Finance Tips

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, luxury car programs 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.

Should property investors still be buying properties in the current property market? This article endeavours to explore this question and answer it once and for all.

In the last few months many lenders have made it increasingly difficult for new entrants to break into the buy to let market. The credit crunch has hit lenders hard and in response they have hit the buy to let investor harder.

Banks don’t trust each other and therefore are no longer freely lending money to each other; this is having a knock on affect on their lending to the general public and investors. The number of mortgage products available has decreased by almost 75% since April 2007. Significant players like mortgage express have pulled key products leaving many buy to let landlords wondering how to make their next property purchase stack up.

Every Tom, Dick and Harry seems to be claiming that they can be the solution to the property investor financial problems and that they can still offer products like instant remortgaging. Investors have become weary of these deals and promises because they know some of these deals maybe bordering on the fringes of what is lawful.

Should you be buying properties at the moment?

Well it depends on what your strategy is. Are you a buy to let investor who is in this for the long run? Can you handle the negative comments in the media and not have a heart attack every time you hear the words “Property Market Crash”. If you answered yes to both these questions, then you should still be buying.

However, you should be analysing your strategy, as it might need tweaking in the current market conditions. By following the guidelines below you stand more of a chance of building a robust portfolio at this time.

Focus on buying for more than 25% below market value. Focus on buying lower value properties with good rental yields and positive cash flow. – Stay away from anything off plan, or anything that it is difficult to get comparisons for. Don’t release equity and put it all straight into your next purchase, begin to build up a bit of a cash reserve to help you weather any storms if things get any worse. NEVER, miss a mortgage payment. At the moment if you miss a mortgage payment on any of your properties, you are probably going to decrease your financial options even further. Lenders are being more stringent with applicants than they used to be and the odd blemish on your credit file that you might have been able to get away with before may now stop some of your mortgage applications in their tracks. Buy properties where you are able to simply and easily rearrange the internal structure. Doing things such as moving internal walls around to create added value such as an additional bedroom, could be crucial at the moment. Do everything you can to entice the buyer. Consider advertising that you will pay stamp duty and all legal fees, this can be the difference between success and failure in the current market place.

For the investors that understand the property and financial markets and learn how to work with them in any and all conditions, the next few years promise to be times of learning and expansion, not contraction. Yes there are difficult times ahead, but out of huge challenges can come tremendous growth.

If you have hit an impasse, use all your powers to work out how to push through it. Maybe you need to learn a new skill such as lease options, sale and rent backs or investing abroad. Be adaptable, be resourceful, ask questions, learn from others, do joint ventures, make up your mind to push forward not go backwards.

This is when the men get separated from the boys, the novice investors from the professionals and tomorrows property multimillionaires from the “I could have been somebody” crowd.

A current account mortgage is a type of flexible mortgage product that combines several financial products into one single account.

As with any other mortgage product, a current account mortgage will be secured against the borrower’s home. Current account mortgages are not usually secured against investment properties.

The main difference between a current account mortgage and a standard mortgage product is that the current account mortgage will act as both the borrower’s home loan and current account.

Current account mortgages are often referred to as a “line of credit”.

The borrower will normally be required to have their salary or wage paid directly into the current account mortgage and will be allowed to withdraw money from the line of credit as required – within a pre-determined upper limit.

In addition to combining the mortgage with a current account, it can also be combined with credit cards, personal loans, and cheque book facilities in order to streamline the borrower’s overall banking facilities into one product.

As well as helping to streamline the borrower’s banking facilities, a current account mortgage can offer flexible features that standard mortgage products do not, which can further assist the borrower with managing their personal finances.

Because a current account mortgage is a type of flexible mortgage it can offer features such as overpayments, underpayments, drawdown of overpayments previously made, additional borrowing facilities, no (or low) redemption penalties.

In addition to flexibility, a current account mortgage can help the borrower save interest and pay off their home sooner. This is due to a combination of factors such as earnings being paid directly into the mortgage, daily interest rate calculations, and no high interest loans (e.g. credit cards) to pay off simultaneously.

A current account mortgage can, therefore, provide a borrower with many features for organising their personal finances and paying off their mortgage as soon as possible.

However, despite the benefits, it is important for the borrower to remain disciplined because excessive withdrawals will increase the overall cost and term of the mortgage and negate the benefits offered.

Because of this, careful consideration should be given before applying for a current account mortgage. Professional advice may be sought from an independent mortgage adviser.

Whether you’re new to the mortgage business or been sitting on the sidelines for a while, this is a great time to get involved and jump-start your mortgage business.

The U.S. housing market is still encouragingly active…thirty year interest rates although fluctuating are still below 7.00%…home equity interest rates have risen enough to force many folks to refinance and eliminate the higher rate line of credit…and, over 21 trillion dollars in adjustable-rate mortgages are ripe for conversion in the months ahead, to other mortgage products.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Make a list. Yes…you need to make a list of everyone you know. You’ve heard this before…the moneys in the list…and it’s absolutely true. Make sure that you have their address, phone number, and email address if possible, plus and any other information you may have about them.

2. Send a personal letter to each of them. Tell them that you are now in the mortgage business and you are ready to help them any way that you can. Automate your list on your computer to make this function as easy as possible.

3. Follow-up a few days later with a phone call. Re-introduce yourself and your business. Ask if they have any questions about credit and/or mortgages. Ask questions that help you fill-in the blanks and take lots of notes. Offer your private number (cell phone number) in case they have any questions.

4. Send a hand written “Thank You” note expressing your gratitude for the time they spent with you and the information they provided. Very few people use “Thank You” cards today…you’ll be remembered for using them.

5. Send holiday cards, birthday cards, postcards, articles and informative industry information each and every month there after. You’ll eventually be accepted as an expert and trusted advisor, because of the valuable information that you continue to provide.

6. Never stop building your list. Set a personal goal of adding new contacts each day and then follow the same steps for each addition to your list.

This is the beginning of your database and your new mortgage business. Maintain your list, up-date it, and continually add to it. Handled correctly your database will result in mortgage referrals every month. The larger your database, the more referrals you’ll receive.

By effectively using your database, maintaining an exceptional service level, and keeping your name in the forefront of your contacts mind…you have a great chance of generating business right away.

Special bad credit mortgages are available for teachers. Educators have access to some exclusive mortgage products that are not available to other individuals. There are several low-interest mortgages open for teachers with bad credit. These teacher-specific bad credit mortgages have several advantages that ordinary mortgages do not enjoy.

A bad credit mortgage is an affordable way to clear your bad credit. You are very often asked what your credit rate is when you apply for a mortgage or home loan. Your credit worthiness is determined after considering the credit score contained in your credit report. A credit score less than 620 is considered a bad credit. However, many loan providers do not consider bad credit a hindrance in granting you a loan. A teacher with a credit score ranking below 620 can also obtain a mortgage thanks to special bad credit mortgages. There are different mortgages available for teachers with bad credit. Teachers can find a bad credit mortgage broker or lender via the Internet.

Different bad credit mortgage lenders have different requirements. They usually lend money after determining three important factors: they view the credit, check whether the person is capable of repaying the amount, and check the assets and establish the capability to undertake stronger down payment.

Many mortgage lenders are considerate to teachers, as teaching is a safe and sound profession involving little risk. As teaching is a long-term career, a teacher is treated as a low-risk applicant. Some lenders even take the risk of not accepting any deposit from teachers. Also, teachers enjoy many advantages such as low application fees.