World Financial Group is an MLM company dealing in financial instruments. They typically recruit from the Asian community with a focus on college students and those who have recently become unemployed. After a personal investigation, I feel it appropriate to share my experience with this organization as it relates to personal finance. The conclusion being that this group engages in deceptive tactics to sell financial instruments with evidence that they suppress infromation which attempt to expose them. The group has gone through various name changes to cover their notoriety (WMA - World Marketing Alliance, WFG - World Financial Group, WLG - World Leadership Group, PHP - People Helping People). I recently dated a girl who was involved and what I discovered was a bit scary to say the least. Something was always sort of off about her (why repeatedly attempt to sell me an insurance policy when I work for a fortune 50 company???). She had been in the group for around 5 months, and became more and more obsessed with "the business" as time went on. I knew something was up and did a bit of investigation because I cared for her well being. The group has been known to use deception and cult like control on its members, literally straight from the Amway textbook. Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but I discovered the branch manager did not own the house he claimed he paid for at a recruiting event / house party. This is a tactic they use to draw members. They make themselves seem more well off than they really are by renting expensive cars and homes and passing them off as having been earned through "the business". The event was beyond weird for an outsider, i.e. guy evangelizing that he came from nothing and became rich and you could have a house like him if you joined the group. People taking pictures of the house and sending it to recuits, and an all round eery vibe. One of the members mentioned he had stopped talking to his parents and dropped out of medical school in order to pursue a life in "business". If you go to another area or city with a different branch manager, you will see the same event and similar storytelling played out before you. There are many reports claiming that these fraudsters are actually broke and/or carry bankruptcy filings. When I brought this up, I got told I was crazy and the person ceased contact, likely as an order from the upline and told the entire local office was laughing at me. Literal solid proof that this was going on, labelled untrusted then discredited to the local office as damage control. Okay, sound unbelievable still? You will notice online that much of the negative commentary around the truly dark aspects of the business are censored. Seriously, note that Google gives you omitted results when inquiring about some of these things. Fortunately, back when the group was known as WMA, up until around 2006, a group formed to expose the true nature of what goes on in the group on xwma.org (ex-WMA). It was pulled down for unknown reasons, but.... Using the Way Back Machine (an internet archive service), you can see this website as it was when it was still standing in 2006. There are accounts from past WMA and WFG employees that you will likely find shocking if you have spent any time near this group or those involved. I would not believe it if I hadn't experienced it myself. In my opinion, these people are worse than Amway due to their arguably ingenious way of covering their tracks and the fact that they screw people (usually Asian immigrants) over tens of thousands of dollars at a time (under the guise of "helping") typically using their FIUL (indexed universal life) time bomb policies. They tell you that you are investing and getting life insurance when the reality is you pay out the whole first year to the agent who sold you the policy as commission, and the high maintenance fees plus cost of insurance eat up any sort of "savings" the policy was supposed to retain. Don't believe me? Let them draw you up a policy, have them print it out, then take it to any reputable firm to get the full details on what you are being sold. The cycle never stops because they ask you for 25 names when you are recruited, and will call these people regardless of whether you decide to stick with the business using your name and relationship to leverage a sale or recruitment. The entire system being commission based and recruit focused with attention to exploiting the trust of those around you. They will tell you all sorts of things like being backed by Aegon and Transamerica. Great, Amway is also one of the largest companies in the world too but a quick search can turn up plenty of horror stories involved related to their MLM scheme. You won't make it, the game is already rigged, you are just propping it up higher. Unbelievable right? Take a look at the [xwma.org snapshot from 2006] (http://web.archive.org/web/20060715203817/http://www.xwma.org/) and for bonus material have a look at [speakout section 1 - 3rd post down](http://web.archive.org/web/20060720020348/http://www.xwma.org/speakout.html) and [speakout section 3 - Search for "The Power of ONE ****** off *****" ](http://web.archive.org/web/20060720020026/http://www.xwma.org/speakout3.html). Why haven't you heard about any of this? Because it is suppressed. They even SEO these reports not to get found by creating scams involving use of their logo to top search results (http://www.worldfinancialgroup.com/scam-using-world-financial-group-name-and-logo/). They want the reports of people who call it a scam because they ask for $100 to be easy to find because those people are just looking at the surface. $100 isn't much to lose and seeing it from that aspect makes it look like WFG is unfairly picked on as being a scam. What they don't want you to know is what actually happens when you invest time in the group, hence why this information is so hard to find. Hopefully, this post saves you or someone you know from wasting your time, money, and relationships for a false dream. Honestly, I would love to see a reincarnation of xwma, because this organization is seriously messed up.
In May I was approached and convinced by a couple to join their team with World Financial Group (WFG).I have know this couple for over 10 years and they told me how successful their business has been (they made over 100K in 2014). They convinced me to join their team and I paid $100 for "paperwork and background check" to WFG. Due to my current work I was unable to dedicate much time to my training until October. At that time I began attending team meetings, bought a business suit (required attire), and paid for and began my online training for my first level license for Life, Health and LTC Insurance ($49.00). I also began attending team meetings and events. The team meetings were friendly and NEVER did anyone mention Multi Level Marketing (MLM) but everyone who spoke talked about "building your team". At one point I said to my friend (now my "Team Leader") that I was not interested in building a team as I had just ended a business with employees and didn't want to deal with managing a team. He never addressed my comments or concerns.
After spending an entire weekend at an in-person training class ($159.00) I had a very strong premonition that this was a scam. In fact I had a nightmare about this. In the morning I googled "World Financial Group AND TransAmerica" and discovered many, many negative comments regarding this group.
I admit I should have done my homework, but this couple were well known to me. I trusted them.
I am also very embarrassed to report that I also moved my IRA to this individual. The reason I did so was he and all the other speakers, kept touting the fact that they are constantly monitoring the market and can "move money" to avoid any losses and can do so at a moment's notice. They all talk about how much money everyone lost in 2008-2009 and that they would never let this happen again as they can "move everything to cash" "ride out the down turn" etc...
My account as of the day I moved to WFG/TransAmerica was over $118K. In 8 months I lost $4891.96. AND the fees for "managing" my money totalled $1131.65 (May-Dec).
When I complained to my advisor/friend, he kept repeating that the market had been volatile this year, that I would have lost that amount had I kept my money where it had been, etc.
I have moved my money back to Vanguard. When I transferred the money back I was charged a $50 "service fee" which he refused to waive. I have NEVER been charged such a fee in all my previous financial dealings.
Needless to say I am very upset at this large loss. I hope this will help anyone else to AVOID anything to do with World Financial Group unless you enjoy MLM and Pyramid Schemes.
World Financial Group, Inc. Reviews
World Financial Group is an MLM company dealing in financial instruments. They typically recruit from the Asian community with a focus on college students and those who have recently become unemployed. After a personal investigation, I feel it appropriate to share my experience with this organization as it relates to personal finance. The conclusion being that this group engages in deceptive tactics to sell financial instruments with evidence that they suppress infromation which attempt to expose them. The group has gone through various name changes to cover their notoriety (WMA - World Marketing Alliance, WFG - World Financial Group, WLG - World Leadership Group, PHP - People Helping People). I recently dated a girl who was involved and what I discovered was a bit scary to say the least. Something was always sort of off about her (why repeatedly attempt to sell me an insurance policy when I work for a fortune 50 company???). She had been in the group for around 5 months, and became more and more obsessed with "the business" as time went on. I knew something was up and did a bit of investigation because I cared for her well being. The group has been known to use deception and cult like control on its members, literally straight from the Amway textbook. Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but I discovered the branch manager did not own the house he claimed he paid for at a recruiting event / house party. This is a tactic they use to draw members. They make themselves seem more well off than they really are by renting expensive cars and homes and passing them off as having been earned through "the business". The event was beyond weird for an outsider, i.e. guy evangelizing that he came from nothing and became rich and you could have a house like him if you joined the group. People taking pictures of the house and sending it to recuits, and an all round eery vibe. One of the members mentioned he had stopped talking to his parents and dropped out of medical school in order to pursue a life in "business". If you go to another area or city with a different branch manager, you will see the same event and similar storytelling played out before you. There are many reports claiming that these fraudsters are actually broke and/or carry bankruptcy filings. When I brought this up, I got told I was crazy and the person ceased contact, likely as an order from the upline and told the entire local office was laughing at me. Literal solid proof that this was going on, labelled untrusted then discredited to the local office as damage control. Okay, sound unbelievable still? You will notice online that much of the negative commentary around the truly dark aspects of the business are censored. Seriously, note that Google gives you omitted results when inquiring about some of these things. Fortunately, back when the group was known as WMA, up until around 2006, a group formed to expose the true nature of what goes on in the group on xwma.org (ex-WMA). It was pulled down for unknown reasons, but.... Using the Way Back Machine (an internet archive service), you can see this website as it was when it was still standing in 2006. There are accounts from past WMA and WFG employees that you will likely find shocking if you have spent any time near this group or those involved. I would not believe it if I hadn't experienced it myself. In my opinion, these people are worse than Amway due to their arguably ingenious way of covering their tracks and the fact that they screw people (usually Asian immigrants) over tens of thousands of dollars at a time (under the guise of "helping") typically using their FIUL (indexed universal life) time bomb policies. They tell you that you are investing and getting life insurance when the reality is you pay out the whole first year to the agent who sold you the policy as commission, and the high maintenance fees plus cost of insurance eat up any sort of "savings" the policy was supposed to retain. Don't believe me? Let them draw you up a policy, have them print it out, then take it to any reputable firm to get the full details on what you are being sold. The cycle never stops because they ask you for 25 names when you are recruited, and will call these people regardless of whether you decide to stick with the business using your name and relationship to leverage a sale or recruitment. The entire system being commission based and recruit focused with attention to exploiting the trust of those around you. They will tell you all sorts of things like being backed by Aegon and Transamerica. Great, Amway is also one of the largest companies in the world too but a quick search can turn up plenty of horror stories involved related to their MLM scheme. You won't make it, the game is already rigged, you are just propping it up higher. Unbelievable right? Take a look at the [xwma.org snapshot from 2006] (http://web.archive.org/web/20060715203817/http://www.xwma.org/) and for bonus material have a look at [speakout section 1 - 3rd post down](http://web.archive.org/web/20060720020348/http://www.xwma.org/speakout.html) and [speakout section 3 - Search for "The Power of ONE ****** off *****" ](http://web.archive.org/web/20060720020026/http://www.xwma.org/speakout3.html). Why haven't you heard about any of this? Because it is suppressed. They even SEO these reports not to get found by creating scams involving use of their logo to top search results (http://www.worldfinancialgroup.com/scam-using-world-financial-group-name-and-logo/). They want the reports of people who call it a scam because they ask for $100 to be easy to find because those people are just looking at the surface. $100 isn't much to lose and seeing it from that aspect makes it look like WFG is unfairly picked on as being a scam. What they don't want you to know is what actually happens when you invest time in the group, hence why this information is so hard to find. Hopefully, this post saves you or someone you know from wasting your time, money, and relationships for a false dream. Honestly, I would love to see a reincarnation of xwma, because this organization is seriously messed up.
In May I was approached and convinced by a couple to join their team with World Financial Group (WFG).I have know this couple for over 10 years and they told me how successful their business has been (they made over 100K in 2014). They convinced me to join their team and I paid $100 for "paperwork and background check" to WFG. Due to my current work I was unable to dedicate much time to my training until October. At that time I began attending team meetings, bought a business suit (required attire), and paid for and began my online training for my first level license for Life, Health and LTC Insurance ($49.00). I also began attending team meetings and events. The team meetings were friendly and NEVER did anyone mention Multi Level Marketing (MLM) but everyone who spoke talked about "building your team". At one point I said to my friend (now my "Team Leader") that I was not interested in building a team as I had just ended a business with employees and didn't want to deal with managing a team. He never addressed my comments or concerns.
After spending an entire weekend at an in-person training class ($159.00) I had a very strong premonition that this was a scam. In fact I had a nightmare about this. In the morning I googled "World Financial Group AND TransAmerica" and discovered many, many negative comments regarding this group.
I admit I should have done my homework, but this couple were well known to me. I trusted them.
I am also very embarrassed to report that I also moved my IRA to this individual. The reason I did so was he and all the other speakers, kept touting the fact that they are constantly monitoring the market and can "move money" to avoid any losses and can do so at a moment's notice. They all talk about how much money everyone lost in 2008-2009 and that they would never let this happen again as they can "move everything to cash" "ride out the down turn" etc...
My account as of the day I moved to WFG/TransAmerica was over $118K. In 8 months I lost $4891.96. AND the fees for "managing" my money totalled $1131.65 (May-Dec).
When I complained to my advisor/friend, he kept repeating that the market had been volatile this year, that I would have lost that amount had I kept my money where it had been, etc.
I have moved my money back to Vanguard. When I transferred the money back I was charged a $50 "service fee" which he refused to waive. I have NEVER been charged such a fee in all my previous financial dealings.
Needless to say I am very upset at this large loss. I hope this will help anyone else to AVOID anything to do with World Financial Group unless you enjoy MLM and Pyramid Schemes.