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First Command Financial Services

Engaged Employer

First Command Financial Services Financial Advisor Associate reviews

4.4

81% would recommend to a friend

(141 total reviews)
avatar

Mark Steffe

92% approve of CEO

87% positive business outlook

Financial Advisor Associate employees have rated First Command Financial Services with 4.4 out of 5 stars, based on 141 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Financial Advisor Associate professionals have an excellent working experience there. First Command Financial Services is rated 22% above average by Financial Advisor Associate professionals compared to other employers within the Financial Services industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

141 reviews
3.0
Mar 24, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Opportunity, fast paced, competitive, nice trips

Cons

Not a lot of training, have to find your own clients

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First Command Financial Services Response
3y
Thank you for sharing your experience as a First Command Financial Advisor. Our Advisors go through an extensive training program designed to equip them to succeed as independent contractors and earn a strong income through competitive industry commissions. Advisors learn how to build and grow their own business, serve new clients and provide quality, face-to-face financial coaching. And throughout their careers, we equip our Advisors with tools for success, including ongoing investments in technology, marketing resources and continued leadership development. The rewards of hard work and dedication are a satisfying career, a company that fully supports you, and the opportunity to help those who serve in their pursuit of lifelong financial security. Thank you for sharing your feedback.
5.0
Mar 1, 2023

A True Meritocracy

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

First Command has been the first organization I have ever worked for, that appears to be a true meritocracy. Opportunity is based upon performance and not who you know. One's abilities and the accomplishments therein govern the path and success one achieves. As the sole business owner, the decisions and management style of others is not part the equation, as it relates to your day-to-day operations. Rather it is you the owner that charts your own course and manner in how you the owner pursues the goals inherent in that course. Owners have access to the best mentors, educational programs, principals. With that support, establishing a business model best suited for me, pursuing that which I deem worthy, and achieving success on my terms, based upon my merit is why I have chosen as a life long career, First Command.

Cons

Many people express some consternation with compensation occurring once a month versus twice a month.

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First Command Financial Services Response
3y
Thank you for taking time to share your experience as a First Command Financial Advisor. We seek to attract and retain talented people by providing Advisors with opportunities to enhance their professional knowledge, develop leadership skills and grow within the organization. Our Advisors go through an extensive training program designed to equip them to succeed as independent contractors. Some of the benefits of that program include paying new Advisors during the training period and offering a full array of employee benefits. They are eligible to earn a strong income through competitive industry commissions on sales of financial products, plus additional annual and deferred compensation. The rewards of hard work and dedication are a satisfying career, a company that fully supports you, and the opportunity to help those who serve in their pursuit of lifelong financial security. We appreciate your feedback and thank you for sharing your experience.
3.0
Feb 27, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Many of the district advisors and advisors are awesome people willing to give of their own time to help you succeed. The company also has a great training program to give you the basics of what you need to succeed. The compensation can be generous, especially with their rewards program paying annual payments for 10yrs after each year of high success levels

Cons

First Command has an absolutely appalling lack of ease of use and doesn't embrace technology, both on the client side as well as on the advisor side. The workload on the average advisor has greatly increased the past 3 years (in part due to regulatory changes, but more so because the company hasn't adapted well to automatic more work functions). It's insane how many "workarounds" we have, known issues that aren't fixed, and poor data flow. On the compensation side, not enough is done to prevent people from selling high amount of insurance all at once and then having high chargeback ratios. There is no financial incentivization to do meetings with clients unless you see financial opportunities with that client. It would be nice to see some monetization for doing the "legwork" of regular meetings for clients with high needs but average/lower assets. They have a "senior recognition program" that requires you to have been an advisor for over a decade and provide financial incentivization to do more annual reviews but if you don't meet the experience requirement, you get no financial benefit from doing the reviews (again aside from opportunities). And I'm not saying you SHOULD only care about compensation, but the reality is that you incentivize what you want. If they want QUALITY, they need to find a way to incentivize that financially over quantity. But don't tell me that "we are focusing on quality soon" and then tell me that an advisor that has been doing it for 3yrs and is doing XXX reviews per year does not provide as much value to FC as someone doing it for 15 years. Sure one might be more skilled, but extra compensation should be based on closer to 3 yrs (and yes I have much more than 3 years so I'm not just whining)

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First Command Financial Services Response
3y
Thank you for sharing your perspective. At First Command, we are committed to creating and sustaining a supportive culture and positive work environment. Encouraging feedback and constructive criticism is part of that commitment. We are dedicated to making continuous investments in our processes, systems and technology to enhance our client and Advisor experience. We rely on employee surveys and Glassdoor reviews to gain critical insights and continue to improve, so thank you for taking time to share your experience.
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Glassdoor has 634 First Command Financial Services reviews submitted anonymously by First Command Financial Services employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if First Command Financial Services is right for you.