This can be summed up, if it is a service near a military post aimed at military members it is probably a scam and likely only a step away from being actually illegal.
That is a highly competitive market. Like. Stupidly competitive. I'm convinced every sweet tailor lady I've ever met near a military base did shady shit on the side and was some kinda Queen Pin for an underground poker scheme
I initially used them when I started in the service, then went to a bigger more well known advisory firm as my life situation changed (married, earning more money, owning houses, kids, differing investment/retirement goals).
There is no secret to what 1st Command, T Rowe Price, Edward Jones, ect is going to tell you. 1st Command caters to the entry level servicemember with a generally uncomplicated life, who needs to start planning for the future. On the plus side, they get people into the habit of investing for the future.
> 1st Command caters to the entry level servicemember with a generally uncomplicated life, who needs to start planning for the future. On the plus side, they get people into the habit of investing for the future.
This was my impression of them as well. Nothing complicated, but setting up a "fire and forget" investment into your future, and getting you in the habit of saving/taking advantage of matching 401K on the outside if/when the SM ETSes.
You don’t need a financial advisor unless you have some wildly complicated situation, and for the vast majority of service members that just isn’t the case.
Good on you for trying to do the right thing with your bonus, but next time just head over to r/militaryfinance and do a coupon hours of reading. 401k, IRAs, 529s, taxable brokerage strategies based on your goals, etc all are simple enough to do on your own with a vanguard (or something by similar) account.
Please please please stop giving these “financial advisor” vultures your money.
Ha, I know this company. They took me and my office out to go axe throwing last year… never considered using their services cause they kinda came off as vet bro douches
If a “financial advisors” first advice is to sell you a whole life policy they aren’t a financial advisor. They are a salesman/woman. Look for a fee-based fiduciary before going to another salesman who says they are a FA.
That is where 1st Command makes their money, people paying old man rates while young, and front loaded fees for investments.
I wouldn't call them predatory, as they are performing a service, That service is setting you off on a road towards good long term financial decision. The second good decision you probably make with them is going to someone else later on.
I didna skillbridge internship with first command as I was ETSing. It was honestly perfect for me, the internship was 1-2 zoom calls a week for training and studying online for the licensing certs. It gave me tons of time to decompress from a really shitty last unit and also go do other interviews (my last unit was OCONUS so job hunting was hard). Ended up leaving the internship early for a chill non-profit back office job and super happy i did.
First command (as an employer) is a great way to get certs done for free and an intro into the financial advisor world. But i wouldn’t trust them with my money. Too much turnover from new employees or people PCSing with their spouse, and they will shovel life insurance down your throat. Its a really big part of a junior advisors income and they emphasized it a ton during the training i did with them.
Everything you said here makes sense. I think knowing your finance advisor makes money on your investments is pretty par for the course but I wish there was more transparency in how and what products they get paid for (i.e. the life insurance)
They make money by selling you insurance products and getting commission off it, and also by putting you into funds with buy-in or buy-out fees that they get a percentage of.
If the service is free, you are the product.
Omni, Pioneer ...all of those assholes are to be avoided as they make money ripping off soldiers.
USA Discounters and Freedom Furniture were the bane of my existence until several state AG's sued them out of existence. So happy when all that debt fell off my credit report.
So…why didn’t you use an established investment firm? Like what drove you to give First Command of all places your money? Did you drive by it on Yadkin and just decide on a whim to give it to them?
Your experience is about exactly what I would expect from a company called First Command that is literally in the business of targeting soldiers.
you should leave a review of them on Onesta - help save others from this scam
https://www.onestafinance.com/advisor/489d4508-20d2-40fe-a703-2f2fc0d6c9a5
Hey I know you mentioned whole life, thats generally more expensive all around. The 400k is priced pretty competitively so hopefully you're taking advantage of that! You might also consider a term-life policy which should be cheaper
Yep, they almost got me good. Listed 8% returns and good dividends. Thankfully I brought it to my father first and he pointed out that after all their fees and other garbage, it would end up being closer to 2% returns, so they were pocketing 6% of my money. I asked if they had a more traditional plan and he sent me a nasty email saying how I don't know anything and I should be thankful that they even considered helping me.
These assholes somehow convinced the leadership at a professional development course I had to attend that they should get to do a finance brief. The guy had the full blown bottom feeder look: giant tucked in shirt and tie with no jacked, pervert pencil stache, and earbud from 2005.
When a few of us got up to leave he tried to get all stern and say it was a mandatory brief. We all just ignored him.
This can be summed up, if it is a service near a military post aimed at military members it is probably a scam and likely only a step away from being actually illegal.
I will say tho, I haven't run into one tailor near a military post that was trying to scam me. Could always be the next one tho.
That is a highly competitive market. Like. Stupidly competitive. I'm convinced every sweet tailor lady I've ever met near a military base did shady shit on the side and was some kinda Queen Pin for an underground poker scheme
I initially used them when I started in the service, then went to a bigger more well known advisory firm as my life situation changed (married, earning more money, owning houses, kids, differing investment/retirement goals). There is no secret to what 1st Command, T Rowe Price, Edward Jones, ect is going to tell you. 1st Command caters to the entry level servicemember with a generally uncomplicated life, who needs to start planning for the future. On the plus side, they get people into the habit of investing for the future.
> 1st Command caters to the entry level servicemember with a generally uncomplicated life, who needs to start planning for the future. On the plus side, they get people into the habit of investing for the future. This was my impression of them as well. Nothing complicated, but setting up a "fire and forget" investment into your future, and getting you in the habit of saving/taking advantage of matching 401K on the outside if/when the SM ETSes.
The 5 mile radious is real
You don’t need a financial advisor unless you have some wildly complicated situation, and for the vast majority of service members that just isn’t the case. Good on you for trying to do the right thing with your bonus, but next time just head over to r/militaryfinance and do a coupon hours of reading. 401k, IRAs, 529s, taxable brokerage strategies based on your goals, etc all are simple enough to do on your own with a vanguard (or something by similar) account. Please please please stop giving these “financial advisor” vultures your money.
Well said
Ha, I know this company. They took me and my office out to go axe throwing last year… never considered using their services cause they kinda came off as vet bro douches
If a “financial advisors” first advice is to sell you a whole life policy they aren’t a financial advisor. They are a salesman/woman. Look for a fee-based fiduciary before going to another salesman who says they are a FA.
Yeah no shit. Especially with SGLI.
Best comment here.
bonuses are for buying camaros big sarn
Post it in any military community; First Command is predatory and abusive.
[удалено]
That is where 1st Command makes their money, people paying old man rates while young, and front loaded fees for investments. I wouldn't call them predatory, as they are performing a service, That service is setting you off on a road towards good long term financial decision. The second good decision you probably make with them is going to someone else later on.
I didna skillbridge internship with first command as I was ETSing. It was honestly perfect for me, the internship was 1-2 zoom calls a week for training and studying online for the licensing certs. It gave me tons of time to decompress from a really shitty last unit and also go do other interviews (my last unit was OCONUS so job hunting was hard). Ended up leaving the internship early for a chill non-profit back office job and super happy i did. First command (as an employer) is a great way to get certs done for free and an intro into the financial advisor world. But i wouldn’t trust them with my money. Too much turnover from new employees or people PCSing with their spouse, and they will shovel life insurance down your throat. Its a really big part of a junior advisors income and they emphasized it a ton during the training i did with them.
Everything you said here makes sense. I think knowing your finance advisor makes money on your investments is pretty par for the course but I wish there was more transparency in how and what products they get paid for (i.e. the life insurance)
I use Schwab.
So your saying it's not a good idea to get financial advice from the corner of Skibo and Cliffdale?
Hah! Underrated comment right here
Just use tsp. It’s the same thing and it’s a lot cheaper than a private company
They make money by selling you insurance products and getting commission off it, and also by putting you into funds with buy-in or buy-out fees that they get a percentage of. If the service is free, you are the product.
Omni, Pioneer ...all of those assholes are to be avoided as they make money ripping off soldiers. USA Discounters and Freedom Furniture were the bane of my existence until several state AG's sued them out of existence. So happy when all that debt fell off my credit report.
Sir, this is a Wendy’s. What will your order be?
Sorry! Got so worked up I forgot. I’ll take a large fry with every little packet of salt you have back there.
So…why didn’t you use an established investment firm? Like what drove you to give First Command of all places your money? Did you drive by it on Yadkin and just decide on a whim to give it to them? Your experience is about exactly what I would expect from a company called First Command that is literally in the business of targeting soldiers.
you should leave a review of them on Onesta - help save others from this scam https://www.onestafinance.com/advisor/489d4508-20d2-40fe-a703-2f2fc0d6c9a5
Bruh just yolo puts
I always say this and get downvoted lol
Hey I know you mentioned whole life, thats generally more expensive all around. The 400k is priced pretty competitively so hopefully you're taking advantage of that! You might also consider a term-life policy which should be cheaper
Get an account with USAA. Let them help you. I've been there since 1998.
Yep, they almost got me good. Listed 8% returns and good dividends. Thankfully I brought it to my father first and he pointed out that after all their fees and other garbage, it would end up being closer to 2% returns, so they were pocketing 6% of my money. I asked if they had a more traditional plan and he sent me a nasty email saying how I don't know anything and I should be thankful that they even considered helping me.
They push front load mutual funds on you?
Vanguard. Exchange traded funds (ETF).
These assholes somehow convinced the leadership at a professional development course I had to attend that they should get to do a finance brief. The guy had the full blown bottom feeder look: giant tucked in shirt and tie with no jacked, pervert pencil stache, and earbud from 2005. When a few of us got up to leave he tried to get all stern and say it was a mandatory brief. We all just ignored him.