Is whole life insurance a good investment?

Compared to typical investment vehicles like index funds, whole life cash value growth is usually slower, especially in the early years, since a portion of premiums covers the cost of insurance and administrative fees.

For people specifically wanting guaranteed lifelong coverage plus a modest savings-like component, whole life can make sense; for pure investment growth, other financial vehicles are usually more efficient, so many people use whole life for protection and separate investment accounts for growth.