Axa Advisors

They call me at my office weekly. When I finally scheduled an appointment they asked for a follow up appointment. Then when I asked them to simply email me the paperwork that they wanted me to sign they mysteriously disappeared and stopped calling. Sketchy.

I’ve been cold called at my place of work consistently since graduating and entering the workforce… Even though I have changed employers and never once provided my information (let alone my work phone number) to any such service.
This most recent time around, the caller ID seemed to be from within the company so I kind of let my guard down and didn’t realize it was a cold call at first. I was told that a financial planner named Mike would be on-​site for meetings with current clients and would like to meet new/​prospect clients in the lobby of my building. Initially I said «Sure, I can take 15 minutes and look over some materials etc.»
After realizing it was AXA I decided to cancel. I’ve heard only bad things/​read bad reviews. I also have a strong financial background and have been rather successful managing my finances on my own so I don’t feel a need to pay someone a commission to do what I’m already doing myself…
Within MINUTES of cancelling the Outlook invite I received a pushy phone call from a woman who works for/​with Mike… I was basically criticized for my decision and for not being open to taking 15 minutes to meet some stranger in my lobby to talk about my retirement planning. I was told that she is «very surprised that I would cancel. Most people at least take the time to meet with Mike before making the decision as to whether or not they’ll go with him.» What a joke. When I was aggressively asked why I would cancel I said «Well this pushy phone call isn’t helping» her only reply was «Well I mean you already cancelled so it’s a moot point.» So did you just call me to argue?
These people really seem like a joke. If you’re a young person and you don’t know how to best allocate your 401k or begin investing on your own, I suggest you go online and read or talk to trusted friends/​family. Don’t let some cold caller with aggressive sales tactics andno skin in the game dick around with your hard earned money…

They need to change the way they do business. Many advisors are just selling products and not addressing a clients actual needs

I got contacted by a recruiter two days ago, asking me whether I would be interested in working as a financial advisor at their company. I was a bit baffled to see that there are no specific requirements to be a financial advisor at AXA.
Most investment banking companies and independent financial advisors, have CFA certifications. At the very least, they have a college degree in a business field.
With this job offer, I didn’t even need a bachelor’s degree, just good sales skills, being OK with doing cold calls. It is the «cold calls» part that also left me cold; it simply sounds so sleazy.
The comments being made here do not surprise me at all. It seems that the advisors are not really advisors, but just very good sales people.
It reminds me of how insurance companies cold call random job seekers promising the careers of their lives.

They cold called me once a month for a long while. and always same saying «i am meeting your colleagues in the area and would love to set up a 15 min meeting with you». You can tell they aren’t passion about what they are doing and it always sounds like they are reading a script half asleep… so tired of this.

These people call me about once every 2 months over the past few years, always with the same shpiel. «We’re going to be in your office meeting with your colleagues, would you have 10 minutes?» Give me a break and take your «services» elsewhere. So sick of these calls.

Several years ago my employer has 2 professionals for Axa sell their services to us. After speaking with them I decided I’d have them manage most of my non-​retirement investments. Big mistake. They put you into several mutual funds with with front end loads and high expense ratios, then some time later they set up another account with the same fund but with a different share class, thus you are hit with front end and back end loads – so they get you with fees as you buy shares and then when you sell shares. They also had most of my monthly investment going to some cash account during the 2008 – 2009 period this missing out on a great buying opportunity. The planner’s reasoning was that he didn’t feel comfortable putting my money into stocks.
This was partly my fault for not looking closely at the monthly statements, then again these statements were hard to understand compared to the ones you get from a mutual fund. The statements are not transparent so you don’t see what fees are being deducted. After the market crash of 2009, I decided to take a hard look at my statements and realized my AXA advisor did not have my back so I withdrew all my money out and now manage my investments myself and doing better than they would have.
The point: Stay away from AXA. They just want to sell you investment products with high fees – that’s how they make money – peddling lack-​luster investments.

I have an MBA from the Wharton business school and I’m employed at an investment banking firm. I thought I knew most aspects of financial planning. I received a cold call from an Axa advisor, curious I decided to meet with him. I have now been a client for 8 years and I’m happy to say it has been a very professional and educational experience. My tax efficient investment portfolilo has outperformed the overall market while having downside risk. The financial planning process forced me to take a step back and really start to think more about maximizing my after-​tax returns using tax efficient strategies. I would recommend the experience for those who think in 30 day trading cycles vs a decades.

I wanted to write a review on AXA Advisors as someone who currently works in financial services (hold several FINRA licenses) and presumably has more knowledge of financial products that the average Joe. I met with Matthew Clarke over a serious of weeks regarding my background, risk appetite, etc. During these meetings he was highly professional and conducted himself well. At a later date, he presented me with a variable rate life insurance policy that he thought would be an excellent fit for my background. After doing research about the product, I had numerous concerns about the product and suggested we meet again to discuss my concerns.
It was after having this next conversation with him that I began to deeply question his knowledge and expertise on the product. I asked him specifically to elaborate on the loan component of the product and how specifically it works and he admitted to not really knowing the specifics. Even more alarmingly, he suggested I should «trust» him because the products has been around for many years and according to him, if the product was bad, it wouldn’t still exist. Ha! Why would I invest in a product at the urging of a «financial advisor» who admitted to not having any real understanding of the fundamental structure of the product? More importantly, why would AXA hire «financial advisors» to sell products who do not understand the specifics of how their products are structured?
The truth is the «financial advisors» who work here are not investment professionals with strong financial acumen and deep insight into the financial markets. In truth, they are salespeople trained to sell as many products to clients as possible. In fact, their financial livelihood and employment at the company depend on it. BEWARE and don’t invest in anything you do not fully understand!

Marie Lamar at AXA Advisors was a disaster to work with. She promised me the world. A product that would allow me to be as aggressive as I wanted to be but that had a «built in guarantee» so no risk of losing more than a certain amount. It was all a lie. Instead, she steered me toward a product with extremely high fees (yes, you guessed it — which *she* pocketed). Turned out that the product was not aggressive at all. It applies some sort of formula that results in very little gains and the formula cannot be over-​ridden. So despite a record breaking stock market, I’ve managed to lose money with this product, and there’s nothing neither I nor her can do to over-​ride the formula. She never mentioned a formula. This was my 401k money. Marie Lamar was a disaster. Incompetent, unresponsive once I signed the contract. Despite many attempts to reach her. I have lost a staggering amount of money because of her. I would caution anyone to stay far away. I was told that multiple complaints have been filed against this financial professional. But still AXA refuses to do anything about her and she is still there.

Horrible. If you want to turn 40K into 20K then invest your money with these people. How do you call yourselves professional financial planners when you only meet with your client once a year and never call and ask what is it that you want to do when the market turns? And then they basically asked us to take our lousy combined 80K and go somewhere else. We got the definite impression that they couldn’t be bothered with such a measly amount. Never again and I would suggest you stay away as well.

No one from this company cold called me for services. I actually met one of the advisers at a business event for professional women. I was actually looking for someone to help us with financial planning since neither I or my husband are from families familiar with investing or major financial matters.
Ainka Munroe her colleague Eleanora are the best you could ask for. They are knowledgeable, no pressure & have a way of making people feel comfortable discussing financial matters. Ainka even sent a sympathy card when my father died and gave my husband a birthday gift. I’ve never encountered rudeness or condescension from my advisers.
After having the experience of going to this firm, I’m upset with myself for not getting a financial adviser ages ago (it does not cost anything to have one). I would highly recommend these ladies, especially if you are a woman handling the finances.

These people cold call you at work and try to set up a 15-​minute appointment to discuss financial planning. They first started two years ago, and even after I told them many times to take me off their list, call me at least once a month. Each time it’s the same «I’ll be in your area and will be meeting with a few of your colleagues» nonsense. There has to a better way for me to report them. Until then, a Unilocal review will have to do.