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Valic Financial Advisors Review

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This review was produced by SmartAsset based on publicly available information. The named firm and its financial professionals have not reviewed, approved, or endorsed this review and are not responsible for its accuracy. Review content is produced by SmartAsset independently of any business relationships that might exist between SmartAsset and the named firm and its financial professionals, and firms and financial professionals having business relationships with SmartAsset receive no special treatment or consideration in SmartAsset’s reviews. This page contains links to SmartAsset’s financial advisor matching tool, which may or may not match you with the firm mentioned in this review or its financial professionals.

Valic Financial Advisors, Inc.

With a national footprint, Valic Financial Advisors has almost $27 billion in assets under management (AUM). In addition to being an investment advisor, Valic is also a broker-dealer. Its name is an acronym of its parent company, The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company, but the firm also goes by AIG Retirement Services. 

Though advisors are employees of the company, they are technically independent advisory representatives (IARs). They are also broker-dealer representatives and most are insurance agents, making Valic a fee-based firm. 

Valic Financial Advisors Background

Like many corporate subsidiaries, Valic Financial is part of a large  (and confusing) organizational structure. It is wholly owned by The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company (VALIC). That entity in turn is owned by AGC Life Insurance Company, which is owned by AIG Life Holdings, Inc., an entity owned by SAFG Retirement Services, Inc., which in turn is owned by American International Group (AIG), Inc. This is all to say that Valic Financial is a part of AIG.

Valic Financial Advisors Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes

The vast majority of clients are non-high-net-worth clients. Though the firm also serves high-net-worth individuals and corporations.

Minimum account sizes also depend on the advisory program. For the Managed Investment Program (MIP), Valic Financial requires $5,000 to $250,000, depending on the portfolio. There is no minimum for the Guided Portfolio Services (GPS) Program, which is available only to participants in a retirement plan with VALIC or VALIC Retirement Services Company. There’s also no minimum for the Guided Portfolio Advantage (GPA) Program, though you need to purchase a Portfolio Director (PD) Freedom Advisor contract to participate and the contract has a minimum premium payment of $25,000.

Services Offered by Valic Financial Advisors

Valic Financial provides discretionary investment management services through three wrap fee programs. MIP accounts can choose from 15 model portfolios. Ranging from very conservative to very aggressive, these portfolios are managed by advisors from Envestnet Portfolio Solutions, Inc., Russell Investment Management, LLC, The Vanguard Group, BlackRock Investment Management and CLS Investments, LLC.  

Accounts in the GPS program invest in a VALIC Portfolio Director variable annuity or in a mutual fund program. Again, participants are limited to those in retirement plan accounts where VALIC or VALIC Retirement Services Company is the plan service provider.

To be eligible to enroll in the GPA Program, you must purchase a VALIC PD Freedom Advisor fixed and variable annuity contract. Contributions are invested in diversified model portfolios that are designed and managed by Morningstar. The portfolios use a tactical asset allocation.

Financial planning is also available, though only to investment clients.

Valic Financial Advisors Investment Philosophy

Valic Financial’s IARs are not investment managers. The actual work of constructing portfolios is outsourced to people who specialize in securities analysis. The models they use run the gamut, providing an appropriate asset allocation for every kind of risk profile.

Depending on the program in which a client enrolls, their assets may be invested in mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), annuities and other investment vehicles.  

Fees Under Valic Financial Advisors

Clients who have MIP accounts will be charged a program fee. This program fee is a percentage of assets under management (AUM) and includes the fees and costs for services provided by the IAR, Valic Financial, Envestnet, the investment manager and National Financial Services. It doesn’t include underlying mutual fund or exchange-traded fund fees or other costs. The exact rate a client will pay may vary from portfolio to portfolio. 

The firm does not charge an advisory fee for the use of the GPS Portfolio Advisor service. However, fees for the GPS Portfolio Management Program are as follows:

GPS Portfolio Manager Program
AUM Fee
First $100K 0.60%
Next $150K 0.50%
Over $250K 0.45%

For the GPA Program, clients pay an annual advisory fee of 1% of AUM for the PD Advantage offering, while clients enrolled in the MIP Unified Managed Account Program will pay fees according to the following schedule:

GPA PD Freedom Advisor Program 
AUM  Fee
First $250,000 2.13%
Next $250,000 1.79%
Next $500,000 1.57%
Next $1MM 1.46%
Next $3MM 1.35%
Next $5MM 1.24% 
Next $15MM 1.22%
Over $25 MM 1.20%

Finally, Valic Financial does not charge for completing a financial plan.  

What to Watch Out For

In its most recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, Valic Financial reported several disclosures, nine of which involved advisory affiliates, while 13 involved Valic Financial itself. Fines ranged from $50 to $20 million. 

In 2020, the firm paid a $20 million penalty after the SEC alleged it failed to disclose to certain teachers in Florida that its parent company had "provided cash and other benefits" to a for-profit company owned by the Florida K-12 teachers' unions in exchange for referring teachers to products and services offered by VALIC and the firm. 

That same year, Valic Financial paid a $4.5 million penalty after the SEC alleged it had not disclosed conflicts of interest regarding certain mutual fund share class selection practices. In addition to the fine, Valic Financial accepted a censure and cease-and-desist order and agreed to pay affected investors a disgorgement of $13,232,681, plus a prejudgement interest of $2,211,072.

You should also note that affiliated IARs wear multiple hats. When they are advising you on investments, they are legally bound by a fiduciary duty to put your interests first. But when they are selling you products or acting as your broker, they do not have to abide by a fiduciary standard. This can be confusing to clients.

Opening an Account With Valic Financial Advisors

You can schedule an appointment with an advisor by visiting the firm's Houston office, or you can contact Valic Financial at (866) 544-4968.

All information was accurate as of the writing of this article. 

Tips for Finding the Right Financial Advisor 

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How Long $1mm Lasts in Retirement

SmartAsset's interactive map highlights places where $1 million will last the longest in retirement. Zoom between states and the national map to see the top spots in each region. Also, scroll over any city to learn about the cost of living in retirement for that location.

Least
Most
Rank City Housing Expenses Food Expenses Healthcare Expenses Utilities Expenses Transportation Expenses

Methodology We analyzed data on average expenditures for seniors, cost of living and investment returns to determine how many years of retirement a $1 million nest egg would cover in cities across America.

First, we looked at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on the average annual expenditures of seniors. We then applied cost of living data from the Council for Community and Economic Research to adjust those national average spending levels based on the costs of each expense category (housing, food, healthcare, utilities, transportation and other) in each city. Using this data, SmartAsset calculated the average cost of living for retirees in the largest U.S. cities.

We assumed the $1 million would grow at a real return (interest minus inflation) of 2%. Then, we divided $1 million by the sum of each of those annual numbers to determine how long $1 million would cover retirement expenses in each of the cities in our study. Cities where $1 million lasted the longest ranked the highest in the study.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Council for Community and Economic Research