Primerica

[xrac]

Has anyone on the forum been able to transition from Primerica to another sponsor b/d?
I have heard that it can be almost impossible to find a new b/d because no securities broker will want you having come from Primerica?

I don't think that is true. If you are intelligent and ambition a lot of places may be willing to take you on. Now you may not land at a ML or SB but all of the carrier companies would take you I think. I don't think the Indy BDs would even bat an eye.

 

[Norwayguy]

-I'm just about to jump into mutual funds for I just earned my series 6 + 63, so ill have more to report on their funds later...but from what I hear a lot of agents do clients wrong by selling class A shares to clients with less than 75k to invest. (which is horribly wrong for the client, its basically an upfront fee when they should be getting class B shares which are back-end loaded)

Granted I gave up my registrations 25 months ago but you might want to rethink your perch on A/B shares. When looking at American funds 10 year performance for A/B shares for investments under 25k the results were almost identical Yes A shares had front end loads but lower on going costs. Also since American funds had break points at 25k and again at 50k the results only looked better.

Second are fund families offering B shares again? Most pulled back from them in 2009/2010.

 

[xrac]

Granted I gave up my registrations 25 months ago.............

Norway, you haven't regretted it have you? How long were you a RR?

 

[RonRoberts]

I don't think that is true. If you are intelligent and ambition a lot of places may be willing to take you on. Now you may not land at a ML or SB but all of the carrier companies would take you I think. I don't think the Indy BDs would even bat an eye.

Then Primerica may not be a bad place to be in the beginning for someone who is looking to get a series 6/63, etc. and gain experience without having to worry about minimums in the beginning.

 

[sman]

but from what I hear a lot of agents do clients wrong by selling class A shares to clients with less than 75k to invest. (which is horribly wrong for the client, its basically an upfront fee when they should be getting class B shares which are back-end loaded)

So where did you hear this? Because it's horribly wrong. Many fund companies no longer offer the B share. But let's take your scenario and look at American Funds Balanced Fund A & C shares. We'll invest $50,000 in a lump sum and hold it for 20 years and assume a 6% rate of return. The total fees and sales charges associated with the A share is $12,672.22. With the C share it is $15,341.69. Furthermore, the balance on the A share would be $135,282.62 and on the C share it would be $130,635.92. A little over $4,600 difference in value.

You can get this information at Fund Analyzer. You can choose any fund, any dollar amount investment and any length to see if what you're "hearing" is accurate. Additionally, most compliance departments within a B/D are going to question most C share purchases. Especially if the amount invested is above a break point. That's not to say it can't be justified, but you need to be prepared to offer a written explanation why you are investing $50k+ in a C share instead of an A share.

 

[Norwayguy]

Norway, you haven't regretted it have you? How long were you and RR?

11 or 12 years, I don't care to add it up...And no I do not regret the ability to run my business the way I want. I certainly don't miss the part of allowing the person auditing my branch being able to get 6 months of my bank records....And I love being able to choose what companies and products to offer my clients especially when said products do not require a securities registration ie FIA.
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So where did you hear this? Because it's horribly wrong. Many fund companies no longer offer the B share. But let's take your scenario and look at American Funds Balanced Fund A & C shares. We'll invest $50,000 in a lump sum and hold it for 20 years and assume a 6% rate of return. The total fees and sales charges associated with the A share is $12,672.22. With the C share it is $15,341.69. Furthermore, the balance on the A share would be $135,282.62 and on the C share it would be $130,635.92. A little over $4,600 difference in value.

You can get this information at Fund Analyzer. You can choose any fund, any dollar amount investment and any length to see if what you're "hearing" is accurate. Additionally, most compliance departments within a B/D are going to question most C share purchases. Especially if the amount invested is above a break point. That's not to say it can't be justified, but you need to be prepared to offer a written explanation why you are investing $50k+ in a C share instead of an A share.

Not to mention an even bigger reason to stay away from back end charges....The client looks at the statement and says this is mine but then wants to pull the money out and conveniently forgets the conversation and prospectus et al about the CDSC. With the A share what you see is what you get.

 

[DHK]

Has anyone on the forum been able to transition from Primerica to another sponsor b/d?
I have heard that it can be almost impossible to find a new b/d because no securities broker will want you having come from Primerica?

I know a couple of highly credible advisors that have Primerica on their U4. They were with other B/Ds before Primerica, then not in the industry, then were registered with Primerica for about a year. Then transitioned to another firm.

I don't know if the results would be any different if Primerica was the FIRST firm listed.

But a firm is just a name. It's about the actual registrations and how well you interview.

Do you talk like a Primerica rep?
Or do you talk like someone who has set their sights at a much higher level?

 

[LGilmore]

To the primeamerica guy who is planning to leave... why wait? Why work for a low commission, middle of the road product, expensive MF offerings company to gain experience?

You can gain experience just about anywhere, go where you'll get paid. The reason so many prime agents don't make it, is they don't get paid squat for their efforts. You the individual, are the business, not prime or anybody else. Put your business where you can gain the most advantage from.

In general... I just gave up my 6 after 24 years with it. The final straw for me was the attempt to force me to pay for unnecessary series 7 coverage by the BD. They wanted to hit me with a 300% increase in my E&O costs. That was it. They had been nickle and diming me for years, which I tolerated, but to mandate more expensive, less coverage E&O coverage was it. I picked their policy apart, without any effort.

The other aspect with a 6 or 7 is you will get pressured by the house... Production requirements make you an employee without any employee rights. "if you don't produce X dollars, we'll take your business" yea that's motivates....

The having to ask permission for just about everything under sun is also a pain. Had a big battle over emails from health insurance clients...they demanded I submit them to the BD for review. Told them HIPAA wouldn't allow it and they would be breaking the law. They backed off. Bout the only time HIPAA made sense to me.

 

[Cornelius]

Something to consider is the target market of PRI. To hire the masses they pretty much have to keep it simple and as far as product cost and fees they have to pay the field force.

In some respect their market plan is genius. To get the real picture take a look at Art williams and how he explains the warm market.



For people who have started with PRI and stayed in the industry I have yet to hear of one who regretted being there. They will basically hire anyone who qualifies and there's a good chance they wouldn't be in the industry unless for PRI. It's just a business decision of who moved my cheese when it comes to staying or going.