Good Neighbor Podcast South Charlotte
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of South Charlotte.
Good Neighbor Podcast South Charlotte
Felipe Aranha - Primerica- From Salary to Financial Freedom
Money shouldn't be a mystery, yet too many families navigate financial waters without a compass Felipe Aranha, a financial advisor with Primerica, is changing that narrative one family at a time.
After an 18-year corporate career in supply chain management, Felipe made a dramatic pivot when Primerica found him. What sealed the deal? Their refreshing mission to help everyday Americans—not just the wealthy—achieve financial independence. "Primerica helps clients get out of debt," Felipe explains, contrasting this with most financial institutions that profit from keeping people indebted. This mission to serve "Main Street families" resonated deeply with his desire to make a meaningful impact.
Felipe specializes in working with married couples between 25-55 with children—families who are starting to feel the weight of retirement planning and financial security. His approach is refreshingly accessible: clients never pay directly for his services (he's compensated by financial companies when clients implement solutions), and investments start at just $50 monthly. The process begins with a Financial Needs Analysis where he collects information about your current situation and goals, then returns with customized recommendations spanning investments, insurance, debt reduction, and more.
What truly distinguishes Felipe is his "white glove" service philosophy. "I like to treat people the way I would like to be treated," he shares. This translates to thorough follow-up emails after every meeting, celebrations of financial milestones, and proactive communication when better opportunities arise. For clients intimidated by financial jargon, he translates complex options into "plain English," empowering informed decisions without requiring financial expertise.
Ready to transform your financial future with a guide who treats you like more than a number? Connect with Felipe on Instagram @Primerica_Felipe_A or call 803-795-2156 to schedule your complimentary consultation. Your future self will thank you for taking this first step toward financial confidence.
Primerica - Felipe Aranha
Instagram @PrimericaFelipeA
(803) 795-2156
Hello everyone. This is Regina and I am the podcast host here in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I'm super excited today to chat with Felipe Arana. Good morning, Felipe, Morning, How's it going today. Yeah, I've had so much fun getting to know you getting ready for this podcast, and you are a financial advisor with Primerica, so tell us a little bit about yourself, your story and how you got into this industry.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, sure, so thanks for having me. And my story in a nutshell, is basically I was a corporate worker for supply chain production planning for over 18 years and I just I was looking for something different, for a different career and you know, primerica found me, so I just did this 180 in my career and just tried something new. So that's, that's the story.
Speaker 1:Well, how fun for you to be found. Normally it's the other way around. Yeah, exactly, You're out hunting and pecking and going. Oh my God, I'm sick of what I do. So what attracted you when they reached out? What made those bells go off in your head?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so the way that Primerica helps clients is very unique, because we do what we call the full service, so we help clients get out of debt, become financially dependent, help them with investments, a lot of things like that, and I thought that was a really nice way of helping people because it's very complete. I don't know, for example, any company that helps people get out of debt. On the contrary, they want people to get more debt, more credit cards, more you know, and Primerica helps you get out of debt. So I thought that was awesome. You know, I like helping people and I saw a powerful tool to help impact families, so I think that's an awesome mission.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so. Tell us about your services and what you do for Prime America.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so, as I was saying, prime America has a big portfolio of services. We like to say that Prime America wants to be the Amazon of financial services, meaning you know, if you want to invest, uh, playing for retirement, uh, we got you covered. Uh invest, you know, for buying a house or for you know something else, we got you covered. And uh, we also do life insurance. We help with mortgages, uh, auto, home and auto insurance. So it's it's very wide, uh, what we can do in Primerica.
Speaker 1:And where do you, do you get to work anywhere? Tell us what you're, what you're doing.
Speaker 2:The work itself is remote and we help people over Zoom. That's also nice because you know I have some friends, for example, like in Texas or in Florida, and I can still help them out, so that's great. And we do have a local part of the job that is going to training in person. You know my team thinks it's very important to be there in person and I agree with that. You know the training, the learning is good to have in person.
Speaker 1:So who are you looking for? Who is your ideal client?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so my ideal client is married couples between 25 and 55 years of age with kids, that own or may not own a home and that are employed. Because, you see, this is part of the story with me. I'm 38 now, so, as I was reaching like 33, 35 or so, I start looking at my finances. And, you know, everyone wants to retire, right. But I was looking and I was like, hey, if I want to retire at I don't know 65 or something, what is my plan? I mean, how can I get there?
Speaker 2:You know, and this kind of builds on you, and so, you know, people start looking around and they start investing and that's, that's awesome, that's great, you know. But the difference with pro america is that you have someone that helps you, that they are looking out for you. You know, they are studying uh, researching and looking for the best uh options. So this is especially after you have kids. This, you know, concern is like way bigger, is way up here. You're like, hey, now I have other people to take care of, so I need to really get my ducks in a row, so to speak.
Speaker 1:I love that. So when someone's listening to this and they go, hmm, what does this involve? Talk about your process? They call you, they reach out. Then what happens?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so just before that, one very important thing is that Primerica's mission is to help who we call Main Street families. Is the average American that you know don't have $100,000, $500,000 to invest, because those people they have no issues getting an advisor right, but Primerica wants to help everyone else. So, on that sense, any services from Primerica agent or Primerica advisor for the client is free of charge for them. Like if I'm your analyst, I'm never charging you, never seeing an invoice from me. But we don't work for free, of course. So the companies that we help you set up the services with they pay us.
Speaker 2:So that's also really nice, but yeah, so going down to the actual how it works kind of deal, right, so say, you want to be my client and what we do is we set up a meeting where at first, I will show you all the things that Primerica does, as I kind of mentioned, the different services and all that and then second step is we set up a meeting that we call the Financial Needs Analysis FNA for short and that's basically a data collection meeting where you're going to tell me what you have.
Speaker 2:You know like, hey, I work this, I have this house, I want to retire at 72. I have a couple of kids, I want to buy a car, or, you know, I want to buy a boat, whatever that might be. And then, you know, I collect your data, I go back to my team, we have specialists in the different areas, and then I come back to you with suggestions, you know. And again, you don't pay for the meeting, for the assessment, and you don't pay for the recommendations and you won't implement what makes sense to you. You know. So if or when you do go through with it, then I get paid. So that's basically how it works.
Speaker 1:And the customer is paying you. Is it a flat fee or how does that work?
Speaker 2:No, no, no, the client is paying the company and you know that depends on what we're talking about, but it really depends. You know, if it's like an investment, there will be probably some amount per month that you're putting out, you know, so I would get a little bit you know, residual income from that and that's basically how it works. But yeah, they pay the company, the company pays us.
Speaker 1:But they just work with you. Is that correct? Yeah, regarding how many services and options?
Speaker 2:yes, yes, and also I think that's an awesome thing with pro america because, uh, after the fna, there's a that I was explaining. I will know what your goals are, what your uh uh ideas are, you know what you to do and this helps me understand and keep you in mind. You know, because if I see something that is better for you, a better option, I'll call you. Hey, regina, I have a better mutual fund to invest. You know, and if you are a client of, say, fidelity or big brand name companies, they are not calling you. You know, because you're just one number, you're just one person. They, they have thousands of clients and in Primerica, even though I will help you be a client of Fidelity through me, but you're talking to me. So you know, if I see something that is your, in your best interest, I'll give you a call. Hey, what you think about this, what you think about that. And that's the like, the relationship of it, the relationship side of it, I think is very good.
Speaker 1:You know, I guess a lot of people don't even know this kind of thing exists, especially young. You know you're busy and raising family and you know just working. What are some of the biggest misconceptions you find when you meet with people?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So one big one is that you know you need a lot of money to start investing and you know that might be the case depending on the company that helps you, depending on some advisors who just charge you per transaction or a flat fee or something, and you know, as I was saying, the best interest of Main Street families. Primerica took that out, so it's free of charge. So there's no, you know, uh, a cost to just be there. The minimum amount to invest in primary is fifty dollars a month. So that's something, yeah, that's something you can, you can set aside Right, especially if you're thinking about the future, thinking about kids and all that. So fifty dollars is feasible, you know.
Speaker 1:Well, I think taking baby steps, because I think it is intimidating for a lot of us that go oh, I should have done this, but I guess it's never too late after talking. But I love the idea of baby steps and there's a lot of coaching. I'm sure that has to go on with this, correct?
Speaker 2:Yeah, correct. So also, a big part of our mission is to be the middle point. You know between, like, what you need and where you are. So my job is to make it in plain English to you what is it that you need, or what is it the best interest, the best option, or give you options so that you can pick. So a big part of the thing the service is that you don't need to know. I mean, that's what I'm here for. I'll study, I'll know and then I'll come back to you with digestible information that you can use.
Speaker 1:I love that digestible that would can use. I love that digestible. That would be so true. So what sets you apart If you look at your co-workers in Primerica? Tell us about you, and what does someone get when they work with you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So I like to treat people the way that I would like to be treated right. So my team, basically my idea, my goal, is to have what we call a white glove service, meaning you know, exceptional customer care. You know, for example, like if I do a meeting with you, after the meeting I always send you an email with what we talked about. You know the options that we discussed any files we went over, because you know I options that we discussed any files we went over, because you know I would like that myself.
Speaker 2:If I talk to someone, I would like to have like a summary what did we talk about? You know, or I started the investment today. So then I'll send you hey, you started the investment today, congratulations, and that's what we're doing, and this is your risk profile and all that because you know I'm a person like like that. So I think that's helpful to have you know like an email. That's a good starting point and that you can see what you have. And you know I'm always a phone call away either way, so I'm also available to any questions, any doubts or any anything that you need well, I find you very, very hands-on, and so I can imagine you take great care, so tell our listeners how to find you.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, so you can find me at Instagram. My handle is Primerica Felipe A and I can spell all that, and I also have a Facebook account, but it's just. My name is Felipe Arana, but I think Instagram is the best way, but people can also call me at 803-795-2156. And then we can set up the first meeting and go from there.
Speaker 1:And let's go ahead and spell your last name.
Speaker 2:Yes, so my last name is Arana A-R-A-N-H-A.
Speaker 1:Excellent, Felipe. It's such a pleasure and I know we're going to be speaking again, but thank you so much and it was great getting to know more about what you do.
Speaker 2:All right, thanks, regina. Have a good day.