Comments on: Comparing Primerica To Other Companies http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/ This is where your finance takes place Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:33:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc By: Joe http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-3387 Joe Tue, 23 Sep 2008 20:12:14 +0000 http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-3387 I work full time and make a good living with a manufacture in Ontario, also my wife makes great money ($37/hour) just recently I was approched by a family member who is an employee of PFC. I went to a meeting and yes they are very convincing with the "show" they put on but there were REAL people there and I spoke to them and to be honest I was impressed with what they told me. Look these financial companies are going to bash eachother whenever they have the chance and that will go on forever but if you don't take a chance once and a while your never going to know what could have been. Don't forget you can do this PART TIME and don't have to quit your day job, it's an opportunity to do something different and make money while your helping others. You don't have to get licenced in mutual funds and other investments right away you can start buy talking to others about what you are doing and how it helped you, you can build a clientle for you once you get licenced in life insurance, that's what I want to do. There are many products you can sell without getting licenced with PFC, then build that team to help you. My goal is if I can make $3-4000 a month part-time then I'm a happy camper, but I will never know unless I try. Every company in the world trains,recruits,use refferals,cold calls,sets appointments all do this. CIBC will say they are better than RBC, RBC says they are better than Royal Bank, Royal Bank says they are better than BMO and on and on and on. So I am going to try it for my family and see what happens, you talk about loosing you clients when you leave the company, I don't know about you but if I am with an organization for years and I'm happy and protected and my agent calls and says "you are with me now not PFC" I will freak out and do what I can to stay with PFC or whoever I am with. THEY PROTECT THERE CLIENTS NEEDS. Just like everybody else says they do. Get licenced for life insurance and you can do not only that but debt consolidation,legal wills,car and auto,mortgage consulting,credit in general. You can keep going on your own or have people do it for you that's the best part. 2 families a week is all you really need to have a comfortable PART TIME income. I work full time and make a good living with a manufacture in Ontario, also my wife makes great money ($37/hour) just recently I was approched by a family member who is an employee of PFC. I went to a meeting and yes they are very convincing with the “show” they put on but there were REAL people there and I spoke to them and to be honest I was impressed with what they told me. Look these financial companies are going to bash eachother whenever they have the chance and that will go on forever but if you don’t take a chance once and a while your never going to know what could have been. Don’t forget you can do this PART TIME and don’t have to quit your day job, it’s an opportunity to do something different and make money while your helping others. You don’t have to get licenced in mutual funds and other investments right away you can start buy talking to others about what you are doing and how it helped you, you can build a clientle for you once you get licenced in life insurance, that’s what I want to do. There are many products you can sell without getting licenced with PFC, then build that team to help you. My goal is if I can make $3-4000 a month part-time then I’m a happy camper, but I will never know unless I try. Every company in the world trains,recruits,use refferals,cold calls,sets appointments all do this. CIBC will say they are better than RBC, RBC says they are better than Royal Bank, Royal Bank says they are better than BMO and on and on and on. So I am going to try it for my family and see what happens, you talk about loosing you clients when you leave the company, I don’t know about you but if I am with an organization for years and I’m happy and protected and my agent calls and says “you are with me now not PFC” I will freak out and do what I can to stay with PFC or whoever I am with. THEY PROTECT THERE CLIENTS NEEDS. Just like everybody else says they do. Get licenced for life insurance and you can do not only that but debt consolidation,legal wills,car and auto,mortgage consulting,credit in general. You can keep going on your own or have people do it for you that’s the best part. 2 families a week is all you really need to have a comfortable PART TIME income.

]]> By: Richard http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-2933 Richard Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:47:51 +0000 http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-2933 1. Primerica rates will not sky rocket with the auto renewal feature. Previous policies did do this as do other companies. The current product offered renews based on obtained age at the same category (preferred plus to preferred plus, preferred to preferred, etc.). It gives this option to those that either do not have the money set aside to retire and still need the protection, or for those that wish to keep protection. The product will stay affordable all the way to age 100. 2. A higher commission will not equal keeping and recruiting a bigger team. It simply means being paid more. If you recruit the right people, and the right kind of people, the commission doesn't matter. I know I can make more else where but I am not here to make shit loads of cash. I am here to protect families from the atrocities my family has gone through from simple mistakes. From what I have uncovered, no other company will let me do that, and do it my way. 3. No 2 plans are alike and anyone who does believe we are a one size fits all company, truly knows nothing about this company. When the sale happens in the next few weeks (I believe it will be the next few weeks anyways), changes will start happening. The belief is higher commissions, even better products, and I believe even a wider variety of products. 4. There are regulations. Twisting may not apply because it may truly be a better product. Churning might not either if the agent gave the client the option of either or. It is all a matter of how the agent presented it. The fact of the matter, it very well could have hurt the client when they least expected it. If you get down to it, going from Term to Whole Life could be considered Twisting. As well as moving from Level Guaranteed Renewable to Guaranteed Level. In both cases the premium is either going up or removing a feature. In order to prevent twisting, it must be for like to like or better. 5. Hate to tell you, but the insurance companies set the commissions for there products, not the agent. Also, just because you can pay the agent more does not mean you have a better quality of agent. I could make a killing off of selling Cash Value policies, but I choose to sell term. What was that saying again? Sell Cash Value to Eat, Sell Term to Sleep? Business Owners and Investors do NOT need to manage their money or businesses. They have people do that. They may choose to, but they do not have to. Do you think Warren Buffet manages his 150+ Starbucks? Those that fit these categories hire (or recruit) people they trust to run it for them so they don't have to worry about it. That is a benefit to being one. You are mistaking about Network Marketing. It is one of the best ways to make money. Robert Kiyosaki agrees with it. Granted it is not gospel, but where else can hard work truly pay off. Yes you have to recruit, but you also have to work your ass off to train those new people, train their people, and so on and so forth. You have to manage all of them. Keep their spirits up when they get down from someone telling them "No." With Network Marketing, you have to work twice as hard at first to get half as much. A little down the road, you get just as much with less work. A little farther, you do half the work and get paid twice the pay. Near the end, you do none of the work and get paid all of it. It takes time. The best way to get your own dreams, is to help others achieve theirs. That is how Network Marketing works. If you do not understand that concept, I implore you to change your thinking. 1. Primerica rates will not sky rocket with the auto renewal feature. Previous policies did do this as do other companies. The current product offered renews based on obtained age at the same category (preferred plus to preferred plus, preferred to preferred, etc.). It gives this option to those that either do not have the money set aside to retire and still need the protection, or for those that wish to keep protection. The product will stay affordable all the way to age 100.

2. A higher commission will not equal keeping and recruiting a bigger team. It simply means being paid more. If you recruit the right people, and the right kind of people, the commission doesn’t matter. I know I can make more else where but I am not here to make shit loads of cash. I am here to protect families from the atrocities my family has gone through from simple mistakes. From what I have uncovered, no other company will let me do that, and do it my way.

3. No 2 plans are alike and anyone who does believe we are a one size fits all company, truly knows nothing about this company. When the sale happens in the next few weeks (I believe it will be the next few weeks anyways), changes will start happening. The belief is higher commissions, even better products, and I believe even a wider variety of products.

4. There are regulations. Twisting may not apply because it may truly be a better product. Churning might not either if the agent gave the client the option of either or. It is all a matter of how the agent presented it. The fact of the matter, it very well could have hurt the client when they least expected it. If you get down to it, going from Term to Whole Life could be considered Twisting. As well as moving from Level Guaranteed Renewable to Guaranteed Level. In both cases the premium is either going up or removing a feature. In order to prevent twisting, it must be for like to like or better.

5. Hate to tell you, but the insurance companies set the commissions for there products, not the agent. Also, just because you can pay the agent more does not mean you have a better quality of agent. I could make a killing off of selling Cash Value policies, but I choose to sell term. What was that saying again? Sell Cash Value to Eat, Sell Term to Sleep?

Business Owners and Investors do NOT need to manage their money or businesses. They have people do that. They may choose to, but they do not have to. Do you think Warren Buffet manages his 150+ Starbucks? Those that fit these categories hire (or recruit) people they trust to run it for them so they don’t have to worry about it. That is a benefit to being one.

You are mistaking about Network Marketing. It is one of the best ways to make money. Robert Kiyosaki agrees with it. Granted it is not gospel, but where else can hard work truly pay off. Yes you have to recruit, but you also have to work your ass off to train those new people, train their people, and so on and so forth. You have to manage all of them. Keep their spirits up when they get down from someone telling them “No.” With Network Marketing, you have to work twice as hard at first to get half as much. A little down the road, you get just as much with less work. A little farther, you do half the work and get paid twice the pay. Near the end, you do none of the work and get paid all of it. It takes time.

The best way to get your own dreams, is to help others achieve theirs. That is how Network Marketing works. If you do not understand that concept, I implore you to change your thinking.

]]> By: MyWay07 http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-2931 MyWay07 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:41:15 +0000 http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-2931 1.What i meant is renewing a term policy until 100 years old, even though they may not get rated will be more expansive then whole life, because after your term expires your rate (even though remains level for the next period) increases substantially. The whole point of term according to primerica is to cover you until you have accumulated wealth for yourself, so insurance should not be permanent. Now if this really is the philosophy of primerica then why charge extra for guaranteed renewable? if somebody plans to have insurance for the rest of their life, then whole life would be more cost efficient and they can use it for inheritance or whatnot. The point is in an independent brokerage you have the option to give the client the same renewable term, or you can have cheaper non-renewable, or you can have a cash value u have the option to offer any of these according to the clients need and desire. 2. Okey so maybe I have to apologize that in primerica they did not teach me the common method used for estimating investment commission in the industry. That is one of the things that bothered me most about this company, is that you are not shown the complete picture but rather just things from primerica point of view. The way I was told when I was recruited and through out this whole time is like I said 1% of the investment, 3.3% at RVP. Regardless of which method you use your commission will be much higher in another firm, and it would be easier to retain your team. 3.Okey so you agree then that primerica then doesnt suit all people? There is only one specific type of people that are in a predefined situation that only then primerica will work for them? What i meant by one size fits all is that they can only have one solution, and you better hope that it would suit your clients needs, otherwise you have to push them so you make a sale or you leave them alone because you cannot actually help them. And what do you mean by that changes once the sale is complete that may change? 4. My argument that it is done to protect the company and not the agent or client. Churning and twisting is illegal. Isn't there regulations in the industry to control that anyways? 5. Well different companies have different structures on overrides, but once you have your team (which as i said would be easier to build because they get paid more), you could start your own company and set-up the override and commission structure the way you and your team wants. And I know people working in independent brokerages that make three figure incomes without having any overrides. Maybe you dont have to do the physical work in the field like seeing clients, but you still have to manage your business that is what I referred to as work. And I wasn't only talking about primerica or financial idustry. Like I said this could work for primerica but any successful business that i know, owner still prefers to have a say in the company, and successful investors still bothers to ask and in some ways regulate the company they invested in because they do not want to loose their money. See that is the problem with the network marketing model is that the people who reap the benefits of it its the people who bring a lot of people and not the people who do a lot of work, these people are usually the ones who suffer and are underpaid. Now if everyone wants to be successful, everyone wants to build the business and not work them self that creates a problem as people concentrate on bringing people and not working, where is all the money coming from. To build a huge business you need to recruit like crazy, and how would you retain your workers once they find out they could be making more money, because not everybody will be able to constantly bringing heavy volumes of recruits. The only way to retain them as ive noticed is to constantly talk about dreams of building a huge business and what you would spend your money on, but nothing tangible, and only 5% in the company actually make it there, that is a lot of lying. 1.What i meant is renewing a term policy until 100 years old, even though they may not get rated will be more expansive then whole life, because after your term expires your rate (even though remains level for the next period) increases substantially. The whole point of term according to primerica is to cover you until you have accumulated wealth for yourself, so insurance should not be permanent. Now if this really is the philosophy of primerica then why charge extra for guaranteed renewable? if somebody plans to have insurance for the rest of their life, then whole life would be more cost efficient and they can use it for inheritance or whatnot. The point is in an independent brokerage you have the option to give the client the same renewable term, or you can have cheaper non-renewable, or you can have a cash value u have the option to offer any of these according to the clients need and desire.
2. Okey so maybe I have to apologize that in primerica they did not teach me the common method used for estimating investment commission in the industry. That is one of the things that bothered me most about this company, is that you are not shown the complete picture but rather just things from primerica point of view. The way I was told when I was recruited and through out this whole time is like I said 1% of the investment, 3.3% at RVP. Regardless of which method you use your commission will be much higher in another firm, and it would be easier to retain your team.
3.Okey so you agree then that primerica then doesnt suit all people? There is only one specific type of people that are in a predefined situation that only then primerica will work for them? What i meant by one size fits all is that they can only have one solution, and you better hope that it would suit your clients needs, otherwise you have to push them so you make a sale or you leave them alone because you cannot actually help them. And what do you mean by that changes once the sale is complete that may change?
4. My argument that it is done to protect the company and not the agent or client. Churning and twisting is illegal. Isn’t there regulations in the industry to control that anyways?
5. Well different companies have different structures on overrides, but once you have your team (which as i said would be easier to build because they get paid more), you could start your own company and set-up the override and commission structure the way you and your team wants. And I know people working in independent brokerages that make three figure incomes without having any overrides.

Maybe you dont have to do the physical work in the field like seeing clients, but you still have to manage your business that is what I referred to as work. And I wasn’t only talking about primerica or financial idustry. Like I said this could work for primerica but any successful business that i know, owner still prefers to have a say in the company, and successful investors still bothers to ask and in some ways regulate the company they invested in because they do not want to loose their money.

See that is the problem with the network marketing model is that the people who reap the benefits of it its the people who bring a lot of people and not the people who do a lot of work, these people are usually the ones who suffer and are underpaid. Now if everyone wants to be successful, everyone wants to build the business and not work them self that creates a problem as people concentrate on bringing people and not working, where is all the money coming from. To build a huge business you need to recruit like crazy, and how would you retain your workers once they find out they could be making more money, because not everybody will be able to constantly bringing heavy volumes of recruits. The only way to retain them as ive noticed is to constantly talk about dreams of building a huge business and what you would spend your money on, but nothing tangible, and only 5% in the company actually make it there, that is a lot of lying.

]]> By: Richard http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-2912 Richard Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:05:09 +0000 http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-2912 1. In most cases, Whole life is more expensive. There are policies that also fit in with guaranteed renewable, but most are not LEVEL renewable. Primerica policies renew to another level term product without doing anything (one restriction applies). Just because they have a history of it (or previously had it) does not mean they will automatically get rated. In most cases, after 5 years of being cancer free, we will cover normally. They may not get Preferred or Preferred plus, but they wont be rated either. 2. Most investment firms have a dealer re-allowance. From that is where the commission is taken from, not from the whole investment amount. That is basic knowledge for anyone dealing with investments. 3. I never said ours was the only one. I know whole life can have Term Riders, but how many other Term products can have Term riders? I don't know of many. I know we don't have products to cover all situations (another reason we are NOT a one size fits all company), but that may change once the sell is complete. 4. It was a generalized statement because it did happen. Not all agents did that, but many did. I still believe it is a matter of protecting the consumer, not the agent. 5. Because you only make more on personal production. From all the commission and override charts I have looked at from other companies, you make little money on overrides and bonuses. I did a comparison with HBW's structure. Just on overrides, Primerica paid about 4x more. Upfront, HBW paid about twice as much. On the back end though, they lacked. I never said Universal was complete garbage, but who would invest in something that LOSES value the first few years. You can get better returns by investing in Mutual Funds and have substantially more at retirement than in a Universal (or any other cash SURRENDER value policy). Do the math. You can have tax sheltered accounts that will earn much more than ANY cash value policy out there. What conclusion? I pulled from what you wrote. You don't believe it is possible to retire by 30 or to never work again. That is the logic of an EMPLOYEE. If you are a business owner, you do not have to work. The business brings in the income and you just live. Being an Investor is even better, then the money is working for you. Read Cash Flow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki. They may not require it, but they also don't have to pay you on time for selling term. It has happened to many agents. They try to sell only term, then there commissions start getting "lost" or "delayed in processing." Sell only term for 6 months and see what happens to your checks. Letting the computer do the work saves the agent about 5 hours of processing. What the agent does with the report decides how good they are. Any agent that just blindly follows it is a poor agent. That goes for any company. It's a shame that the RVPs you talked with only make $50k. I work with 4 that make over $150k and 2 more that are quickly approaching the $100k mark. I have also had the pleasure of working with some making $2 million plus. Primerica isn't meant for the salesman (most independent firms), Primerica was built for the average Joe to learn about finances, become debt free and financially independent. Most don't come from independent firms because they know its a pay cut, don't believe in the network marketing model, don't like being forced to recruit to get promotions, have a bad taste in their mouth from so many policies being replaced, etc. Take your pick. I've met several that the only reason they DIDN'T join was because of the network marketing method and the forced to recruit to get promotions side of things. They also failed to realize WHY that is the case. 1. In most cases, Whole life is more expensive. There are policies that also fit in with guaranteed renewable, but most are not LEVEL renewable. Primerica policies renew to another level term product without doing anything (one restriction applies). Just because they have a history of it (or previously had it) does not mean they will automatically get rated. In most cases, after 5 years of being cancer free, we will cover normally. They may not get Preferred or Preferred plus, but they wont be rated either.

2. Most investment firms have a dealer re-allowance. From that is where the commission is taken from, not from the whole investment amount. That is basic knowledge for anyone dealing with investments.

3. I never said ours was the only one. I know whole life can have Term Riders, but how many other Term products can have Term riders? I don’t know of many. I know we don’t have products to cover all situations (another reason we are NOT a one size fits all company), but that may change once the sell is complete.

4. It was a generalized statement because it did happen. Not all agents did that, but many did. I still believe it is a matter of protecting the consumer, not the agent.

5. Because you only make more on personal production. From all the commission and override charts I have looked at from other companies, you make little money on overrides and bonuses. I did a comparison with HBW’s structure. Just on overrides, Primerica paid about 4x more. Upfront, HBW paid about twice as much. On the back end though, they lacked.

I never said Universal was complete garbage, but who would invest in something that LOSES value the first few years. You can get better returns by investing in Mutual Funds and have substantially more at retirement than in a Universal (or any other cash SURRENDER value policy). Do the math. You can have tax sheltered accounts that will earn much more than ANY cash value policy out there.

What conclusion? I pulled from what you wrote. You don’t believe it is possible to retire by 30 or to never work again. That is the logic of an EMPLOYEE. If you are a business owner, you do not have to work. The business brings in the income and you just live. Being an Investor is even better, then the money is working for you. Read Cash Flow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki.

They may not require it, but they also don’t have to pay you on time for selling term. It has happened to many agents. They try to sell only term, then there commissions start getting “lost” or “delayed in processing.” Sell only term for 6 months and see what happens to your checks.

Letting the computer do the work saves the agent about 5 hours of processing. What the agent does with the report decides how good they are. Any agent that just blindly follows it is a poor agent. That goes for any company.

It’s a shame that the RVPs you talked with only make $50k. I work with 4 that make over $150k and 2 more that are quickly approaching the $100k mark. I have also had the pleasure of working with some making $2 million plus.

Primerica isn’t meant for the salesman (most independent firms), Primerica was built for the average Joe to learn about finances, become debt free and financially independent. Most don’t come from independent firms because they know its a pay cut, don’t believe in the network marketing model, don’t like being forced to recruit to get promotions, have a bad taste in their mouth from so many policies being replaced, etc. Take your pick.

I’ve met several that the only reason they DIDN’T join was because of the network marketing method and the forced to recruit to get promotions side of things. They also failed to realize WHY that is the case.

]]> By: MyWay07 http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-2910 MyWay07 Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:35:58 +0000 http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-2910 1. okey so for a family with history of cancer, and if they want to be covered for the rest of their lives isn't it cheaper to get a whole life policy anyways? And if they are at a higher risk their term would be rated regardless of being with primerica or not. And if they want term they could still get non-cancellable and guaranteed renewable policy from anyone else, because it is not exclusive to primerica. 2. I know my investment numbers from my RVP, what you are saying is insance, nobody pays 65% of investment, you saying if i make a 200 000 investment i get paid 130 000? I know what ive been told in my office and i wrote it down... RVP makes 3.3% investment. 3. Now you are saying like primerica is the only company who offers term riders. Any policy even whole life can offer term riders, and i haven't seen people being forced to get a second policy to cover their mortgage or children. Maybe some agents do rip off their clients and do that, but i am saying in independant companies you could be fair or not, but u have that option. And what i meant by premerica is like one-size fits all, is because they offer the same product to everybody. You cant assume that everybody only needs term. People have different needs, and different products to address them. What if someone wants to leave an inheritance to their children? cover estate taxes? cover the risk of disease so if they have a critical illness there is still income replacement? Or if their job has a high risk of getting injured and doesnt offer any disability coverage or just not enough of it. See what i mean, you can actually customize the solution with term riders or any other types of insurance. 4.You are generalizing here. You assume just because the agent has the ability to do that that everybody does. I think primerica did that to retain the agents when they find out the truth and decide to take their business elsewhere. Again i am looking at it from a career point of view, and if the agent is responsible and ethical he would have more possibilities working for an independent brokerage. You could work for a firm and you could open your own firm afterwards and still have your clients and referrals. 5. Okey so you agree that you can make more money producing in another company and if you can still build a team as well in independant brokerage, that you will make overrides over , then why would anyone would want to stay in primerica when they find that out. You make more money, and you build a team and can ultimatly open your own office. Same deal, only you make more money. And if the only way to make real money is by recruiting and building a team, everybody would be concetrating on building and not producing. Where is the money coming from? In truth i kno the answer to that, there are recruiters in primerica and there are producers in primerica. The problem is when producers find out they could make x2-3 times more money doing the same thing in another place what would hold them back? ... Maybe that contract that primerica owns all their clients? That is true that the investment doesnt make any money in the first few years, but we are talking about long term investment... What if in the long run it makes more money then another because the grouth is tax sheltered. See the thing about Universal Life is yes they teach you that it is a complete garbage in primerica, and everybody seems to blindly believe that... So when I found out there might actually be a use for it, i started thinking. The way primerica teaches you is still very biased, so i decided not to base what they tell me solely on what they teach me. Truth is i think i know to little of Universal Life to make an educated decision whether its good or bad, thats why I did not start going around canceling all my family friends policies. Okey you are jumping to conclusions... I never said that I think I have more freedom working for somebody else. Yes i do think that it is impossible to retire early. You can semi retire but when you start your own business you still have to work on managing and maintaining it. If you just trust someone else with your business just because u are too lazy and want to retire then that person might make a few bad decissions and there goes your business... I do want to ultimately run my own business that would operate while im away on vacations, but I would never leave my business entirely to someone else so I could relax for the rest of my life. Maybe primerice system does allow people to never work again and collect in millions... these money come out of the hard working agents that are struggling to make their ends meet. The upline goes way up, and i am not willing to work my ass off just so some person who invited a bunch of people back in the day can relax the remainder of his life. I dont know who you talked to, but i know that other compaies don't "require" you to sell cash value, you could make the same or more money then in primeica selling term, yes you will make more selling cash value, but like I said: its up to the agent to be fair. You will not get fired for selling term insurance and you still get 150% commission of that kind of insurance. And you make much more commission of your investments. I am happy that I only wasted 2 months and not 2 years like some of the people i talked to. I did get a license, but right after that I found out the things that i talked about, and decided not to go ahead and "plan" for my relatives and family friends, because i figured that this might not be in their best interest. I think that to be a true financial adviser you have to be a little more educated then what primerica teaches you. I saw most people are more like salesmen that give the presentation that the company teaches them, get the numbers and then just let the computer do its thing... This is not true financial advising... these people are more like clowns that this article is talking about. Just to make things clear i did not make this post with the intention to bash primerica, but rather to give people who consider joining this firm more information that I was looking for before I joined the business. Lastly Ive talked to RVPs who are were serious about this business and never made more then 50000$ a year. I have seen people who left primerica to work in an independent brokerage, and yet i have never seen people that came from these independent brokerages to work in primerica... now how would u explain that? 1. okey so for a family with history of cancer, and if they want to be covered for the rest of their lives isn’t it cheaper to get a whole life policy anyways? And if they are at a higher risk their term would be rated regardless of being with primerica or not. And if they want term they could still get non-cancellable and guaranteed renewable policy from anyone else, because it is not exclusive to primerica.
2. I know my investment numbers from my RVP, what you are saying is insance, nobody pays 65% of investment, you saying if i make a 200 000 investment i get paid 130 000? I know what ive been told in my office and i wrote it down… RVP makes 3.3% investment.
3. Now you are saying like primerica is the only company who offers term riders. Any policy even whole life can offer term riders, and i haven’t seen people being forced to get a second policy to cover their mortgage or children. Maybe some agents do rip off their clients and do that, but i am saying in independant companies you could be fair or not, but u have that option. And what i meant by premerica is like one-size fits all, is because they offer the same product to everybody. You cant assume that everybody only needs term. People have different needs, and different products to address them. What if someone wants to leave an inheritance to their children? cover estate taxes? cover the risk of disease so if they have a critical illness there is still income replacement? Or if their job has a high risk of getting injured and doesnt offer any disability coverage or just not enough of it. See what i mean, you can actually customize the solution with term riders or any other types of insurance.
4.You are generalizing here. You assume just because the agent has the ability to do that that everybody does. I think primerica did that to retain the agents when they find out the truth and decide to take their business elsewhere. Again i am looking at it from a career point of view, and if the agent is responsible and ethical he would have more possibilities working for an independent brokerage. You could work for a firm and you could open your own firm afterwards and still have your clients and referrals.
5. Okey so you agree that you can make more money producing in another company and if you can still build a team as well in independant brokerage, that you will make overrides over , then why would anyone would want to stay in primerica when they find that out. You make more money, and you build a team and can ultimatly open your own office. Same deal, only you make more money. And if the only way to make real money is by recruiting and building a team, everybody would be concetrating on building and not producing. Where is the money coming from? In truth i kno the answer to that, there are recruiters in primerica and there are producers in primerica. The problem is when producers find out they could make x2-3 times more money doing the same thing in another place what would hold them back? … Maybe that contract that primerica owns all their clients?

That is true that the investment doesnt make any money in the first few years, but we are talking about long term investment… What if in the long run it makes more money then another because the grouth is tax sheltered. See the thing about Universal Life is yes they teach you that it is a complete garbage in primerica, and everybody seems to blindly believe that… So when I found out there might actually be a use for it, i started thinking. The way primerica teaches you is still very biased, so i decided not to base what they tell me solely on what they teach me. Truth is i think i know to little of Universal Life to make an educated decision whether its good or bad, thats why I did not start going around canceling all my family friends policies.

Okey you are jumping to conclusions… I never said that I think I have more freedom working for somebody else. Yes i do think that it is impossible to retire early. You can semi retire but when you start your own business you still have to work on managing and maintaining it. If you just trust someone else with your business just because u are too lazy and want to retire then that person might make a few bad decissions and there goes your business… I do want to ultimately run my own business that would operate while im away on vacations, but I would never leave my business entirely to someone else so I could relax for the rest of my life. Maybe primerice system does allow people to never work again and collect in millions… these money come out of the hard working agents that are struggling to make their ends meet. The upline goes way up, and i am not willing to work my ass off just so some person who invited a bunch of people back in the day can relax the remainder of his life.

I dont know who you talked to, but i know that other compaies don’t “require” you to sell cash value, you could make the same or more money then in primeica selling term, yes you will make more selling cash value, but like I said: its up to the agent to be fair. You will not get fired for selling term insurance and you still get 150% commission of that kind of insurance. And you make much more commission of your investments.

I am happy that I only wasted 2 months and not 2 years like some of the people i talked to. I did get a license, but right after that I found out the things that i talked about, and decided not to go ahead and “plan” for my relatives and family friends, because i figured that this might not be in their best interest. I think that to be a true financial adviser you have to be a little more educated then what primerica teaches you. I saw most people are more like salesmen that give the presentation that the company teaches them, get the numbers and then just let the computer do its thing… This is not true financial advising… these people are more like clowns that this article is talking about.

Just to make things clear i did not make this post with the intention to bash primerica, but rather to give people who consider joining this firm more information that I was looking for before I joined the business.

Lastly Ive talked to RVPs who are were serious about this business and never made more then 50000$ a year. I have seen people who left primerica to work in an independent brokerage, and yet i have never seen people that came from these independent brokerages to work in primerica… now how would u explain that?

]]> By: Richard http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-2909 Richard Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:26:02 +0000 http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-2909 MyWay07, You missed a few points and apparently had a bad upline. 1. Primerica does not claim to be the cheapest. The term product is guaranteed renewable till age 100 regardless of medical condition. To someone who is healthy as a claim that doesn't mean much. To someone with a family history (or a personal history) of cancer (or any of 100 other non-insurable conditions), it is a big deal. How would you like to be the one to explain to a couple that the only options they have is to cancel their policy, reduce coverage, or pay 5x to 10x more to keep their policy when they need the money most for medical bills? 2. Yes other companies pay more for individual sales than Primerica. But your commission numbers are off. Way off actually. 65% for an RVP for investments. It starts at 35% for a Licensed Rep. The real money that is made in Primerica, comes from being an RVP that has built a big team of people. And I don't mean independent agents, I mean built OTHER RVPs. Like in real estate, do you want to override the work of one office or 6? Or in retail, own 1 store or 20 stores? You make more money by building it big then you do from selling product. 3. Despite popular belief, Primerica is NOT a one size fits all company. None of our products are one size fits all. If you truly understood how the products work, you would not have made that comment. Our life insurance can be customized to have the effect of 10 policies while only having 1. Meaning you can have part of your product fall off when you no longer need it. IE a 30yr level term to cover income replacement, 25 yr rider to cover remainder of the mortgage, 20yr to cover the education for the kids and a 10yr to cover debt. That would be one policy instead of 4. A price reduction based on total coverage, not individual policies. Also, 3 less policy fees. I have yet to see a policy from another company do this. Also, did you know that the reason we have Level Term in the first place is because AL Williams created it? 4. It is true the company owns your clients. There are good and bad things about this. It is my belief it is done to protect the client, not the company. It was rampant several years ago (hear say so take this or leave it) that agents switched carriers every couple years and re-issued the old policies under the new carrier so they could just keep their commissions without having to grow. If that was true, is it better or worse for the client to always be getting new policies just so the agent gets more commission? 5. It is true you make more money up front on personal production. But do you want to produce all your life or build a team to do the work so you can retire? Many people argue that having to recruit to get promotions is a bad thing. The purpose of this company is to get people to be Business Owners and Investors. Both of which you have PEOPLE or MONEY working for you. Not you for them. Only way to make that happen is to recruit and build. That is true in ANY company. You may want to read the policy instead of listening to another agent. The only money you can withdraw from a cash value policy without suffering a tax problem is the money you put it that was already taxed. They are tax sheltered investments, but who wants to put money into an investment that, for the first few years, gets a NEGATIVE 100% return? Insurance should never be used as an investment. Universal, and some Variable Universal, Life policies do allow the beneficiaries to receive both the insurance AND the cash value. You must pay MORE for this privilege. Is that right for the client, to have to PAY to receive there own money? Or to pay for those that left behind to get it? If you do not truly believe that you can retire wealthy without having to work, or for someone to be able to (maybe not decide to) retire at 30, then frankly, you will not make it long in this business. If you do not believe the end result is freedom from others telling you what to do, you do not have the mentality, or the fortitude, to be a business owner in any industry. I work for Primerica not because of the products, and not the people at the office. I have looked at other companies and seen the results first hand what happens to people I care about. I work with Primerica because of all the companies and products available, they are the only ones more concerned about the consumer than the bottom line. I have looked at other products, and have not found any better. I have done the math on mortgages (a big headache) and know that a fixed rate simple interest loan paid bi-weekly will be the pants off any other mortgage out there. I know that mutual funds are for the common man who knows little to nothing about investments, but those that are savvy enough, and have the cash to burn, should talk to a stock broker or investment adviser. They will pay less fees. I know that the Long Term Care product we have through Genworth is better than all others because it does not require things that are common in the industry. All this being said, Primerica is for the faint of heart. I have been offered many jobs at other insurance companies that provide leads, a base salary, and a decent commission. Too bad they would also require me to sell cash value to keep being paid. I have a friend at Edward Jones that even offered me a position. Turned him down. What I find really interesting is that you only worked for 2 months then listened to a competitor and now you are bashing the company. Did you even get licensed or do any sales? Did you get a promotion? I know you didn't go on any company trips or pay any death claims. MyWay07,

You missed a few points and apparently had a bad upline.

1. Primerica does not claim to be the cheapest. The term product is guaranteed renewable till age 100 regardless of medical condition. To someone who is healthy as a claim that doesn’t mean much. To someone with a family history (or a personal history) of cancer (or any of 100 other non-insurable conditions), it is a big deal. How would you like to be the one to explain to a couple that the only options they have is to cancel their policy, reduce coverage, or pay 5x to 10x more to keep their policy when they need the money most for medical bills?

2. Yes other companies pay more for individual sales than Primerica. But your commission numbers are off. Way off actually. 65% for an RVP for investments. It starts at 35% for a Licensed Rep. The real money that is made in Primerica, comes from being an RVP that has built a big team of people. And I don’t mean independent agents, I mean built OTHER RVPs. Like in real estate, do you want to override the work of one office or 6? Or in retail, own 1 store or 20 stores? You make more money by building it big then you do from selling product.

3. Despite popular belief, Primerica is NOT a one size fits all company. None of our products are one size fits all. If you truly understood how the products work, you would not have made that comment. Our life insurance can be customized to have the effect of 10 policies while only having 1. Meaning you can have part of your product fall off when you no longer need it. IE a 30yr level term to cover income replacement, 25 yr rider to cover remainder of the mortgage, 20yr to cover the education for the kids and a 10yr to cover debt. That would be one policy instead of 4. A price reduction based on total coverage, not individual policies. Also, 3 less policy fees. I have yet to see a policy from another company do this.

Also, did you know that the reason we have Level Term in the first place is because AL Williams created it?

4. It is true the company owns your clients. There are good and bad things about this. It is my belief it is done to protect the client, not the company. It was rampant several years ago (hear say so take this or leave it) that agents switched carriers every couple years and re-issued the old policies under the new carrier so they could just keep their commissions without having to grow. If that was true, is it better or worse for the client to always be getting new policies just so the agent gets more commission?

5. It is true you make more money up front on personal production. But do you want to produce all your life or build a team to do the work so you can retire? Many people argue that having to recruit to get promotions is a bad thing. The purpose of this company is to get people to be Business Owners and Investors. Both of which you have PEOPLE or MONEY working for you. Not you for them. Only way to make that happen is to recruit and build. That is true in ANY company.

You may want to read the policy instead of listening to another agent. The only money you can withdraw from a cash value policy without suffering a tax problem is the money you put it that was already taxed. They are tax sheltered investments, but who wants to put money into an investment that, for the first few years, gets a NEGATIVE 100% return? Insurance should never be used as an investment. Universal, and some Variable Universal, Life policies do allow the beneficiaries to receive both the insurance AND the cash value. You must pay MORE for this privilege. Is that right for the client, to have to PAY to receive there own money? Or to pay for those that left behind to get it?

If you do not truly believe that you can retire wealthy without having to work, or for someone to be able to (maybe not decide to) retire at 30, then frankly, you will not make it long in this business. If you do not believe the end result is freedom from others telling you what to do, you do not have the mentality, or the fortitude, to be a business owner in any industry.

I work for Primerica not because of the products, and not the people at the office. I have looked at other companies and seen the results first hand what happens to people I care about. I work with Primerica because of all the companies and products available, they are the only ones more concerned about the consumer than the bottom line.

I have looked at other products, and have not found any better. I have done the math on mortgages (a big headache) and know that a fixed rate simple interest loan paid bi-weekly will be the pants off any other mortgage out there. I know that mutual funds are for the common man who knows little to nothing about investments, but those that are savvy enough, and have the cash to burn, should talk to a stock broker or investment adviser. They will pay less fees. I know that the Long Term Care product we have through Genworth is better than all others because it does not require things that are common in the industry.

All this being said, Primerica is for the faint of heart. I have been offered many jobs at other insurance companies that provide leads, a base salary, and a decent commission. Too bad they would also require me to sell cash value to keep being paid. I have a friend at Edward Jones that even offered me a position. Turned him down.

What I find really interesting is that you only worked for 2 months then listened to a competitor and now you are bashing the company. Did you even get licensed or do any sales? Did you get a promotion? I know you didn’t go on any company trips or pay any death claims.

]]> By: MyWay07 http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-2904 MyWay07 Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:23:31 +0000 http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-2904 Okey so I worked in primerica this summer for two months and was real hyped out about it, then I found out some things from another financial company, thought about these things and everything came together, or should I say fell apart... so I decided to leave the company So these are the reasons I left primerica : 1. The primary reason is because their term insurance, on what your promotion depends is actually one of the most expensive terms out there, and as I noticed from their pay slips gets canceled alot thus alot of charge back. When an insurance agent sees that his insurance was replaced he will go talk to his client and offer the client a cheaper term if term is what they want. My trainer told me that its because their insurance can be renewed until age 90 or something (but it will be much more expansive then whole life this way cuz when u renew it the cost will be much higher, which defeats the purpose of term) and the other reason is their insurance covers war and riot, many others do not. the cost difference would be about 80 $ primerica term about 60 $ cheaper competitor, so if you think people would rather pay 20 extra bucks for war and riot, then this shouldnt be an issue for u, but i don't from judging most the people that i know. Plus there was never really a war or anything like that in canada so the risk is really insignificant the way i see it. 2. Competitors offer much higher commissions, so it would be hard to retain your team when they find out they could be making x 2-3 more money elsewhere doing the same job. primerica investment you get about 1%, then 1.5% as district and finally 3.3 % as RVP. In the independant brokerage whom i talked they give 4% when you start, right away higher then RVP. And most of their insurance commission is 150% of yearly premium (even for most term insurance) and also other insurance have recurring payments for the next few years meaning you get paid for insurance that you closed before for next 3-4 years. 3. They have much more products which you can offer to suit peoples needs better. Primerica is like one shoe fits all, where as in another company you could actually choose different products that your client actually needs instead of just offering what you have. And you work with many companies instead of citi so you can actually pick the most competitive one on the market to offer your clients. 4. you sign a contract that primerica owns all your clients when you leave the company, well working for an independant brokerage you will own all your clients even if you decide to work for another financial firm or even open up your own. 5. you can still grow your business and have a team under you in another financial firm, but people concentrate mostly on production because they make more money that way, so you dont have to go all crazy recruiting. Also I found out that all the stuff they tell us about how universal is horrible is not all true. Like you can actually withdraw not borrow your money from universal policy, the one where you cannot withdraw is whole life, where you cannot use accumulation value, and maybe some other universal life, some you can actually withdraw. Also some would pay out cash value at death, again it depends on the option chosen (this one is even in the provincial exam btw) And your investment in universal life is not a crappy one with low return as they teach, its actually any seg fund that you choose, and you can choose from all around the market, some are even better then common sense fund (primerica seg fund) . The thing is its actually a tax sheltered investment, so people will not have to pay tax on grouth, not even when they withdraw the money, so if used propertly this can be actually a decent investment. I do not think that it is possible to be able to retrire and not ever work when you are 30 years old in independant brokerage, but to tell you honestly I dont even think you can really do it in primerica, i think its a fools dream to never work again. But you can make really good money working in a financial firm and help families or rip them off, that is the agents choice in that case, but either way you will be in control of what you do, and you will get paid very well. Okey so I worked in primerica this summer for two months and was real hyped out about it, then I found out some things from another financial company, thought about these things and everything came together, or should I say fell apart… so I decided to leave the company

So these are the reasons I left primerica :

1. The primary reason is because their term insurance, on what your promotion depends is actually one of the most expensive terms out there, and as I noticed from their pay slips gets canceled alot thus alot of charge back. When an insurance agent sees that his insurance was replaced he will go talk to his client and offer the client a cheaper term if term is what they want. My trainer told me that its because their insurance can be renewed until age 90 or something (but it will be much more expansive then whole life this way cuz when u renew it the cost will be much higher, which defeats the purpose of term) and the other reason is their insurance covers war and riot, many others do not. the cost difference would be about 80 $ primerica term about 60 $ cheaper competitor, so if you think people would rather pay 20 extra bucks for war and riot, then this shouldnt be an issue for u, but i don’t from judging most the people that i know. Plus there was never really a war or anything like that in canada so the risk is really insignificant the way i see it.

2. Competitors offer much higher commissions, so it would be hard to retain your team when they find out they could be making x 2-3 more money elsewhere doing the same job. primerica investment you get about 1%, then 1.5% as district and finally 3.3 % as RVP. In the independant brokerage whom i talked they give 4% when you start, right away higher then RVP. And most of their insurance commission is 150% of yearly premium (even for most term insurance) and also other insurance have recurring payments for the next few years meaning you get paid for insurance that you closed before for next 3-4 years.

3. They have much more products which you can offer to suit peoples needs better. Primerica is like one shoe fits all, where as in another company you could actually choose different products that your client actually needs instead of just offering what you have. And you work with many companies instead of citi so you can actually pick the most competitive one on the market to offer your clients.

4. you sign a contract that primerica owns all your clients when you leave the company, well working for an independant brokerage you will own all your clients even if you decide to work for another financial firm or even open up your own.

5. you can still grow your business and have a team under you in another financial firm, but people concentrate mostly on production because they make more money that way, so you dont have to go all crazy recruiting.

Also I found out that all the stuff they tell us about how universal is horrible is not all true. Like you can actually withdraw not borrow your money from universal policy, the one where you cannot withdraw is whole life, where you cannot use accumulation value, and maybe some other universal life, some you can actually withdraw. Also some would pay out cash value at death, again it depends on the option chosen (this one is even in the provincial exam btw) And your investment in universal life is not a crappy one with low return as they teach, its actually any seg fund that you choose, and you can choose from all around the market, some are even better then common sense fund (primerica seg fund) . The thing is its actually a tax sheltered investment, so people will not have to pay tax on grouth, not even when they withdraw the money, so if used propertly this can be actually a decent investment.

I do not think that it is possible to be able to retrire and not ever work when you are 30 years old in independant brokerage, but to tell you honestly I dont even think you can really do it in primerica, i think its a fools dream to never work again. But you can make really good money working in a financial firm and help families or rip them off, that is the agents choice in that case, but either way you will be in control of what you do, and you will get paid very well.

]]> By: The Financial Blogger | What About Mutual Funds at Primerica? http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-2700 The Financial Blogger | What About Mutual Funds at Primerica? Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:00:46 +0000 http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-2700 [...] those who know my blog for a while, you know that I am not a big fan of Primerica and its pyramidal structure. For those who are new to this blog, I invite you to visit my Primerica Series including the way [...] [...] those who know my blog for a while, you know that I am not a big fan of Primerica and its pyramidal structure. For those who are new to this blog, I invite you to visit my Primerica Series including the way [...]

]]> By: Eric http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-2102 Eric Sat, 22 Mar 2008 17:38:52 +0000 http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-2102 First, let me say that I love Primerica. It is true that PFS is not the only company to underwrite term life insurance. But what else is true is PFS is the only company on the face of this planet that ONLY underwrites term life. ALL other companies underwrite both cash value AND term life insurance. Even if you go to Dave Ramsey and get a quote from his preferred provider, which is Zander Insurance, you are getting quotes from companies who underwrite both types of insurance. The argument between term and cash value was settled years ago. Anyone who recommends, sells, underwrites, or otherwise peddles cash value life insurance is a thief. Even companies who provide term quotes for Dave Ramseys clients through Zander are quilty. I appreciate that Dave Ramsey teaches the correct principle of "buy term and invest the difference". But he's sort of sleeping with the enemy, don't you think? So why Primerica? Because it's the only life insurance company on the planet that hasn't sold it's soul down the river. One other thing. I talked with a friend recently who has a Roth IRA with an "advisor". This advisor is charging my friend an extra 1% on top of the normal fees and expenses normally charged by the mutual funds he is investing in. You figure out what 1% less on your rate of return over 30 years will do to your retirement nest egg. This 1% is not charged by PFS Investments on any client. I cannot wring any more commissions out of any of my clients than is already built into the mutual funds they invest in. My friend is pissed off. Wouldn't you be? So who's scamming who? It aint PFS! I lied, one more thing. We preach that for most Americans there are really only 2 places to save money for retirement. The first place is your company provided plan such as your 401(k). Second is in an IRA, preferrably a Roth IRA if you're still years away from retirement. This isn't rocket science. If you're maxing out your 401(k) and your IRA then you will put away $20,500 this year if you're under age 50. You tell me how many Americans can save more than that? If you're married and both work it's $41,000! That's about 98% of America! If you're in the other 2%, go hire a CFP. Notice that annuities and life insurance are no part of a savings plan for the 98%. Annuities are only for high income earners who have already maxed out 401(k) and IRA or make too much to contribute. So if you're one of the 98% and some "financial" guy is trying to put you into a cash value life insurance policy because it's a great place to "save money', RUN! If he's trying to sell you on an annuity, RUN! So anyway, there's my ramble. First, let me say that I love Primerica. It is true that PFS is not the only company to underwrite term life insurance. But what else is true is PFS is the only company on the face of this planet that ONLY underwrites term life. ALL other companies underwrite both cash value AND term life insurance. Even if you go to Dave Ramsey and get a quote from his preferred provider, which is Zander Insurance, you are getting quotes from companies who underwrite both types of insurance. The argument between term and cash value was settled years ago. Anyone who recommends, sells, underwrites, or otherwise peddles cash value life insurance is a thief. Even companies who provide term quotes for Dave Ramseys clients through Zander are quilty. I appreciate that Dave Ramsey teaches the correct principle of “buy term and invest the difference”. But he’s sort of sleeping with the enemy, don’t you think? So why Primerica? Because it’s the only life insurance company on the planet that hasn’t sold it’s soul down the river.

One other thing. I talked with a friend recently who has a Roth IRA with an “advisor”. This advisor is charging my friend an extra 1% on top of the normal fees and expenses normally charged by the mutual funds he is investing in. You figure out what 1% less on your rate of return over 30 years will do to your retirement nest egg. This 1% is not charged by PFS Investments on any client. I cannot wring any more commissions out of any of my clients than is already built into the mutual funds they invest in. My friend is pissed off. Wouldn’t you be? So who’s scamming who? It aint PFS!

I lied, one more thing. We preach that for most Americans there are really only 2 places to save money for retirement. The first place is your company provided plan such as your 401(k). Second is in an IRA, preferrably a Roth IRA if you’re still years away from retirement. This isn’t rocket science. If you’re maxing out your 401(k) and your IRA then you will put away $20,500 this year if you’re under age 50. You tell me how many Americans can save more than that? If you’re married and both work it’s $41,000! That’s about 98% of America! If you’re in the other 2%, go hire a CFP. Notice that annuities and life insurance are no part of a savings plan for the 98%. Annuities are only for high income earners who have already maxed out 401(k) and IRA or make too much to contribute. So if you’re one of the 98% and some “financial” guy is trying to put you into a cash value life insurance policy because it’s a great place to “save money’, RUN! If he’s trying to sell you on an annuity, RUN!

So anyway, there’s my ramble.

]]> By: The Financial Blogger http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-1760 The Financial Blogger Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:03:20 +0000 http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/comparing-primerica-to-other-companies/#comment-1760 Hi Chris, when you are about to deal with a Financial Advisor, they will all tell you that they are working for the best company. However, all financial institutions have similar products! The real difference is coming from the advisor himself. I would suggest to meet with your friend, let him prepare his plan for you and then shop around. No matter what he says, you are not bound to accept his proposition. Meet with more than one financial advisor from different company and then, decided the one that seems to be more trustworthy. Unfortunately, this is always a guessing game. However, by meeting with more than one advisor, you have better chance of finding somebody that will really help you out:-D Hi Chris,
when you are about to deal with a Financial Advisor, they will all tell you that they are working for the best company. However, all financial institutions have similar products! The real difference is coming from the advisor himself.

I would suggest to meet with your friend, let him prepare his plan for you and then shop around. No matter what he says, you are not bound to accept his proposition. Meet with more than one financial advisor from different company and then, decided the one that seems to be more trustworthy. Unfortunately, this is always a guessing game. However, by meeting with more than one advisor, you have better chance of finding somebody that will really help you out:-D

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