<prompt> Human: A long time friend of my husbands is training with Transamerica to be a financial advisor. This friend has zero prior finance experience, but has taken some exams and has a few more to take in order to be an actual financial advisor.He asked if as a favor to him, we would allow him and his superior to give us a presentation as part of his training. We agreed, although I was very skeptical-- but my husband wanted to help his friend, so fine. I can sit through a presentation.Well, first off, they want us to become clients, fill out some needs analysis thing, and have a second meeting. I didnt think this would be expected of us-- I thought we were helping with training, not potential actual clients. That makes me a bit wary. Apart from that, there was a bit of a get rich quick pyramid-y undertone to it all. Part of the presentation said how would you like to be involved-- as a client, part time employee, or full time? I dont know too many legitimate financial operations that try to get clients as their employees. He also said residual income which set off my pyramid alarms... I dont think this is a full on scheme, but it just seemed a little odd.Second, they were talking up 7702 life insurance policies as an investment option that is better than a 401k. According to them, they have the highest rate of return, little to no risk, and no penalties for withdrawing money-- they made it seem like there is no downside. But if its true, if these 7702 things are so awesome and risk free with guaranteed returns, why doesnt everyone do them?Im quite suspicious, and I really dont want to continue on with the needs analysis or a second meeting unless I learn more about the company and these 7702 plans from a neutral 3rd party.TL;DR-- If Transamerica is legit, why do they hire random people as agents? And what is 7702-- is it really as good as they made it sound?  <response>: I didnt think this would be expected of us-- I thought we were helping with training, not potential actual clientsHaha! Thats called bait-and-switch. You were asked to come in and hear a sales pitch. Thats not friends, thats business. Make sure you understand the difference.7702 is just another phrase for life insurance policies. Theyre not retirement plans. The needs analysis is required before they can give you financial advice, otherwise they are breaking the law. 30 year term life insurance makes sense for some people who are supporting a family; other kinds of life insurance, all told, probably benefit the companies selling it far more than the folks who are buying it.As for why theyre hiring random people - well, you have friends, dont you? Would you be up for asking all your friends if they wouldnt mind participating in your training exercise? If so, youre the employee they need. But not the one your friends deserve.Transamerica is a reputable company. They sell insurance products, and if the fine print on these products says that these products will deliver a certain way, I would say you can count on Transamerica to deliver what they promised. Theyre not evil. But marketing practices like this are sort of shady. 