First Command

"Only providing more than one star because First Command is better than nothing if you lack the motivation or initiative to take control of your finances at all without someone holding your hand. But I know all of you care more about your financial future than that... Before signing with First Command, take some time to educate yourself on base-level personal finance information. Specifically, insurance (whole vs. term) and mutual funds (front loaded active funds vs. index funds). This company preys on your ignorance of financial topics and convinces you that you need very high-fee products that will vastly underperform your results had you bought simpler low-fee investments and insurance. And beware, these guys are smooth talkers and can make you question what you know to be true. I experienced it firsthand years ago, but thankfully managed to escape after just a couple of meetings. The advisors selling these products stand to make huge commissions each time they sell a pricy whole life policy or a front-loaded mutual fund. Neither of those things are good for you, but it's how they make a living. If they were providing you the best advice possible, they would be charging a fee for advice and/or asset management instead of earning huge commissions on unnecessarily expensive products. In a commission set up like First Command, it doesn't matter how much the client's wealth grows over the decades because the advisor benefits most on the day of sale of a product, no matter how good the product is. In a fee-only model, it is in the advisor's best interest to do everything they can to maximize the growth of your wealth over the long run. The crazy thing, if you look at an advisor job posting for First Command, they don't even require any sort of financial experience. Just a military association, a bachelors, and leadership skills. They'll teach you how to sell the expensive products... In regards to the strong push for whole life at First Command: Do I really need a meager lifetime $100-500k death benefit for way over $200/month for life when I'm a millionaire decades in the future after building wealth the RIGHT way? You don't need insurance forever. It only needs to bridge the gap while you build your wealth. I ran a case study on someone who had $400k in whole life from First Command for 25 years. The cash value after 25 years (that the advisors love to hype up) was $61,000. Even without SGLI, if he had bought term life insurance instead and invested the difference in an S&P 500 index fund, he would have over $230,000 right now. But, he went with First Command and now only has $61,000 that he can access to show for those dollars he spent. That's only addressing his life insurance. Had he also not been paying the huge fees for the expensive mutual funds they put in him in over the last 25 years and went with index funds instead, he would likely be wealthy enough today to not even need life insurance. We're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line here. I was almost reeled in by First Command about 5 years ago and I am much wealthier now than I would have been had I proceeded them. The book "The Simple Path to Wealth" by JL Collins is a great starting point for those that want to take control of their finances. You will find that investing is much less intimidating than the industry wants you to realize. I will concede, if you are truly too lazy to set a budget, stop buying cars you can't afford, buying houses that are more than you need, going to restaurants and coffee shops every single day, blowing your money at the bar every weekend, or putting designer clothes on credit cards, then sure, First Command can probably help you. But, remember while you are working with them that you could do much better. If you truly feel that you need help, I would recommend looking for an advisor that is a fee-only CFP. For military, check out the Military Financial Advisors Association. XY Planning Network is great too. Any advisor from either of these places will truly do what's in your best interest."

"The staff at First Command in Pensacola are highly professional, experienced, and adaptive to your goals. Tory Sokul is willing to take the time to walk you through each step, making sure you fully understand the “why” behind your financial planning decisions. His dedication to providing you the tools to achieve your financial objectives are top notch. I highly encourage anyone (active duty, separated, retired, or otherwise) to reach out to First Command to learn about incorporating financial planning as early in your professional development as possible."

"First I would like to say I’m grateful to First Command for allowing a space for service members to properly get their finances together to ensure we are financially literate not for only ourselves but for our children later on down the road. I have the pleasure of being guided to my goals by Sean Quigley he has been great to work with, he listened to all of my concerns, and helped me build a wonderful financial portfolio that works specifically for me. I would recommend him to other people 100 percent. He has helped me on numerous occasions with big purchases to ensure I was not exceeding budget. I am thankful to Sean for getting me on track to healthy financial planning. "

"Our family has been working with financial advisor Jeff Endecott with First Command for almost ten years. He is professional, helpful and knowledgeable. He makes suggestions for our best interests but the choice is always ours what we want to do with our funds. We have increased our wealth, decreased our expenses and created nest eggs for our children and future. I cannot say enough wonderful things about Jeff and the team there. I highly recommend Jeff as your advisor. He will do right by you and truly cares about your wealth, health and family."

"Working with Sean Quigley at First Command Pensacola has been an incredibly helpful learning experience for me over the past few months. Being active duty military, I wanted to find someone that understands my situation as well as my financial needs and goals. Sean’s military experience is a welcoming sight and allows him to guide me in the right direction. He has helped me figure out how to reach my short and long term goals and has made everything extremely clear and easy to understand. I would recommend First Command for anyone who is looking for even the slightest financial guidance."