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Greatway Financial Review 2024: Scam or Legit?

Financial JournalistChristopher Liew, CFA
Christopher Liew is a CFA Charterholder and has held several roles in the finance industry. He’s worked as an investment wholesaler at Sentry and CI Financial, a financial advisor at RBC, and an energy trader at Enmax. He is Alberta-based while he’s in Canada, but spends much of his time working and living in other countries. Christopher speaks English and studied accounting and finance at the University of Alberta. He is one of the founders of Wealth Awesome where he has written articles and created videos for our subscriber base of over 20,000 Canadian investors.

Expertises: finance, investment, stocks, retirement, canada
Greatway Financial Review
 

Greatway News Update: Note that the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has recently alleged in November 2022 that Greatway Financial Inc. is potentially committing deceptive business acts.

Greatway reached a settlement with FSRA, and all agents are supposed to complete revised training by March 31, 2023. Hopefully, this will better prepare the company’s life insurance agents for compliance and protect the consumer from predatory sales practices.

Many of you have asked me to review Greatway Financial. This is likely because you are either interested in becoming an advisor with them or considering buying some of their products.

You might have heard some rumours that you should stay away from the company. You may also be curious about their business model and whether Greatway Financial is a scam.

In today’s review, we’ll go over my research on what it is like to be an advisor or client of Greatway Financial. To get it out of the way quickly, though, no, Greatway Financial is not a scam.

They offer legitimate products through their insurance partners, and, as an advisor, pay is based on commission rates from those partners.

But things may be a little more complicated than that. So please keep reading to find out my thoughts about this company.

Our Verdict
Greatway Financial
4

Greatway Financial

Managing General Agency

An company that provides insurance and investment products in Canada, using a MLM method of recruiting advisors and getting customers.

Pros
  • Potential to make a good income
  • Training materials that would apply to many functions in the business world
  • Some report a friendly and community-based working environment
Cons
  • Might be high pressure to recruit other associates and to sell products
  • Potential damage to existing relationships while trying to pitch the company
  • No guaranteed income or consistent salary
  • Might be a conflict of interest to sell you products that may not suit your needs in hopes of making a commission

What Is Greatway Financial?

Greatway Financial is a financial services organization focused on financial independence, growth, and wealth advising. They offer their clients things such as life and disability insurance, mortgage protection, travel insurance, critical illness protection, business insurance, and final expense insurance.

In short, they assess your holistic financial situation and offer products and education to help you get where you’d like to be.

You can become involved with Greatway Financial in both client and advisor capacities. As an advisor, your job is to sell products to clients. You will get compensated mainly in the form of commissions from those products.

In order to do this, you also have access to training and education, as well as other perks such as bonuses and travel and event benefits.

As a client, on the other hand, you will have a specific advisor that you work with on an ongoing basis who will have mostly presented to you and gotten you on board with Greatway’s products in the first place.

In terms of values, Greatway Financial’s website, blog, and advisors repeatedly mention happiness, family, and God.

Greatway Financial operates within the framework of a multi-level marketing (MLM) business model, a model that is both criticized and revered in various sectors. MLMs are not inherently negative; their success and ethicality depend on how they are implemented. We’ll go over that in more detail below.

How Old is Greatway Financial?

Before getting into a detailed review of their services and advising, let’s go over the company’s background to better understand who they are and where they came from.

Greatway Financial, as it is today, was founded in 2010. However, the company’s business model, advisors, and CEO have been around for much longer than that.

Here is the timeline: Marlon Antonio, the current CEO, “lead-mentor,” and founder of Greatway Financial, was a former worker at World Financial Group (WFG) for more than four years.

You may already know that WFG is a multi-level marketing company specializing in savings, insurance, and retirement products. They have been around since the early 2000s, but it is unclear how long Antonio has been working for them before becoming their CEO.

In 2008, Marlon Antonio left WFG to set up Greatlife Financial in Calgary, Alberta. He describes this experience as an “independent financial advisor managing a small team of financial advisors” on his LinkedIn page.

Eventually, in 2010, Greatlife Financial rebranded into Greatway Financial as a Managing General Agency (MGA) with some 60 advisors.

Note that an MGA is a specialized type of insurance agent or broker that is 100% vested with underwriting authority from an insurer. Since then, they have grown to have more than 3,500 independent financial/insurance advisors.

Similarly to WFG, Greatway Financial operates as a multi-level marketing (MLM) company, where its advisors set up Associate General Agencies (AGA). Through these, the advisors manage the associates they recruit and earn a portion of their sales.

Greatway Financial is currently headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, within a 36,000-square-foot property.

Is Greatway Financial A Scheme Or Scam?

Greatway Financial is not a scam. I know that many people will think of them to be a pyramid scheme, which is an illegal investment strategy where new recruits provide funding for the company.

Greatway Financial is also not a pyramid scheme. Instead, the company operates within a multi-level marketing scheme, which is legal and regulated by governing bodies in Canada.

With that being said, just because what they are doing is legal does not necessarily make them a good partner for you in your financial journey. In my opinion, legality is the bare minimum.

The right question to perhaps be asking is whether the company and its advisors have your best interest and whether their operations are fair.

A good way to answer this question would be through education and research from an unbiased standpoint.

This way, you can find out the facts objectively and without the persuasion tactics of advisors who are already within the company and, ultimately, interested in earning a commission both by recruiting you as an advisor or by selling products.

It is true that if you choose to join the company as an agent, you will have the chance to become licensed to sell products and make an earning.

Most of the reviews I have found online of existing advisors are positive, and many of the current advisors speak on the “family nature” of the workplace. Some, on the other hand, speak on the difficulty of acquiring clients and problems with inclusion.

I will speak on my opinions regarding MLM-structured companies later in this post. But, first, we’ll go over whether you should become a Greatway Financial client or advisor by doing a review of the company’s offerings in both of these channels.

How Much Money Can You Earn at Greatway Financial?

I wasn’t able to find exact numbers for compensation like I was with my WFG review.

However, if it’s in line with what others earn at similar MLM types of companies, the pay might be below the industry standard.

I’ll do an example of the contract levels, which is the number of commissions you can earn for say something like life insurance. If you can have a contract level of 100%, you will earn 100% of the first-year commissions on top of what your commission structure is. 

For example, WFG (another MLM company on which Greatway based its business model) pays a 36% contract level for the associates.

When I first started out as a life insurance broker, I had an 80% contract level to start, and it increased to 140% near the end of my time as a broker, which was in less than two years. 

This is all speculation though; I’m not sure and I would love to get exact compensation numbers for Greatway Financials, so if there are any current or former people who know the stats, please comment below.

Should You Become a Greatway Financial Client?

The first experience you will most likely have as a potential Greatway Financial client is being approached by an advisor. I have never been approached myself, but my research shows that advisors are required to give you a presentation about a variety of products and services.

As with any commission-heavy business structure, advisors are usually very keen to get you onboard and will be equipped with a variety of persuasion techniques.

For me personally, this leaves a sour taste in my mouth right off the bat. Perhaps it’s just me, but knowing the advisor has their livelihood at stake makes me wary of their intentions.

In addition, my research did result in some concerning behaviour regarding the targeting of new immigrants and offering of unsuitable products to clients.

I want to stress that this is all anecdotal, but there have been many comments on my Youtube and blog that it hasn’t been a great company to work for.

As with any other financial product you buy, please make sure that you conduct your own research and do not solely go off the advisors’ recommendations.

It is not that the products are illegitimate or illegal; it just could be that they are not necessarily right for you.

Should You Become a Greatway Financial Advisor?

Should You Become a Greatway Financial Client?

Although it is pretty tricky to find out more about the commission structure of Greatway Financial from the outside, it is not hard to find success stories of the financial advisors of this company.

For instance, Greatway Financial’s Youtube channel has a variety of testimonials from current advisors who have made more than $200,000 in one year.

Of course, it is unlikely that Greatway would feature advisors who are struggling or have meagre incomes, but it does go to show that you can indeed make good money being an advisor with Greatway Financial.

From my understanding, cold-calling, networking and presenting Greatway’s offerings is a primary method of gaining clients as a financial advisor.

As with most MLMs, persuasion and selling techniques are a primary method of making money in this business, as is recruiting more advisors to build your personal Associate General Agency (AGA).

As an advisor, you also have opportunities for extensive training and, in some cases, free travel and retreats.

From what I can see on their website, Greatway’s advisor training modules are pretty intensive and are divided into the following categories: business development training, personal development training, product training, industry partner training and sales and marketing training.

Some of the modules within these categories are as long as 16 hours! 

In my opinion, if you’re willing to hustle, contact your entire network, and aggressively pursue new sales prospects, it is possible to make good money with Greatway Financial. But if you’re this much of a go-getter, why not consider starting your own business instead?

As I mentioned, there are some concerning anecdotes on review websites regarding advisors taking advantage of the low financial literacy of newcomers to Canada. If your pursuit of making more money jeopardizes others’ economic well-being, is it really worth it?

Not only that, but you may also risk damage to your reputation and maybe even your personal relationships in an effort to make more money and recruit others into the business.

If it sounds like your network and skills would be a good fit for Greatway Financial, I would recommend doing your research before starting. I have also read online that many of the clients of Greatway are actually their advisors, which is quite interesting.

It sounds like a bubble within the organization has formed a firm bond and community around this company, and in a sense, everybody has a vested interest.

​​Is Greatway Financial WFG?

No, Greatway Financial is not associated with World Financial Group (WFG). However, the current founder and CEO of the company, Marlon Antonio, previously worked at WFG for about four years. Both companies use similar marketing techniques.

I have reviewed WFG on my website. Check out the review here.

How I Feel About MLMs

I have mentioned before that I’ve been pitched many multi-level marketing ideas over the years. These have ranged everywhere from smoothie drinks, a painting business, Amway, and more. But I am not a fan of MLMs and have turned them all down. Here is why.

Not only is it challenging to climb to the top and make a decent living in MLM companies, but MLM pitches also are never fun for any of the parties involved. If you are the one pitching, it is a tireless and desperate game of trying to persuade people to sell products or recruit them.

If you are on the receiving end, you may feel pressured and annoyed, or as if your existing relationship with the person is being taken advantage of in pursuit of the person’s economic interests.

In addition, having this business model for something so delicate as insurance coverage and wealth management could directly harm clients, specifically by potentially not having adequately trained advisors that have your best interests at heart.

All in all, my feelings regarding MLMs are not very positive, especially for financial products.

Alternatives to Greatway Financial

Here are some alternatives to Greatway Financial, whether you were considering it for its products or getting on board as an advisor.

If you are looking for insurance products, you can check out other private organizations that have great options out there. For instance, I have reviewed the likes of PolicyMe and PolicyAdvisor, Sun Life, Square One, and Emma Insurance before.

You can also check out this post for my picks for the seven best life insurance companies in Canada.

If you want to get financial advice, a fee-based advisor might be the best way to go. They are not swayed by commissions, and they may be able to give you impartial advice on what may best suit your needs or even give you a second opinion on Greatway Financial’s products.

In terms of becoming an advisor with Greatway, whether it is to find a full-time living in it or just make extra income, there are also endless other options out there. Check out these lists for ideas:

  1. 23 Authentic Work From Home Jobs – No Degree Needed
  2. Ultimate Guide to Making Money Online: 99 Ideas

Final Verdict

While Greatway Financial may not be a scam, I would strongly recommend doing extensive research before buying any products or working for them.

Their products are certainly legit and may be able to serve your needs, but do be wary of being sold unsuitable things as the advisor in question may have a variety of other intentions in making the sale.

In terms of working for them, again, I would recommend doing your research, meeting the people, and deeply understanding the business model before spending your precious time training and trying to make sales.

I would also strongly recommend ensuring that there is a value alignment between you and the company before signing on, either as a client or an advisor.

I want to stress that by no means am I saying all advisors at Greatway Financial are bad and will try to scam you. There are bad apples in every company, and I’m sure there are a lot of good advisors at Greatway.

In my view though, it seems that the MLM model creates more opportunities for these bad apples to thrive, because of the close personal relationship they have with many of their clients.

At the end of the day, the choice is yours, and I hope that you can use this review to inform your decisions.

If you liked this post, read about other MLMs and whether or not World Financial Group is a scam, and my Primerica review.

62 thoughts on “Greatway Financial Review 2024: Scam or Legit?

  1. No man, Marlon Antonio wasnt CEO of WFG. He was CEO of his own business that ran on the WFG platfrom. You are doing good reviews, but you should educate yourself firsthand. Go try working with these platforms and see what its about, dont just assume things. Im with WFG and its the best thing on this planet

    1. Sounds like you got recruited and became another victim of their predatory practices, or are you the recruiter trying to fool new immigrants and single moms into this scheme? I am not trying to change your mind by this comment, but just count the amount of hours you put in that job and compare it to salaried options, and then you find your answers.

    2. Please do your research maybe you are not there when he was that time. But anyway that is history. My advice make a history like him.
      Title is nothing if you cannot give impact to people.
      Good luck

  2. Thank you for the review, very informative. I was recently contacted by one of their rep and wanted to know more about the company. It gave me great insight, as to what to expect. As I’ve worked with WFG in the past.

    What do you know about Experior Financial Group?

  3. I and my whole family are clients client of Greatway for 10 yrs and we are really satisfied. My advisor presented the product well, do financial analysis and inspired us to do research about the product without pressure. She is always there when i have financial question and does review of our plans.
    I think commission is just natural for this is an outcome of work and service they offer to people to have financial future.

    1. See you in 10yrs. Hope you review your insurance every year and check you COI to make sure itms not going to lapse. Good luck

  4. Thank you for this fairly objective review. I find this company to be very divisive and its hard to find objective information. One of the main concerns I have about one of the products pitched by Greatway. They sell a lot of IRP (insured Retirement plan). When I research about IRP most of the information says this product is not suited to low income earners. Why is that? Is it just because they cant take on as much risk? Or becuase RRSPs and TFSAs better suit their needs? Could you talk more on IRPs specifically?

    1. The Typical IRP Concept is usually for wealthier people, however there are loopholes to everything. Since Greatway believes in specialization, The advisors learn how to make it possible for middle and low income households

    2. Read the book, “10 Secrets Revenue Canada Doesn’t Want you to Know.” by David Voth. It will explain the whole concept of the IRP in Secret 8. Greatway uses this strategy to make it available for the middle class. There’s no rule in Canada that it is only for the affluent, it’s just the banks requirement because it’s not actually the bank product, it’s an insurance product and banks want you to maximize first what they can offer which is the RRSP and TFSA.

    3. The IRP is a great long-term investment when properly funded due to it’s amazing tax advantages and other benefits. A portion of the premium is paid to insurance and a portion to the investment. Unlike RRSPs and TFSAs where you can stop making payments when money gets tight, stopping payment in the early years of an IRP can cause it to collapse. Because of this, no person should invest in an IRP without first having an emergency fund (min 3 months worth of expenses) or a suitable income (with some type of income insurance) to support payments. As a licensed agent, I would never recommend a person to invest more than half their savings budget into an IRP. This is why it’s considered more suitable for people with middle to higher incomes because most Canadians are living paycheck to paycheck.

    4. Because, rich guys never want your kids have a comfortable retirement … they want some hunger people to work 5-9 for their dreams … if 100$ ish dollar for 20 years for my kids comfortable retirement is a scam for some people, then tell them be my guest!

    5. Valerie Dykshoorn
      I presume you are not low income earners. But if ever you are on that situation and have the chance to have what the high income earners enjoy. Will you do it.

  5. Was A big skeptic to all big insurance companies here in Canada, primerica, WFG, Greatway. I’ve joined all corners and found out which is the best and practical option. Greatway has better financial services compared to these other two. It is indeed for middle class people IRP is the most expensive and lucrative type of investment but Greatway made it more accessible to families with budgeted income

    1. You loss the great opportunity then. Primerica Named Most Trusted #1 Most Trust Life Insurance Company 2022 rated by Investor’s Business Daily Market Watch & Forbes. #2 down to 20 there are no names of big & popular companies.

        1. When a UL policy charges 3% in fees, when the provinces and territories 2-5% on life insurance premium taxes, that S&P500 return becomes very low and into 4% territory

          1. Arun
            Do you understand how investment works 4% is better
            what about -30% return in 3 months and 40% return in 1 yr.
            If you are a true advisor you must be happy if market drop.
            Please do your research how to read Andex Chart. You special mention S&P500 find an Andex chart graph and see it for yourself.

  6. ALL MLM’s are predatory, and yes, it’s not a scam, but the whole scheme is made so the top is living the lavish life doing nothing while collecting percentages of hard workers on the bottom. If you value yourself and is good with selling insurance, just go ahead and work a salaried guaranteed job, instead of busting your ass so your upline can take another vacation. As a client you also would benefit more from legit companies like Sun Life, RBC Insurance, any big bank insurance as their fees don’t include the chain of leeches on the top of the pyramid. Stop fooling yourself and stop giving your money to a*holes on top of pyramid.

    1. Have you been a greatway advisor? Did you hear their sales pitch? If not, don’t make such unsupported and foolish claims about the company. A person who comments based on speculations is not a trustworthy person as well. Greatway has a website, you better reach out to them and for sure they will gladly tell you what you want to know.

      1. It’s funny you should say that Jane.

        Today, Greatway was forced to suspend all operations by FSRA (Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario) for multiple compliance violations.

        Greatway primarily pushes one “solution” for their clients and 95% of all their sales come from that one solution. Definitely not in the client’s best interests.

        1. FSRA is a blessing to everyone it emphasizes the best practice of Fair Treatment of Customers.
          I am a happy customers with Greatway advisor who explained the pros and cons of the policy. Not just like my previous agent who just send them on mail and kept paying for over 15 yrs and dont know what my plan is.
          Bonus my advisor wont let me signed the contract if i don’t understand.
          My observation is i am treated fairly.

    2. Yah be like poor dad study and be a salvage of rich guy generation to generation, then at age 67 go and again work in Walmart and McDonald nice advice!

      With Phd degree and working like a salvage all my life over 28 years for rich guy to build their dream, if I never learn these stuff I still was a broken dad, who push his son to work over 40 years for another rich’s son …. life is changing get ready …

    3. What do you mean pyramid?
      Maybe your the boss and have high salary.
      But if you are not dont follow the herd. Wake up! you end up broke when you retire. While you still have time prepare coz regrets happen in the end. We cannot turn back the time.
      Resources is in your fingertips

      1. They asked for some re-structuring in some training which make us more stronger and more comply with compliance it was the lord’s kindness which came out of hand of FSRA!

    1. Ermm… the term is “cease and desist”.
      “Desist” means “to stop”. “Assist” means “to help”.

      Saying “cease and assist” means “stop whatever you’re doing right now and go help them”… NOT what you are initially implying.
      The order “cease and desist” means “stop the activity and do not continue doing it”.

  7. @ Honest Guy, absolutely, you make lots of sense, I wondered whether people read with kin interest to know what compliance order meant, about the risk of the product to middle income clients,

    Borrowing against your own money with interest payment when you need money, cash value at $0 first 6 years, surrender charge more than funds value in the first 10 years etc. My cousin in Maryland USA pays over $370 monthly for 10 years and got $4000 when she cancelled the policy after she realized she was throwing money away.

    Buy term insurance that can give you huge amounts of coverage with 40% advance terminal illness payment and invest wisely for your retirement separately.

    1. Greatway is not active in USA yet, may they got W company products anyhow the UL character is this and needs time to growth …. in beginning year is like car insurance she had a coverage in case of urgency … term is cheapest and for short term needs; advisor should find out the need of client on their best interest no matter which company work with!

  8. It is your loss if you did not pursue with Primerica. Aug 29, 2022 Named as the Most Trusted Company #1 Most TRUSTED Life Insurance Company 2022 by Investor’s Business Daily Market Watch & Forbes. #2 down to 20 no other big & popular insurance companies mentioned.

    1. All insurance companies are all good. People are aware nowadays which is best for them. Theres a saying ” little knowledge is dangerous”

      1. If you’re going to research for Greatway Financial practices and calculations, go check the reddit forums and redflagdeal forum about it. It shows calculations and more explanations as to why it is not good.

        1. Lols everyone here is just making assumptions on their own.

          If you are really knowledgeable, that Reddit and redflagdeal article is non sense and not proving that Greatway is not good at all.

          The person who posted that is frustrated not able to get their money telling Greatway is a scam is not actually true.

          Upon my understanding, the person who wrote the article trying to withdraw her investment but the her policy is quite new (not remember exactly how many years based on the post) but it was mentioned.

          If you are knowledgeable, can you really do that? of course not. Cash Surrender Value or any investment takes time for you to withdraw something on that.

          if you plating a tree, is it gonna have fruit in a year or so? I don’t think so 🙂 what about you? what do you think? 😀

          1. Saying that the Reddit posts and Redflagdeal post is nonsense when they make the most sense because of the explanations and calculations tells me what limited knowledge you have. what do you think? ???? ???? what about you?

        2. Why would you rely on Reddit forums when there’s constant misinformation and the inability to see the person who’s typing behind the screen?

          1. Have you even read the forums? Misinformation is only for those who don’t do due diligence in research. When the information coming from one source is corroborated with multiple sources of information from outside sources (outside Reddit), that’s not misinformation.

  9. Christopher, first I need to thank you for your reviews on all MGA companies: P, W, E & G; all these company of course like others want profit … but honestly they try to educate and help people who get fool in traditional system for many decades.

    I did a deep research and benchmark for myself today and 10 years down the road; I see G company is the winner in between all, in the mean time its the only MGA that recruit is not a must to go to upper contract level … you start from 100% after getting cert by government then you can go by yourself to 140% level with no obligation of teammate vs. the rest MGA that you must, plus many other advantages almost like the rest MGA.
    ==============
    Start commission in all four MGAs:
    P: 25%
    W: 26%
    E: 40%
    G: 100%
    Numbers talk loud 🙂

      1. Greatway DOESN’T start at 100% actually. You start 50%, and you have to close 6 deals after your license before we get 100%. It is a bit misleading but still better than the rest starting commissions

        1. Anonymous Advisor
          As you mention 50% do you know the reason or just hearsay. Join them to see the value.
          Amir is right
          100% – 140% no team mate req and potential to 170%

  10. Please do your research maybe you are not there when he was that time. But anyway that is history. My advice make a history like him.
    Title is nothing if you cannot give impact to people.
    Good luck

  11. If your advisor explained or presented well your policy contract (if Ivari) did she told you about ART (annual renewable term) in page 3 itemized that your premium will increase every year without your knowing (if you did not read & just depend to the explanation of your agent). That as you age keep increasing until your premium is already overdraft etc. How about in Page 34 did she explained & let you read that you have to loan your savings & pay interest? Page 37.19 Payment of Proceeds pls read. Marife you do not need to research, the facts is already there in your policy. I challenge you call their head office not a branch office, ask if how much now is your cash value. Don’t ask your agent because your agent is not the one who will pay you it’s the company head office.

  12. A nice try for advertising benefits and personal enmity. You are better focus on improving yourself to develop your career, Christopher, than bad mouth about others to get attention. Poor guy with very poor knowledge in the financial industry.

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