World Financial Group

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World Financial Group

Type	Subsidiary
Founded	2001 (under AEGON ownership)
Headquarters	11315 Johns Creek Parkway Duluth, Georgia 30097-1517
Industry	Financial Services
Products	Life Insurance Variable Universal Life Insurance Mutual Funds Annuity Segregated fund Loans Mortgages
Parent	AEGON
Website	www.worldfinancialgroup.com www.wfg-online.com www.wfg-online.ca

World Financial Group (WFG) is a financial services organization based in Duluth, Georgia that markets investment, insurance and mortgage products through a network of associates in the United States and Canada. WFG is a Network Marketing company that utilizes a system also known as Multi-level Marketing (MLM).^[1] WFG is a wholly owned subsidiary of AEGON.^[2]

Contents 1 Activity 2 Industry partners 3 History 4 Ratings 5 Sponsorships 6 Lawsuits 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Activity

WFG insurance and mortgage lines of business are managed directly by WFG in the United States, while its investment lines of business are managed by its affiliate broker-dealer World Group Securities, Inc.

In Canada, WFG's insurance lines of business are managed by its provincially regulated subsidiary managing general agent World Financial Group Insurance Agency of Canada Inc.; while its investment lines of business are managed by its subsidiary WFG Securities of Canada, Inc., which is a member of the Investment Funds Institute of Canada and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada.^[3] WFG's Canadian head office is located in Vaughan, Ontario.

World Financial Group created and partnered up with Investment Advisors International (IAI), a co-owned investment advisory firm to give clients fee-based actively managed accounts by third-party money managers. IAI has agreements with some of the nation's top investment advisory firms such as Hanlon Investments, Foxhall Capital Management, Curian Capital, CLS Investment Firm, LLC, Flexible Plan Investments, Ltd. and The Institute for Wealth Management.

[edit] Industry partners

In the United States, some of WFG's provider companies include Western Reserve Life, Pacific Life, Allianz, and Investment Advisors International.

In Canada, some of WFG's provider companies include Transamerica Life of Canada, Equitable Life of Canada, TD Mutual Funds, IA Clarington Investments, Fidelity Investments, AEGON Fund Management, AGF Management Limited, and Franklin Templeton Investments.

[edit] History

Founded in 1991 by Hubert Humphrey, World Financial Group was founded as Alexander, Inc.. The company was renamed to World Marketing Alliance, Inc. (WMA) in the same year.^[4]

World Marketing Alliance introduced the Business Format System (BFS) in 1992, a blueprint to help its associates build and run their business.^[5] MD TV, the company's private satellite television network, was also introduced. During this period, the company expanded its operations to Canada, Taiwan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines.^[6]The company held its first convention in Las Vegas in 1992. It was attended by about 2,000 associates.^[7]

On March 23, 1998, WMA Executive World Headquarters opened in Duluth, Georgia. The 100,000 square foot building housed 500+ employees.^[8]

In November 1998, WMA was fined $100,000 "for not properly supervising its sales agents" after their clients lost nearly $2 million in unregistered investments.^[9] In 2000, WMA was fined $125,000 "for failing to report nearly 900 customer complaints".^[10]

In June 2001, select assets of WMA were purchased by AEGON and renamed World Financial Group, Inc..^[11][12] Alexander Wynaendts, chief executive of AEGON, was quoted saying about WMA that "When we took the company over, we put in place very strict regulatory and compliance procedures".^[13]

Announced in March 2008, World Financial Group has teamed with Laserfiche([R]), an electronic document management company, to launch a paperless records management and Straight Through Processing (STP) platform called "Navigator" for the registered representatives of its affiliate, World Group Securities, Inc. ^[14]

[edit] Ratings

The Toronto-based WFG was named Canada's best MGA and top firm overall in 2006 and 2007 with an IE rating of 9.3, surveys conducted by Investment Executive, a newspaper for Canadian financial advisors^{[15] [16]}

Toronto-based World Financial Group Inc. scored top spot again in 2008 for Canada's best MGA, alongside Mississauga-based IDC Financial Inc.^[17][18]

[edit] Sponsorships

In NASCAR, World Financial Group is a major sponsor of Roush Fenway Racing, sponsoring Carl Edwards's ride part-time on the #60 Ford in the Busch Series. Previously, WFG had sponsored Roush Racing on Edwards' #99 Ford in the NEXTEL Cup Series and the #50 Ford in the Craftsman Truck Series. ^[19]

In 2007, WFG signed a two-year sponsorship agreement with Fox Sports Network and the Pacific Ten Conference (Pac-10). The Pac-10 - known as the "Conference of Champions" - is a NCAA Division 1 college athletic conference that includes 10 of the biggest schools on the West Coast. ^[20]

On October 3, 2007, WFG agreed to a three-year sponsorship of USA Luge. With the sponsorship WFG will support the athletes and programs of USA Luge as they take part in major competitions around the globe. ^[21]

In 2008, World Financial Group sponsored Canadian golfer Brad Fritsch as he plays professionally. Fritsch, who currently ranks third in driving distance on the Nationwide Tour, was the only Canadian player to compete in the U.S. Open in 2007 - and, in October 2006, became the first Canadian to win the Azores Open tournament since 2001. You may also see PGA Tour pro Zach Johnson sporting the Aegon cap. ^[22][23]

In November 2008, World Financial Group announced its sponsorship of the Nanaimo Clippers for the 2008-2009 season. Now known as the World Financial Group Nanaimo Clippers, the team is renowned for turning out NHL and college superstars and has claimed first place in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) regular season for the past four consecutive seasons. ^[24]

In March 2009, World Financial Group President Jack D. Linder presented UCLA's Ingrid Kantola and California's Justin Pollard with the Pac-10 Conference's "Living the Dream" Scholarship. 2009 marks the second year WFG has sponsored the Pac-10 Conference and partnered with the Pacific-10 Conference and Pac-10 Properties to present the "Living the Dream" scholarship. ^[25]

[edit] Lawsuits

WFG's stated mission goal is to "serve the financial needs of individuals and families typically overlooked by the financial services industry".^[26] It is yet unclear how successfully the company has managed to distance itself from its more controversial US based predecessor WMA, associated with fraud, misrepresentation and false statements, and the subject of class action lawsuits, and NASD disciplinary action.^[27][28]

In 2006, state regulators in the State of Missouri have accused World Group Securities (WGS), a division under World Financial Group, of making variable annuities sales that are unsuitable and misrepresenting investment returns, in addition to private allegations making similar claims. While WGS neither admits nor denies the Division's investigative findings and conclusions, WGS agrees to implement the following remedial actions in the State of Utah. To list a few, all seminars given by WGS registered representatives will need to be filed with and approved by the home office prior to any presentation. Supervisors are not allowed to approve their own seminars or seminar materials. Failure to comply by a registered WGS representative will result in corrective action up to and including termination. ^[29][30]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• World Financial Group website
• Investment Advisors International, an affiliate investment advisor firm of World Financial Group.