Is Freedom Equity Group A Scam? (Insurance MLM Gem?)

There are a million and one different ways you can make money online, but choosing an MLM is the best way to make a little scratch on the side. Or, at least that’s what MLM business people will try to sell you.

But Freedom Equity Group is a lot different from what we’ve dealt with in the past. You might’ve received an invitation to hop aboard the insurance wagon, but is it for you? Is this company as legitimate as they try to be or is Freedom Equity Group a scam? Find out in this review.

What Is Freedom Equity Group?

• Name: Freedom Equity Group
• Website: freedomequitygroup.com
• Founders: Ronald Bloomingkemper, Ronald Petrinovich, Bill St. Clair
• Cost to Join: $125
• Rating: 3/10

Freedom Equity Group is an MLM business that was established in 2002. It was co-founded by three former Primerica Employees with headquarters in Arroyo Grande, CA. Like Primerica, Freedom Equity Group focuses primarily on offering life insurance to its customers.

The company promises top-notch quality from all of its professionally trained staff. This includes both people who have formal education in finance and everyday Joes with extensive training.

The three co-founders of Freedom Equity Group are Ron Bloomingkemper (chairman), Ron Petrinovich (CEO), and Bill St. Clair (President). The trio met while working at National Marketing Alliance, another insurance company that was co-founded by Mr. Bloomingkemper. As his corporate bio states, Mr. Bloomingkemper has more than 40 years’ worth of experience in life insurance and annuity businesses.

What Does Freedom Equity Group Have to Offer?

Freedom Equity Group doesn’t offer retailable goods. Instead, it markets indexed life insurance and annuities through third-party partnerships. These services are pretty much the same as you’d find in non-MLM insurers. They’re quite complicated, but if you want to learn about them, Investopedia offers thorough explanations of what IULs and annuities are.

Freedom Equity Group’s website offers no explanations as to what the specifics of its services are. You’ll either have to ask your referrer or get in contact with one of the key business partners.

What Does It Cost to Join Freedom Equity Group?

To join Freedom Equity Group as an affiliate member, you’ll have to pay an upfront fee of $125. In one of the company’s promotional videos, they also mention that there’s a licensing fee that its members have to pay, which is between $200 and $300 (very clear, fellas).

On top of that, we’re more than certain that you’re going to need to pay a monthly premium for one of its insurance or annuity policies, whatever they are. We don’t know the cost figure since we haven’t gotten in touch with an agent.

How Do You Make Money with Freedom Equity Group?

Freedom Equity Group is pretty secretive about its compensation documentation. Instead, the company tries to sell a dazzling description of how much you can make. That said, the compensation plan isn’t all that different from what you’d find in any other MLM company. Here’s a quick rundown of how you can make money through Freedom Equity Group.

Direct Commissions

The company will pay out direct commissions to its affiliate members when they successfully hook in a customer using one of the insurance policies. There are six affiliate ranks where each rank gets a different percentage in commissions per policy.

• Training Representatives – 30%
• Representatives – 35%
• District Managers – 40%
• Division Managers – 45%
• Regional Managers – 55%
• Regional Vice Presidents – 70%

Up to 70% in commissions per policy might sound like a lot, but after a quick search, we discovered that some non-third-party insurance companies give out 100% commissions to its salesforce.

Residual Commissions

Here’s where the MLM side of things comes into play. Freedom Equity Group keeps track of every member’s position in relation to a uni-level team. Commissions are paid out to each member based on how many people they recruit and how many policies they sell. The commission percentage ranges from between 7% and 14%, down to the sixth generation.  

CEO Bonus Pool, Trips and Incentives, Equity Share, Etc.

We’re not going to bother going into detail about these money-making ways since they’re reserved for the top 5% in Freedom Equity Group. That’s not to say you can’t work your way up there, but it’s going to be difficult breaking into even the top 10%, seeing as how long the company has been in business.

In a nutshell, if you have a specific number of people working under you while selling a certain number of insurance policies every period, you can become eligible to receive bigger bonuses, fancy trips, and a slice of a bonus pool.

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Things I Like About Freedom Equity Group (Pros)

Here’s what I think people should realize about Freedom Equity Group. It’s not much, but it’s something.

Been in the Game Since 2002

Freedom Equity Group has been around for nearly two decades now, which isn’t a sign that it’s a company that applies a Ponzi or a pyramid scheme business model. However, this is a double-edged sword, which you’ll learn about in the next section.

Things I Dislike About Freedom Equity Group (Cons)

Now, let’s talk about why Freedom Equity Group isn’t the best place to invest your time and money.

Left in the Dark

You’d think that the company website would tell you everything you’d need to know about insurance and its business, but this isn’t the case. Instead, when you open up the Freedom Equity Group website, all you get is a page that describes who the co-founders are, their credentials, and how to join. Everything else related to the company, you’ll have to find out from third-party sources.

Established Senior Levels

Since Freedom Equity Group has been around for so long, the positions of the most senior members are already set in stone. It’s not impossible to become a top-earner, but you’re going to have to work a million times harder to break out of the low-level pack. For most people, it’s not worth the time and effort.

Here’s Better

Mysterious Insurance Policies

If an insurance company isn’t willing to disclose how its policies work, there’s a good chance that these policies aren’t very reliable.

Questionable Training Programs

Upon signing up, you’ll gain access to a number of different Freedom Equity Group training programs, which teach its affiliates how to recruit new members and sell insurance. While it may sound good, these programs are basically aimed at showing you how to influence friends and family rather than the general public, so your market is very, very limited.

Verdict: Not A Pyramid Scheme, but Not A Smart Investment Option Either

After looking at Freedom Equity Group, we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not a pyramid scheme. It’s a simple MLM company that sells insurance to insurance and annuities to the general public while also offering some money to the affiliates to do well. You know, just like any MLM company.

That said, it’s not a good place to invest your money. The website offers absolutely no explanation as to what kind of coverage you get and how to make money through the system. So, even though it’s a legitimate company, we wouldn’t recommend giving it a try.

If you’re a true MLM fan, Elepreneurs and Perfectly Posh are better, legit opportunities.

What we would recommend, however, is affiliate marketing. This is absolutely nothing like MLMs; instead, you can promote another person’s products on your blog or social media, and for every sale that you helped create, you can get a slice of the profits. Best of all, you can do it from the comfort of your home and not establish a team of go-getter marketers.

My #1 Recommendation (Free Access)