Looking for advice regarding a financial advisor

[jbardin1]

I was recently contacted by a financial advisor from Northwestern Mutual.  He got my contact info from a mutual friend.  I had a couple really good conversations with him and we hit it off from a personality standpoint.  However, as I have been reading more on the blog, I am seeing that Northwestern is likely not the outfit that is the best fit for me.  He has told me one more than one occasion that he can “deal with other companies” besides NWM.  From what I’m reading that doesn’t seem to be accurate.  He has been scheduling weekly calls that last about an hour and I don't mind them but my question is, am I wasting my time by continuing to talk with him, knowing that I’m likely not going to be purchasing NWM policies?  I feel like maybe I’m making it too personal and shouldn’t have so much reservation about just telling him thanks but no thanks.  Just feels awkward since he got my info from one of my friends.

Thanks in advance,

Joe

[The White Coat Investor]

Don't take financial advice from anyone who works for NML. Easy decision. I mean, read this thread if you don't believe me:

https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/forums/topic/inappropriate-whole-life-policy-of-the-week/

I mean, I guess it's possible to get good advice but it seems highly unlikely given the experience of literally hundreds of my readers.

Yes, you're wasting both of your time.

And tell your friend, you might save him hundreds of thousands of dollars.

[Peds]

......do you not think your time is worth anything?

Weekly?

Hour!?

 

Don't pick up. I would be pissed if one of my friends gave me out as a contact.

[Zaphod]

Its not at all personal, when hes talking or thinking about you all he sees is money. They use doctors inability to be quick and decisive about cutting off relationships, etc...to dig you into sunk costs and not be able to say no.

I wouldnt take the call or ever speak again to this person. Block their call. We all used to be like that at one point, you'll get over it. If I get telemarketer calls I just instantly say no thanks, have a good one, hang up and block. Dont let them finish their sentence. I will sit here at the computer where the window is 1.5ft from the door/entry and not move a bit when they knock and just stand there waiting, and watch them walk away after a time.

Its so funny how we feel compelled "not to be rude" etc....the social conditioning so interesting really. You're not the one who cold called or knocked on someones door without being asked. Its not rude to just continue as you had planned, they are the rude party and they prey on social norms to get you to do something you do not want to do in the first place.

[VagabondMD]

^^

I agree with above. Tell him that you changed your mind and are not interested and thank him for his time.Do not give him open to counter or parry - they are trained to sell through your protests. Block phone number and email, if possible.

[Hank]

It's amazingly easy to a block a phone number or email address on an iPhone.  (I suspect it's pretty easy on Android too.)

I recommend blocking early and often.  One of the biggest moneymakers you might have in your career is to spend two minutes blocking someone who it trying to take you for $2 million in fees over the course of your investing lifetime.  Why the annualized return of that two minutes of effort is astronomical! 8-)

[Steven Podnos MD CFP]

If you are looking for good financial advice, seek out a fee only Fiduciary planner.  They can be paid via hourly charges, retainer, or assets managed.  Try searching these forums and go to Napfa.com

[jbardin1]

Thanks to everyone who replied.  I appreciate your input!  Thinking back through the things we have talked about, I see a pattern of being pulled back towards whole life insurance.  I told him up front I had no interest in whole life insurance.  I got a term quote from him and it was pretty pricey compared to other quotes I got.  His response was that he added an extra rider on it for the "option to convert to permanent life insurance" and if that was taken off, the price was similar to the other quotes.  And the last time we talked, it was about "overfunded permanent life insurance" not for the death benefit, but for an investment that is better for tax purposes.  I was still hanging on to him coming across as being able to sell from any company because I'm in the market for disability insurance also, but now its probably seeming more like he is trying to show me why NML is a better option than other companies as opposed to providing me quotes from other places.

 

[Kamban]

jbardin1 wrote:

Thanks to everyone who replied. I appreciate your input! Thinking back through the things we have talked about, I see a pattern of being pulled back towards whole life insurance. I told him up front I had no interest in whole life insurance. I got a term quote from him and it was pretty pricey compared to other quotes I got. His response was that he added an extra rider on it for the “option to convert to permanent life insurance” and if that was taken off, the price was similar to the other quotes. And the last time we talked, it was about “overfunded permanent life insurance” not for the death benefit, but for an investment that is better for tax purposes. I was still hanging on to him coming across as being able to sell from any company because I’m in the market for disability insurance also, but now its probably seeming more like he is trying to show me why NML is a better option than other companies as opposed to providing me quotes from other places

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He is trying to work on you feelings about this friendship and trying to seem as if he is looking out for you in this big bad financial world. Don't get sucked in early in your career. Just politely say no and request that he not call again. They are used to rejections.

[treesrock]

jbardin1 wrote:

Thanks to everyone who replied.  I appreciate your input!  Thinking back through the things we have talked about, I see a pattern of being pulled back towards whole life insurance.  I told him up front I had no interest in whole life insurance.  I got a term quote from him and it was pretty pricey compared to other quotes I got.  His response was that he added an extra rider on it for the “option to convert to permanent life insurance” and if that was taken off, the price was similar to the other quotes.  And the last time we talked, it was about “overfunded permanent life insurance” not for the death benefit, but for an investment that is better for tax purposes.  I was still hanging on to him coming across as being able to sell from any company because I’m in the market for disability insurance also, but now its probably seeming more like he is trying to show me why NML is a better option than other companies as opposed to providing me quotes from other places.

 

Click to expand...

Just buy disability insurance from one of the many suggested insurance agents on this site.  Granted many are also advertisers but whatever, better than trying to find one on your own.  I used Larry Keller who was awesome.

[MPMD]

You lost me at Northwestern Mutual.

Agree with what others have said, block #/email. Easy to do on gmail and your phone.

He's taking you down one of the sales paths he was taught. If you called or emailed to fire him he would appeal to all of the time he'd already spent with you "for free."

[djohnflatfeecfp]

Agree 100% with all the previous comments.  I bet most posters here could even recite the scripts he used not only with talking to you but also when asking your friend for referrals.

 

You may also want to let your friend know what your experience has been with his guy and to politely ask not to pass out your information anymore.  How does that quote go - "With friends like these..."

[Rando]

jbardin1 wrote:

 I had a couple really good conversations with him and we hit it off from a personality standpoint.

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Your financial advisor is NOT YOUR FRIEND, he's a guy you're hiring to do a job.  So far he's almost certainly giving you bad advice.

[MPMD]

djohnflatfeecfp wrote:

Agree 100% with all the previous comments.  I bet most posters here could even recite the scripts he used not only with talking to you but also when asking your friend for referrals.

 

You may also want to let your friend know what your experience has been with his guy and to politely ask not to pass out your information anymore.  How does that quote go – “With friends like these…”

Click to expand...

I always tell my residents that if they want to sit down with one of these guys who buys them a steak dinner and gives them a pitch to let me have an hour with them afterwards where I can duplicate the pitch.

"You have 3 buckets..."

[notadoc]

You might want to read this thread also:

Can Northwestern Mutual offer me anything competitive?

 

https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/forums/topic/can-northwest-mutual-offer-me-anything-competitive/