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"All of you people on this blog are nuts.  You post your resume on a job board and when someone contacts you and asks if you would like to come to an open house and find out about a career opportunity in financial services, you decide it must be a scam without even going to hear what it is about. -Roussis Rep"

The above is a major misstatement of the facts. The Roussis/Primerica rep calls, asks you to come to an interview (which is actually a mass-marketing cattle call), won't tell you how they pay you, randomly got your resume, wants you to bilk poor people with lots of debt out of the little money they have left, etc. Definite scam / boiler room / pyramid scheme. Even the website is a weird sham

Roussis International, Primerica Financial Services in Smithtown was very honest and helpful. Mr.Lee was recommended by my wife's cousin. He sat down with my wife & I and helped us put together a term insurance plan with an emergency fund and Roth IRA. He was very educational and patient with us. That emergency fund came in handy a couple of times. I recommend him to anyone!

They aren't a scam. It is a legit business but they are afffiliated with Primerica, a financial services company. They will interview you but it eventually entails showing you how to bring people in for financial stuff, etc. Sort of like Amway to a degree in  their methods and presentation.
I went to a Primerica meeting/interview but left afterwards as it wasn't for me.
Anyway, look them up, Roussis International not Russo International and you will see they are a financial services company. Roussis can be taken to sound like Russo on the phone.
Anyway, their logo is a red umbrella which is what Primerica has as well. Their site mentions Primerica too.

This company is affiliated with Primerica, a financial services company once owned I think by Citicorp. They are legit but, as you say, their "interview" is a group session to get you into their program complete with presentations from people who have made it, etc. Reminds me of Amway, complete with a representative who took his mother out of their poor South American country and became part of the American Dream blah blah blah.
I think pyramid scheme comes to mind as they mention about you bringing in people but never about what exactly you would do. Waste of time for those looking for real employment and not some pie in the sky venture complete with pictures of their members living the high life.

How does you getting a call within 4 hours determine if this is not legit? I've posted my resume on sites and, in one case, I had an e-mail response (regardless of outcome) the following day.

Granted, it may be suspicious to a degree in terms of job posting descriptions. This company is affilliated with Primerica, a financial services company and they are trying to recruit people to be a part of their group in sales so to speak. I've been to one of their meetings so I'm basing it on that. First, a 1-on-1 meeting and then a 2nd interview. This 2nd, however, turned out to be a mass meeting with presentations reminding me of those informercials about living the high life complete with mansion.

To be fair, if they are expanding in various areas and need people, I can understand the many job posts and the quick response by them. However, if it is a sales position, most likely what with it being Primerica, then they will be vague in their description. That, in itself, is what would be a red flag.

hello all,

just got called last week by a Steve Gomez. I didn't return the call as I had never sent them my resume. Then they call again today. What fantastic job opportunity calls someone twice? Didn't even leave the name of the company. If this was indeed such a "fantastic" oppotunity they would not bother calling twice. Only reason they would do such is if they need me more than I need them.

SCAM SCAM SCAM

Primerica (NYSE: PRI )

Introduction

I recently purchased shares of Primerica, which is a life insurance and mutual fund marketing company. Primerica was recently IPO’d by Citigroup (C) as part of Citi’s balance sheet reduction program. It has been one of the best performing IPO’s of the year so far. I believe Primerica’s shares are undervalued because investors are not factoring earnings growth that will be stronger than published Street expectations.

Company Background

Primerica provides financial products and services to middle-market America through a salesforce of independent producers. The company’s two main products are term life insurance and 3rd-party mutual funds. The company was formerly run by the legendary salesman A.L. Williams, who used inspiring motivational speeches to energize the salesforce. Sandy Weil bought the company in the early days of creating his Citigroup empire.

Main Investment Thesis

My main investment thesis is the current valuation does not factor earnings growth that will be stronger than the Street’s published expectations.

Why do I think earnings growth will be stronger than the Street estimates?

Prior to the IPO on April 1, 2010, Primerica entered into a reinsurance transaction with Citigroup that took about 80% of Primerica’s existing term insurance book off of its balance sheet and put it onto Citi’s balance sheet. This dropped the existing term life in-force block to drop from $650 billion to $130 billion. This also caused a one-time step down in Primerica’s earnings from to a $500 million annual run-rate to a $150 million annual run rate. Going forward, Primerica still has the same salesforce that was selling enough term life policies to grow a $650 billion term life block 3% annually. This salesforce producing the same amount of business can grow a $130 billion term life block at 51% annually.

How does 3% growth become 51% growth?

Primerica’s reinsurance transaction with Citigroup reduced the company’s existing block of term life insurance from $650 billion to $130 billion, but it did not diminish the capabilities of the company’s salesforce from adding new policies. In 2009, Primerica had a 10% lapse rate on its term life policies and added $80 billion in new term life policies. This led to a 3% growth rate.

In 2010, if will assume a continuation of the 10% lapse rate and another $80 billion of new term policies, the new $130 billion block of term life policies will grow to $197 billion or a 51% growth rate.

How does this growth translate into earnings?

The term life insurance division accounts for about 60% of the pre-tax earnings. I think this segment can grow 40% in 2011. The mutual fund sales can grow 5% a year, which assumes no in-flows and 5% market appreciation. Combined, I believe earnings in 2011 can be north $2.40 for a growth rate of over 20%.

Why don’t investors see this potential earnings growth?

Primerica’s potential earnings growth is hard to see because the reinsurance transaction with Citigroup is confusing and not what investors normally encounter.

Does Primerica have the capital available to support this level of growth?

Yes, Primerica has extra capital currently. The risk-based capital ratio is estimated to be north of 450%. Plus, the mutual fund savings division generates capital equal to its net income because it does not need capital for growth. Lastly, Primerica is only going to pay a token dividend while it is in this high growth mode.

Other Positive Parts of the Primerica Story

Plain vanilla business with no legacy issues – Primerica’s business is simple to understand. It is mainly a salesforce distributing straightforward term life insurance and a 3rd party mund funds. Term life insurance is one of the easiest forms of insurance for a life insurance company to manage on its balance sheet.

Potential for management to respond to improved incentives – Primerica’s management team should be motivated to show good results out of the gate from the IPO. This is an organization built on motivation and financial incentives. When the company was a subsidiary of Citigroup, I’m sure management had financial incentives, but the were still paid partly with options on Citigroup overall. It was impossible for them to move the needle on Citigroup’s stock. Now as an independent company, Primerica’s management team can directly impact the stock price by delivering strong results.

Ownership presence of Warburg Pincus – As minority shareholders, we are helped by Warburg Pincus’s ownership stake and presence on the board of directors. We can expect Warburg Pincus to focus on shareholders returns. With Warburg’s presence, we also expect management compensation to be under control and expect no value destroying acquisitions.

Leverage will add to returns – As part of the spin-off from Citigroup, Primerica took on some modest leverage at the holding company level that will improve equity returns. Since Primerica’s business seems stable and cash producing, I am comfortable the modest leverage will enhance returns without adding to the risk of financial distress.

Valuation

I believe Primerica is undervalued. At $21 per share, Primerica trades at 1.4x tangible book value and 9.5x the Street’s 2011 EPS estimates. These valuations are in-line with their life insurance peers. However, I believe the Primerica story is cleaner than the rest of the industry because they have fewer legacy issues (such as the investment portfolio at Aflac (AFL) or commercial real estate at Principal (PFG)) and are not dependent on the stock market for earnings growth (such as Prudential (PRU), Ameriprise (AMP), Hartford (HIG) or Lincoln (LNC)) Plus, with the reinsurance transaction with Citi, Primerica will have attractive growth for the next 5 years.

In addition, I believe Primerica could earn as much as $2.40 (or 22 cents more than consensus estimates) in 2011 as they regrow their term life book. As analysts increase estimates, the stock may attract attention from investors attracted to companies with rising estimates. The stock’s multiple could rise to 12x leading to a $29 stock price.

Risks

The main risks to my investment thesis on Primerica are: 1) I am overestimating the potential for earnings growth and 2) the market already recognizes the potential earnings growth and has appropriately priced the stock.

Primerica does have at least one potential issue with a reinsurance company facing financial difficulty. It has about $50 million reinsurance recoverable exposure to Scottish Re, which is in run-off. If they had to write-off this amount, it would be equal to a quarter of earnings. I believe the market would look through this issue if it happened.

I discount some commentators’ views that the Primerica salesforce is a risk. I believe the Primerica salesforce is a vital asset of the company. Yes, they recruit heavily and have high churn, but financial sales is not easy and not every recruit is able to make in sales. I think of Primerica’s salesforce as similar to Aflac’s. Both are high energy, depend on multi-level principles and have high turnover. While I wouldn’t succeed as a Primerica salesman, I admire the results of the organization. As Phil Fisher wrote, you want to own companies with outstanding salesforces.


Conclusion

I purchased shares of Primerica recently because I believe the shares do not factor in the potential earnings growth of the company. The business is a plain vanilla term life insurance business with some 3rd-party mutual fund sales. The earnings growth is not dependent on the stock market improving, rather, it just depends on Primerica’s salesforce delivering similar results to the recent past.

Author: Derek Pilecki  In 2008, Derek Pilecki founded Gator Capital Management

I got a call from a John (Jiann) Lee yesterday saying he was passed along my resume.  Even this statement is less than truthful because he clearly got it off of a job search website.  He went on to tell me how he wanted to meet with me on Wednesday at 7:30 (after reading these posts it seems like that's when they have all their "meetings" to ensure that none of the neighboring business people are around).  

They clearly try to portray it as an interview for a job.  Needless to say, after doing extensive research I called Jiann's number to cancel several times but no one picked up.  This is clearly a multi-level-marketing pyramid-like scheme.  Do not get duped people.  If they have to be less than honest with you on the phone, it can't be legit.

I received a phone call from a Steven Gomez.  He was very indirect with me and wanted me to confirm to a 7:30pm interview where I would meet the partners of the firm.  His description of the job was very fuzzy, and it felt like he was badgering me into an agreement.  When I declined said interview he made a snotty comment at me and hung up.  It might not be a scam, but you don't find hardworking, intelligent people to join your staff by badgering and assaulting them, but hey, maybe I'm just too new school.

Oh- he also said I cannot believe everything that's on the internet. (Interesting! for him to say that.)

Just got a call from Steven Gomez says he's interested in my resume, after I tell him I'm a proffessional IT Project Manager with an MS in Information Technology he says would I consider a Management Position in another Industry so I told him I might depending on the circumstances he says that his firm was looking for a senior manager who could orchestrate organizational change I said that it sounded interesting that's when things started to go awry he said they didn't currently have a web site and that the interview would be at 7:30 at night I asked why so late he said they had to distibute materials for me to take home and review to consider the opportunity.... SCAM. PS their new offices are in Hauppauge.

I just got the same call from Steve Gomez.  Said he came across my resume.  I posted it on CareerBuilder for project management in the construction industry.  Asked me if I would be interested in "a management position in the personal finance industry."  It sounded like he was reading from a script!  When told him I couldn't make either of the 2 interview times he give me for this week, he said "good luck" and hung up on me!  After reading the posts on this blog, I'm glad he blew me off!!

I had an interview at Roussis International recently. I went to look up some more information about the business and came across these postings.

I'm not sure what the disconnect is, but I found the guys and gals at Roussis International to be very pleasant. The lady at the front greeted me very nicely. I met with Steve and we had a great conversation.

I've been in leadership positions with several companies and as an entrepreneur run several business myself. I liked everything they had to say.

It seems like a great opportunity. I suppose not everyone is cut out for business. But it seems great for someone who likes the idea of getting involved with a brokerage and helping people in the community.

I wasn't there for the phone calls, so can't speak to that, but it doesn't seem like these people would be intentionally rude. It does seem like they are busy though and the phones are always ringing they probably speak to hundreds of people.

I can understand that. Building a business is never easy and not everyone will always like you. I've worked for some very large companies and when you're dealing with a high volume of people, sometimes being brisk or to the point on the phone can be mistaken for being rude.

Anyway, I liked what I saw and who I met and I just thought I should say that. If I had read this before I went to the interview I might not have gone, but then I would have missed out.

I'm scheduled to go back for a follow up interview and I look forward to it. I've been looking at a couple of different opportunities, some corporate jobs and some businesses...but as I get older and get more experience it seems this is more what I'm looking for.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I think it was great.

Or they were just following up, because that's what professionals do. What if you were on vacation and never got the message? Or your phone was broken?

I've worked in HR before for more than one company, we always call until we reach the person or the deadline passes.

-DB

We're clients with Roussis International/Primerica. I've gone before to the weds 7:30 interview. I didn't see a problem with it. As I wrote previously I've worked in various HR capacities. Some companies just do interviews at certain times, because that's when the executives are free to do so. Doesn't that make sense?

We're not sure that this is the direction that we want to go right now, but they were very nice to me. The answered our questions and it helped us to understand more about the business.

I once read that if someone has a great experience they only tell 5 people, but if they feel they were wronged in some way they will tell 15 people. The more I read these postings I just think that some of the people who post up are just negative.

And I hate it when people throw around terms like Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid, without actually knowing what they are saying. Get a dictionary!

What I found out is that many of the so-called "Reputable" companies are the ones that actually rip-off the community...just look at all the big financial companies getting into trouble today. Roussis International is one of the few companies out there actually working and helping in the community. Leave them alone. They are the good-guys.

DB

Just got a call from Steve Gomez. ???

So did I. He was very nice on the phone. Talked about working in the local community and helping families. I don't know about you but I have an interview set up for tomorrow. I liked what he was talking about, he seemed really into it so I'm going to go and see what they have to say.

I'm a client with Roussis International. Before I met them I was struggling and didn't know who to turn to regarding my finances. They sat down with me and my family and helped us take care of some very important parts of our financial plan. We would have lost and wasted so much money if we didn't listen to the advice they gave us.

They made sure that we were properly protected in case of an emergency and so much better than the previous company we were with. Not only that but they also helped us put together a game plan to help us with our savings and retirement programs. They helped connect us with some of the best and most reputable financial companies in America.

It bothers us to see people calling it a scam, when we've seen it work for us directly and have such an important impact in our lives. Again, we would have lost and wasted so much money if we didn't listen to them

The biggest part about what they did, was that it was educational. They sat down with us and taught us what all the options were, which companies offered what, what the benefits would be to our family, etc. They helped to transform and grow our thinking

They didn't even charge us for their time. I know I can go to them anytime I have a question. I would recommend them to anyone who is serious about helping people in the community.

Its natural to have questions when you're first learning about a company you didn't know about before, but once you meet with the people at Roussis International and take the time to get to know them, you'll see that they are genuinely good people and they are open to including you in their circle if you're a good person too.

They are the type of people that if you called them would come out in the snow and help you with a flat tire...people you can rely on and trust. From what I hear and what I've seen their clients love them.

Did you know they've been open for over 20 years? And help thousands of families every month?

You should be so lucky to be invited in for an interview. Even if its not you're thing, they're good people to know and they CARE about what happens in the community.

Wow that sounds great. I just had a phone call from Steve Gomez as well. He seemed very nice. I scheduled an interview with him.

Actually had an interview with him today. It was great meeting them and listening to what they were doing in the community. I'm very excited. Going back for a follow up soon.

Look what else I found out while researching the company:

CNBC: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1457320351&play=1

FOX 5: http://www.facebook.com/l.phpu=http%3A%2F%2Fw ... 3Demail&h=5b415

Market Watch:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/primerica-su ... ebut-2010-04-01