As a professional network marketer, with almost a decade of experience in financial services, I often get approached by reps from World Financial Group, also known as WFG, to take a look at their opportunity. While I never joined WFG, I did take a good hard look at what they are about and how their business model works. If you’re looking into the World Financial Group business opportunity, don’t join… at least, not until you read this review. In this review, I’ll go into the background of the company, the different products they offer, their compensation plan and whether or not they provide an opportunity that someone can actually succeed at.
World Financial Group, formerly known as World Marketing Alliance (WMA), is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia and was originally founded by Hubert Humphrey in 1991. Before starting WMA, Humphrey was the #1 Producer for A.L. Williams, now known as Primerica. After Art Williams sold his company to Sandy Weill and The Travelers Group, Humphrey decided it was time to start his own company.
Today, Hubert Humphrey is no longer part of the company and WFG is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Aegon, one of the world’s largest life insurance and pension groups, and a strong provider of investment products. WFG markets various financial services, including life insurance, investments and mortgage products though a multilevel marketing model. Some of WFG’s strategic partners include some big names in the financial services arena: Western Reserve Life, Pacific Life, Allianz, TransAmerica, Nationwide, John Hancock, Hartford Life and Investment Advisors International.
Currently, the company has close to 85,000 licensed reps in it’s sales force, and is operating in the US and Canada. It’s rumored that the company recruits close to 10,000 new associates every single month, which is pretty impressive for a financial services-based direct sales company.
To join the company, there is a start-up cost of $100 ($125 in Canada) plus any licensing costs that the state in which you live charges. Give or take, it will probably total anywhere between $500-$1,000 for all your licenses, and about 20-40 hours of licensing time. Unlike other network marketing companies that allow you to make money the minute you join, WFG requires it’s reps to get licensed before they can get paid. And, while this might look like a negative point to some people, keep in mind that because you’re dealing with financial products, you must be licensed. The good thing is that you can make some pretty nice commissions, to the tune of $500-$1,000 for one sale, as soon as your able to write business.
Another aspect of WFG’s compensation plan is that while there is a licensing requirement, and it will take a little longer to train people because you’re dealing with financial products that may get complicated, you only need a handful of producers to make a good income. In fact, upon reviewing the compensation plan, it impressed me that you only need around 15-25 active producers to make $150,000-$250,000 a year. Now, obviously you will need to recruit a lot more than 25 people to get 25 producers, especially since only a few will actually get licensed, and of those who actually get licensed, only a few will produce. But still… building 25 leaders, who each get 2-3 clients a month, over the course of 2-3 years is a lot more “do-able” than building a team of 15,000-20,000 reps.
One last note, there are a ton of incentives in the compensation plan including various trips, a Mercedes Benz, a Rolex, Superbowl Rings you get for going over $100,000 a year in income and various bonuses you can earn.
With that said, you do have to be aware of all the fees you can incur for building your WFG business. Besides the licensing costs I mentioned earlier, there are costs to do other lines of business, especially if that line of business requires a state license. There’s also E&O Insurance (Malpractice insurance for financial representatives) that will run you close to $100 a month. Also, may be some fee to do business in other states, depending on what products you plan on selling in those states. If you’re serious about building a financial services organization with WFG, then don’t get too caught up with these fees. After all, if you were to start a traditional financial services firm, you would easily pay much, much more than this.
In closing, World Financial Group (WFG) is definitely not a scam. It may not be your cup of tea, but it is absolutely not a scam. If you put in the time and effort, you can actually build a very lucrative business and make a multiple six-figure income a year. However, simply joining WFG doesn’t mean you will easily succeed. All WFG provides is an opportunity for you to build your own financial business. Ultimately, your success will rely on your ability to brand yourself, market and generate more leads than you can get to. It’s extremely vital, if you’re serious, to obtain the knowledge and skills that will allow you to personally sponsor 10-20 reps a month. Without this marketing knowledge, even though World Financial Group (WFG) is a solid business, you will struggle and, most likely, be dead in the water.
Jaime Soriano wrote this World Financial Group Review as a resource for people interested in the WFG opportunity. Sadly, most people who join WFG will never achieve the success they want because they simply lack marketing skills. To learn how to properly build a WFG business, visit Jaime Soriano’s MLM Training
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September 12, 2010 at 1:43 am
Dear Mr. Soriano,
I’m an active member of WFG and i can absolutely say that it isn’t a SCAM or anything like that, i’m on my way to make a six figure income this year (couldn’t share in here how much i do actually make) but i can just say as a support for your absolutely good review that WFG could be the best business ever created!
Thanks.
October 6, 2010 at 9:19 pm
I did not join the sales team of WFG, however purchased their products, and it sucks! there is no real return, you end up owing more to the companies you loan you the money to invest,,, because simply the investment is going down from the day you join… you hope it might go up, but after three years, I almost lost 40% of the value invested! So shames on the sales agent, who really think they can help other people make money , or they simply just making money for themselves, thru multi-level marketing, Sure you can make alot of money bying selling the products.
October 12, 2010 at 3:34 pm
@ Lucas…
Sorry to tell you this buddy but WFG has nothing to do with the market or the recession. EVERYONE lost money, not just people who invested their money through WFG associates. I invested through a WFG associate in Nov 08 (mid recession when everything had hit rock bottom) and thanks to the advice I made almost a 50% return in just over a year. ALL investments have some risk involved so wheather or not you use a WFG rep you have to know that there is always a chance of losing money when investing. Stop blaming WFG for something nobody has control over.
October 15, 2010 at 12:38 pm
So true Lucas !
October 20, 2010 at 10:01 pm
The life insurance they sold me was crap. Just shop around and you will see.Now i know why they make money. I would recomend people go read some books from real financial advisors . I have no issue with the recruiting and making money but not at my expense. Shame on wfg.
October 26, 2010 at 8:39 pm
To Mr Miranda, You say that you are a big earner in the business, That could be so but you only the make the money from the recruits that you have and not so much for the knowledge, I have an invest, I hav had for over 16 years. But I do think they are bad in what they do to people, I knew a couople that lost all they had since they were told by the MD that to be a millionare you have look like one, SO he made them take over a lease he had on a 63K Mercedes that they could not afford they had their own business they had for years and were good at it, But with the to be millinare they got caught up on that. And when they could not afford it the MD took them to court since they could afford it and also they lost the business since he told that they need to move somewhere else since the market would be great in another area. and I saw alot more and no that is was not me in any of the situations I just would not but into their B*&#S.
November 16, 2010 at 2:48 am
hello unhappy….
WFG doesn’t have product with them …
they pick and chose best company in that province in my knowledge.
If u don’t get good insurance u got to start a good insurance company i guess..
November 16, 2010 at 6:56 pm
People who work for world financial group are GREEDY. All they care about are commissions and not your financial well-being. Miranda’s comment is the perfect example – he says it’s not a SCAM and immediately follows with the fact that he makes a 6-figure income.
Do NOT join and do NOT sign up for anything through a WFG rep. The primary focus in the trainings/meetings is on how much money you will make as a sales rep. Believe me, I went to several meetings and was thinking of becoming a member but stopped when I realized it’s a huge brokerage pyramid. I also made the expensive mistake of taking their financial advise. You’re better off on your own!
November 17, 2010 at 1:20 am
@ Screwed… thats actually kind of funny. I attended one of their recruiting meetings tonight. I’m not in WFG yet, but your so full of crap dude. Bottom line, they do go over their financial strategy, and if you think any other Insurance group is going to help you any better, then your working for one of them.
The problem with comment boards like this, is that any Priamerica Rep, or other Insurance dork can come on and rip another companies product.
So if your reading these negative reviews, remember, they are probably the competition, or they have no idea what WFG is all about.
Let the reader decide.. their basic formula in terms of working with a client is to first look at how they can increase their income (and its not as a WFG agent), second, debt consolidation and elimination. Most insurance agents for New York Life and other so called legitimate companies do very little in regards to these first two important points before you even start looking at insurance.
Furthermore, do you have a clue what an EIUL or EIUA are? Probably not, but they are some of the better life insurance products out there right now. With little risk in terms of a down market, but also rewarding you in a good market. But I guess some insurance agents haven’t figured that whole life isn’t the only product in the world they can huck to their clients.
So people do your education, but don’t believe some douche bags on an internet comment board.
January 16, 2011 at 1:53 am
Don’t join OR buy from WFG. They immediately ask you to recruit from friends and families, which has the potential to destroy those relationships. I was also pressured to bring in 3 new members by the next week, which is ridiculous. They wanted me to write down 25 friends and their numbers the 1st day which I would call and prospect. Being only commission-based and a MLM company, all they care about is recruiting and getting people to come on board however way they can. The meetings and orientations are filled with actors pretending to make a lot of money. They hand out fake awards and have actors pretending to win them by saying they brought in xx amount of people this month, which is bullsh*t. WFG is also filled with people w/o college degrees (losers w/ no plans) would couldn’t get a real, steady job.
January 16, 2011 at 2:00 am
I agree with Scammed Recruit. WFG is a SCAM! They are filled with hidden fees and all they care about is bringing more people in, starting with your friends and families!
They entice you by saying you will be making millions and saying your day job sucks, so you should work for them instead. Easier said than done!
I worked my ass off there but ended up having the people I brought in very dissatisfied, which ended those friendships. They left abruptly, along with the business I thought I was going to be in. I left 3 weeks later, in a rage about the dreams I thought that i was going to fulfill.
DO NOT WORK FOR WFG. DO NOT BUY FROM WFG, EITHER!
January 16, 2011 at 2:03 am
My comment got deleted because I was dissatisfied with WFG. Bias?
January 25, 2011 at 7:08 pm
I have been with WFG for a little over a month and I am happy with muy choice. I have never been the type of person to take a chance on something I was not familiar with and I am glad that I did. I guarantee that the people I work with are not actors. Some have become good friends and supporters. Hard work in this company is appreciated and recognized. We help families and we get paid to help families. I dont see what is wrong with that. Yes, there are shady people in all companies and those people can make it rough for everyone else. But, there are good people that work at my office and they are passionate about helping people and providing them with products that will change their famiy’s financial situation for the better. Shame on you if you do not know the tuth and choose to bash those who work hard to help others. Last time I checked all occupations that entail helping people get paid for his/her hard work…so I dont see where the problem lies. WFG has changed my life. So blessed!
January 27, 2011 at 1:31 pm
I am not sure what the big issue is here. All companies that sell something try and convince you they have the best product. Every heard of advertising, those companies make billions convincing you that one product is better then another. Let me state here I am not or never will be a rep for WFG but I have been to a couple meetings ( through a friend) and I find their tactics no different from my financial advisor that works for another company, which is not a network marketing company. Both want to sell me investments and try and find the best fit from the large companies out there. ALL financial investment agents get paid a commission on selling you something and a good number of them are front loaded). This is not new. The only difference is that the average agent in WFG can make commissions off their sales people they bring into the company. In standard companies, if you help your friend get a job at your company who gets the profits from that friends efforts??? The boss, one or two people at the top of the company PIRAMID. Yes, regular corporations are legal pyramids. The president and the VP’s make ridiculous salaries off the backs of their staff who have to fight for raises. There is an upper crust of Presidents and VP’s in this country and most people will never reach these heights because they are not in the “Old Boys Club”. So why is everyone so down on MLM companies. There are very good companies out their helping a lot of people make a good living. Maybe not millions but if you can make $80 – $100 grand a year why not. I know someone who is a director with Mary Kaye and she makes over $150 a year plus has the pink caddy. I can verify this because I do her taxes. My point is that people seem to have a stigma about network marketing and unfortunately there is the flyby night ones but there are a lot of good ones. My suggestion if you do choose WFG not to harass your family and friends. Let them know what you are doing and if they are interested they will come to you, it’s not worth being an “Anyway salesman” and harassing people to the point they run when they see you coming.