John L Gilfoil
Financial Advisor|CLU®, ChFC®, CASL®, LUTCF®
Professional
A career aptitude test once told me I was best suited for an occupation as a funeral director, teacher, or stand-up comedian. I think my career with Northwestern Mutual has taken bits and pieces of all three.
In 1979, I was laid off as a fork lift operator. At the time, I had one more semester of college separating me from receiving a diploma. Subsequently, I signed up for a sales internship with Northwestern Mutual and never left.
Shortly after that, I received a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing from Western New England University, and I began to build my career with NML, I continued my education to achieve additional designations (CLU, ChFC, CFP, CASL, and LUTCF).
I take pride in being a Financial Advisor, helping individuals and families plan for their future, and accomplish their goals. My success in the field as been recognized by several organizations, including the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT). I also received the National Quality Award (1980; 1993-2010), as well as the National Sales Achievement Award (1980-1990; 1992-2010).
In the past, I have held positions in the Springfield Chapter of NAIFA (President), Massachusetts Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (State President), the Society of Financial Service Professionals (President), Wilbraham-Hampden Rotary (President), and the Million Dollar Roundtable (President).
I understand my clients are in different stages of life: perhaps purchasing their first home, financing a child's education, or planning for retirement. I believe a financial security plan must reflect your personal or business situation, and so I will work to highlight the financial security products that best fit your goals. I am truly dedicated to learning about my client's personal goals. Together, we will use them to build a financial security plan focused on your specific needs.
Associations and Memberships
- Past State President - National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors
- Past President - Western Mass Society of Financial Service Professionals
Years of Experience
Representing Northwestern Mutual since 1978.
Education
Western New England College - Marketing (Bachelor of Science)
Awards and Recognition
- Million Dollar Round Table Provisional Member (1980)
- MDRT is the premier association of financial professionals. MDRT status designation is granted for one year and members must apply every year to continue their affiliation with the MDRT
- Million Dollar Round Table Qualifying Member (1981, 1994-1995, 1997, 1999-2002)
- Million Dollar Round Table Qualifying/Life Member (2003-2015)
- National Quality Award (1980, 1993-2010)
- Award recognizing persistency and performance
- National Sales Achievement Award (1980-1990, 1992-2010)
- Award recognizing performance
Personal
I grew up in Springfield, Maine. For the past 20 years, my wife Muriel and I have lived in Wilbraham where we raised our three children.
In my free time, I enjoy golfing at Wilbraham Country Club and skiing the Steep and Deep in the winter. I only have ten more areas to go to have successfully skied at the top 25 places on Earth!
Lending a hand in my community.
As part of Northwestern Mutual, I'm proud to help accelerate the search for better childhood cancer treatments while supporting families undergoing treatment, and survivors from late effects. Here are some of the organizations we partner with:
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF)
ALSF funds cancer research, raises awareness, and supports the families of children with cancer. Since 2012, Northwestern Mutual, its employees, and financial professionals like me have donated more than $20 million to support ALSF and fund over 400,000 research hours.
Beads of Courage
Beads of Courage is an art-in-medicine program that helps kids with cancer tell their unique treatment story through colorful beads that are symbols of their courage.
Here are my areas of expertise
Financial Planning
Insurance Protection Strategies
Life Insurance Strategies
Retirement Planning & Income Strategies
Education Planning & Funding
Disability Planning
Multigenerational Planning
Estate Planning
How Northwestern Mutual helps you live the life you want.
When people feel better about their money, good things happen—they become more confident and feel more secure. For more than 160 years, Northwestern Mutual has helped people achieve the financial flexibility they need to live more and worry less.
Being a mutual company means Northwestern Mutual reports to its clients, not Wall Street. They don't believe in chasing fads or taking undue risk for short-term gains. Instead, they take a long-term approach—both in the way we help people plan to reach their goals, and in the way they do business. This has served their clients (and mine) well through all kinds of economic ups and downs, including wars, recessions, even the recent pandemic.
It's why I'm happy to be part of a company that's in it for the long-haul and prioritizes clients over profit.
