Teresa M.
Not the financial advice I wanted or needed
Unfortunately, my experience cost me a lot of money with nothing to show for it. I was contacted by one of their financial advisors in 2020 and told to remove from my workplace retirement plan (and not withhold any taxes) and put it in an annuity with a company I never heard of. I was told it was to be part of my long-term financial plan but we only had a brief conversation about it (less than 15 minutes), then total silence for three years. I got a call from one of his staff to set up an annual (in my case, triennial) video appointment. I set one up but on the date and time, I heard nothing and received nothing. When I emailed the advisor, he told me that my appointment had been cancelled because I didn't answer the phone (during my work day and probably just before a meeting). I told him that I had to deal with serious financial difficulties without him and that since his staff didn't want me to talk to him, I didn't want his help any longer. He promised that he, not his staff, would contact me in the future (January 2025, so much for annual reviews). January 2025 came and went with no call from him but plenty from his staff. They continued to call right before I go into meetings and promise to email and/or text me with open dates (they never did). The annuity never made any money while workplace retirement plan went gangbusters. Since I do better on my own, I finally got rid of the annuity and will move on without IFA's help.