Screw this guy! He is trying to screw you.
The lowest kind of scum, canvasses his old friends. I have sold things I would never have bought, but not to my friends or family.
Actually, no one will ever buy anything valuable unless he goes out and finds it. If it is for sale in an institutionalized market, and commissioned salesmen are the vector, it sucks. Always. Period.
Ha
While I detest those that sell financial products at a significant markup to the unsuspecting victim with little value added (and oftentimes, massive NEGATIVE value added to the process), this,
in principle, is no different than a Mary Kay "sales rep" (or insert your other favorite MLM company) or a real estate agent or insurance agent hitting up their friends and family for business leads. Or your friend who started up a lawn car business.
Are the Mary Kay products over-priced? To some - while others swear by it. Is State Farm higher than Allstate or Amica? Sometimes they're lower, sometimes they're higher. Is a real estate agent really THAT valuable, for the 6% commission you end up paying? Sometimes they truly aren't (while a few are).
Are the financially poor products pedaled by the likes of this ilk bad compared to Vanguard - or even 'lesser' loaded families like maybe American Funds? Obviously.
But are they any worse than a host of other financial firms that make their living by selling the financial version of a Chevy investment at the price of a Cadillac? Or a credit card extending credit to financial rubes, who end up paying 15%+ interest just because they're too damn lazy to open their eyes and see that making that "just $50" monthly payment results in paying more than double for a product? As some have pointed out, perhaps these financial illiterates would never have saved, and at least have some small meager savings amounts.
If Vanguard paid an army of financial reps to go door-to-door and educate people on the benefits of products from Vanguard, then they would probably have some success at it - but remember that many people simply don't WANT to know anything related to "that investment stuff", and are happy having a 'professional' take care of them. They view it probably the same as relying on a medical professional to take care of their health, or a mechanic taking care of their car - why should they have to bother themselves to learn it when there is already an investment professional out there who can do all of that for them?
Of course, having said that, if a friend or acquaintance of mine tried to sell me, I'd simply tell them that I know the real total costs associated with investments, and will never purchase the products they are selling. If they attempt to continue despite my repeated "no" answers, then I would really tell 'em off.