba, and another 6,300 square feet in the building next door.

The consolidation into one building, with Financial Independence Group in big letters, will put the company on the map for everyone in Cornelius. Groundbreaking is anticipated late this year, with a full year of construction to come.

Among all of the companies there are more than 200 employees and $3 billion in annual premium sales.

The new building is described as modern-meets-tradition.

The Cains

Meet Bill and Ericka Cain, the business power couple. He is chairman of the board, while Ericka is a board member of the Financial Independence Group companies. Ericka is somewhat more retired than Bill, but meetings and planning sessions for the various companies—not to mention an extended family—keep them busy.

At 87, Bill still has one foot in the door at FIG but is retired from the day-to-day grind. Even so, he is still seen in the office on a regular basis in a suit, dress shirt and Windsor knot tie.

Cain, who went to UNC Greensboro for a doctorate and went on to teach education psychology at Greensboro, got into the insurance business by accident after being a pastor

Knowing he wanted to help people, Cain started consulting for a small insurance agency. It was not long before he was able to purchase the company from the owner. He renewed his passion to serve.

This passion grew into FIG, quietly headquartered here for more than a quarter century.

“We came here, we moved the company here, this became our town,” Cain said. “The things we’ve done, we would just like to think help make this is a better place to live.”

Ericka added, “and we would like to make a contribution whatever way we can.”

Contributions include rescuing Bailey’s Glen when that project foundered during the 2008 real estate crash.

“We’ve tried to do whatever we can wherever we can,” Ericka said.

That, too, means creating a good place to work for everyone.

“We want good people working here, because we work here too,” the Cains said, in the present tense by the way.

Bill said their $5 million contribution to the arts center was “kind of selfish.”

“We live here, this is our home and we want to do whatever we can to make it a better place,” Bill said.

Co-CEO’s, co-owners

Regarding the Cain legacy at Financial Independence Group, Bill said: “The biggest contribution of our lifetime are the young people we have influenced over the years.”

Among them are the three co-CEOs who took over the day-to-day at Financial Independence Group in 2019, 10 years after Ericka’s son Bo Johnson passed away because of cancer. The architect of the modern-day FIG, Johnson worked closely with the co-CEOs Jim Cooper, Mike Mullan and Brian Williams who today manage by consensus and synergy, Williams said.

All three are owners along with Bill and Ericka.

“It made sense that we would all work together—the decisions and outcomes that we make, they’re far more effective and powerful than if the decision was made by one person,” Williams said.

The new $22.3 million headquarters will create new jobs and new awareness. There are no plans to go public, Williams said.

Given their ongoing efforts to better their community, it only makes sense to expand.

What is Financial Independence Group?

Financial Independence Group: FIG is a Fixed Insurance Wholesaler servicing Independent Financial Advisors, Broker Dealers, and Registered Investment advisors in all 50 states.  FIG supports Financial Advisors in the fixed insurance product set that includes Fixed Indexed Annuities, Life Insurance, Long Term Care, Medicare Supplement, and Disability.  They also provide extensive practice management expertise, marketing services, business consulting, and business development services to our advisors.

Alphastar Capital Management: An SEC-registered investment advisor that provides access and support to a variety of registered securities products and portfolios.  Alphastar supports advisors through compliance supervision, financial planning, trade services and cash management to Investment Advisor Representatives and their clients. They also provide an extensive amount of training and education on financial planning strategies to their advisors.

Barnabas Capital: A Financial Institution Regulatory Authority (FINRA) registered wholesale broker dealer that specializes in Registered Index Linked Annuities, Variable Annuities, and Structured Notes.  Barnabas services registered representatives of retail Broker Dealers and Registered Investment Advisors in support of planning and product placement for their clients.

Independent Property and Casualty Group: A full-service property and casualty agency that supports home, auto, cyber and other business insurance for clients of Financial Advisors or directly to consumers.

Life Innovators: An insurance product development company that specializes in innovative product creation and design. Life Innovators consults with major insurance carriers to bring these products to market.