Live Brighter: How to Become a Sun Life Financial Advisor

I’m pretty sure at one point in time, a financial advisor has visited your office whether for a formal event or informally through connections. A few weeks ago, we had some representatives from Sun Life and Philamlife to talk about Personal Finance as part of our company’s Wellness initiatives. Of course I was very enthusiastic to join and also pushed my other officemates to attend too.

My Financial Journey

I started investing in mutual funds (First Metro Asset Management, Inc.) at the age of 23 and got my term life insurance (Philamlife) at 24. I pretty much covered myself for most things financial early on. And now, I am looking for something for my parents as well.

 

So at the end of the presentations, I approached the representatives from Sun Life to inquire what products they have for retirement. You see, my dad is an OFW and my mom is a freelance makeup artist. They both do not have SSS or any form of retirement fund. I’m setting aside funds for them but I don’t know where to put it so that these will grow more. After assessing my situation, Elena suggested to me the MaxiLink Prime – a VUL payable for 10 years. My parents are 54yo already and I was wondering why she still suggested for them to have insurance. Sadly, I didn’t have much time to discuss more with her but the thought of knowing more on what the product is lingered within me.

A couple of weeks later, as I was lazily browsing the net for productive things to do, it suddenly dawned on me that maybe I could try to learn more about Life Insurance, VUL, and other financial instruments by actually becoming a financial advisor! To begin with, I am passionate with personal finance, plus I feel like I’m already a bit more mature than others to be credible about it.

And so my streak of brilliance led me to Sun Life’s Facebook advertisement for a Live Brighter Forum event last Oct. 22. This was definitely my chance to learn more about Sun Life and what they could offer to help me and my family. I commented on the photo, contacted the recruiter, and sent her my CV right away, just to be sure. Haha.

The Application Process

1. Join a Live Brighter Forum

So that weekend, I attended the forum at their BGC office. I didn’t even have a clue that this was already part of the application process. I thought it was more of a personal finance seminar. But my afternoon has been worthwhile as I got to know Sun Life’s history, its values as a company, and it’s financial advocacy to help people. Plus, they also shared the benefits of being part of Sun Life – the rewards and the perks, including a sample of what the top 10 rookies of one of the branches have earned in a year. And I tell you it was still a lot. Message me here to know! Haha.

2. Pass the Insurance Commission exams

After the forum, we huddled in groups based on the territories we selected. I joined the Cottonwood New Business Office at Picadilly since I practically live in BGC most of the week. My Manager Candidate, Cathy, ran us through the steps we need to do moving forward and that starts with reviewing for and passing the Insurance Commission exams. Sun Life used to train people for this but since not everyone pushes through with the application, they decided to let individuals who are really dedicated on this path to pursue it on their own first. We were given review materials though and Cathy also helped us studying. Among the things you also need to prepare is your Community Tax Certificate and NBI clearance. I passed both the Traditional Life and VUL exams in one go with a score of 86% and 80%! Phew.

3. Go through the Sun Life Training Course

This is typically a 3-day seminar orienting you on the world of personal finance management and the products Sun Life is offering. It also has courses on how to proceed with the sales process including upholding ethical standards as a financial advisor. Since I am a part-timer and currently fully employed, I opted for the online training course covering the same and worked through it during my free time. It was still a challenge to squeeze in but I am lucky that Sun Life has invested in this tool for part-timers like me.

4. Submit the Sun Life requirements for Coding

After the exams and the trainings, it was already time to practice being a financial advisor. Cathy guided me through meeting my first clients, knowing what to say, answering typical questions, and in general, helped me build my confidence as I start my journey in Sun Life. I am still waiting for the final processing but I am already excited to meet more people to share what I have learned and help them reach financial security.

And that’s it! It’s only been a month since that fateful day I considered joining Sun Life and now life is starting to look brighter. I regret not processing my requirements even faster and I may have talked to more people at this time. But I can only catch up now and strive to reach more people.

If you’re interested in also becoming a financial advisor, comment here or like my page and message me! I can ask Cathy to recruit you too. Or, if you’re interested to know more about Sun Life’s products, I’ll be happy to talk to you!

To a brighter life!

Cheerios,

Maven