Group Benefits Professionals in the Houston area for more than thirty years. We are a full service financial services and Insurance firm.

  

Welcome to The Apical Meristem Company, a financial services company focusing in small group and individual benefits,  retirement planning and estate conservation.

As personal financial and insurance professionals, we can:

  • Help you determine your insurance needs and find the right products for you
  • Help you clarify and define your goals
  • Recommend solutions that fit your needs
  • Deliver timely information
  • Explain how changing financial conditions affect you
  • Monitor your financial progress
  • Make investment planning easier  

Feel free to browse our site. You'll find a variety of articles, calculators, and research reports that we hope will answer your questions or stimulate your interest.

If you have any questions, please call us at 713.532.6373or e-mail us at pat@patmione.com.  We will be happy to help. We look forward to talking with you.

 The Company Name

"How was your company named?"

That has been the most frequently asked question since the business was formed on June 1, 1997.  Erin Mione gets credit for coming up with the name.  She was taking Biology at the time and thought the words sounded "neat".  When asked what they meant, she said that the apical meristem is the part of the plant that makes it grow.  Because we work with growing companies and the individuals that help those companies grow, we thought it was a good fit.
Calculators

Car Affordability

How much can you afford to pay for a car?

Capital Gains Taxes

Estimate short-term and long-term federal capital gains taxes

Estate Taxes

Use this calculator to estimate the federal estate taxes that could be due on your estate after you die.

Cost of Retirement

Use this calculator to estimate how much income and savings you may need in retirement.

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Newsletters

Retaining MVPs with Executive Bonus Life Insurance

An economic recovery is likely to bring more job opportunities to top performers, but it could prove costly for businesses to replace productive employees who decide to leave. An executive bonus plan funded with cash-value life insurance can be used to reward and retain an organization's most valuable employees.

Using a Variable Annuity for Guaranteed Income

One recommendation from the White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families was for retirees to consider purchasing annuities to help provide a stable income. Investors who want their retirement portfolios to go the distance might want to learn more about variable annuities.

Help an Inheritance Help You

When Americans were asked what they would do with a large inheritance, 48% said they would save it; only 8% said they would spend it on things they've always wanted. Could the Great Recession be changing attitudes about money? There are some options to consider for those who expect to receive, or have already received, an inheritance.

HOT TOPIC: Debating the Debt Ceiling

There has been substantial debate in Congress over raising the ceiling on the national debt. Although many Americans could be adversely affected if Congress decided not to increase the debt ceiling, this is unlikely to happen.

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