We realize that "to grow the company" is an extremely general objective. However, this allows us to interpret what it means to grow in a variety of ways. We are continually looking for ways to grow in our scope and territory; in our financial stability; in the quality of our sales management team; in our relationships with customers and with each other; in our service to others; in our knowledge, skills, and abilities; and in the quality of services we provide.
Over the years, we have especially seen growth in FDLIC through state expansion as well as in the development of existing markets. We are currently licensed in 45 states and actively producing in a majority of those states. We have restructured our sales management team and provided them with extensive training so that they can meet the needs of our clients. As a result, while other companies have recently scaled down, we have grown both externally and internally, adding new employees to our staff to meet the demands of burgeoning new markets.
FDLIC has also consistently grown in our sales department. Every year since our inception in 1981, we have seen steady growth in our assets and in our capital & surplus funds, with a ratio of capital & surplus to assets of 8-10%.
Additionally, we have grown as individuals and as a community. We have committed to providing quality training and development opportunities for all employees in order to help them excel in their personal and business lives. We've also made a commitment to utilize cutting-edge technology to bring people together and enable open communication. In this way, we have been able to grow together and learn more from one another.
Our growth as a company has been successful in many different ways. FDLIC has continued to see improvement over the years. Our investment portfolio is now stronger than ever. Our sales management staff is now more versatile than ever. Our home office staff is excelling in serving our sales professional, contract holders, and clients in a wide variety of areas. And we continue to grow in our dedication to leadership through service. Overall, we are very pleased with the progress we have made towards achieving our goal of growing the company.
