Comments on: The One Annuity You Should Never Own http://www.theretirementpros.com/blog/2008/02/the-one-annuity-you-should-never-own/ Retirement Planning Blog Topics: Social Security, Investments, Safe Money advisory, Retirement Video Seminars Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:16:00 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Tom http://www.theretirementpros.com/blog/2008/02/the-one-annuity-you-should-never-own/comment-page-1/#comment-151 Tom Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:37:33 +0000 http://www.theretirementpros.com/blog/2008/02/05/the-one-annuity-you-should-never-own/#comment-151 I get a kick out of a lot of debates over which equity indexed annuity should you or should you not own. I think a lot of these debates miss a far larger point. What are the alternatives? Who has a better alternative? I have a client with an educational trust set up through someone else. They can't change the trustee. The trust has lost far more money to market instability and market down turns than they have distributed to the beneficiaries in education funding. This is a shame. If these same funds were put into almost any Fixed Indexed Annuity in 1997 when the trust was initially funded the assets today after 11 years of growth would have doubled the asset base in the trust. This situation even includes two significant down cycles in the market indexes. Then if we consider the college funding withdrawals taken out the net asset base today we would still be at least 150% or so of the initial funding contribution. I would take this performance in a heartbeat when considering the actual performance of the assets under broker management. The assets today are about 50% of the initial funding contribution. Brokerage accounts are for risk money not for safe money. Almost any broker who is honest will admit to having lost some clients money. In all honesty I have never lost a clients money with Fixed Indexed Annuity products. I will admit that some brokerage clients will make more money with equity products but the average clients don't exceed the performance of the Fixed Indexed Annuity products. What about Bank CD performance. Often the rate of return on CD's does not keep up with the rate of inflation. What about Real Estate Think housing slump, Think lack of liquidity, think potential drop of home prices. What about Corporate Bonds Bond prices fluctuate. When current interest rates rise exising bond prices drop. This even happens with good bonds. Never mind the Bank Bonds or Mortgage Lender bonds which looked good a year or two ago. Where are most of them now? The best Solution is of course diversification into multiple asset classes. However I believe that an intelligent client of almost any age from 20-80 plus should have a singificant portion of their assets committed to the safe money category of Fixed Indexed Annuity products!!! Lets not forget the tax advantaged growth of annuities, the guarantee of principal found with Fixed Indexed Annuity products and the ability to create a lifetime income stream just like a pension! Tom I get a kick out of a lot of debates over which equity indexed annuity should you or should you not own. I think a lot of these debates miss a far larger point. What are the alternatives? Who has a better alternative?

I have a client with an educational trust set up through someone else. They can’t change the trustee. The trust has lost far more money to market instability and market down turns than they have distributed to the beneficiaries in education funding. This is a shame.

If these same funds were put into almost any Fixed Indexed Annuity in 1997 when the trust was initially funded the assets today after 11 years of growth would have doubled the asset base in the trust. This situation even includes two significant down cycles in the market indexes.

Then if we consider the college funding withdrawals taken out the net asset base today we would still be at least 150% or so of the initial funding contribution. I would take this performance in a heartbeat when considering the actual performance of the assets under broker management. The assets today are about 50% of the initial funding contribution.

Brokerage accounts are for risk money not for safe money. Almost any broker who is honest will admit to having lost some clients money. In all honesty I have never lost a clients money with Fixed Indexed Annuity products. I will admit that some brokerage clients will make more money with equity products but the average clients don’t exceed the performance of the Fixed Indexed Annuity products.

What about Bank CD performance. Often the rate of return on CD’s does not keep up with the rate of inflation.

What about Real Estate
Think housing slump, Think lack of liquidity, think potential drop of home prices.

What about Corporate Bonds
Bond prices fluctuate. When current interest rates rise exising bond prices drop. This even happens with good bonds. Never mind the Bank Bonds or Mortgage Lender bonds which looked good a year or two ago. Where are most of them now?

The best Solution is of course diversification into multiple asset classes. However I believe that an intelligent client of almost any age from 20-80 plus should have a singificant portion of their assets committed to the safe money category of Fixed Indexed Annuity products!!!

Lets not forget the tax advantaged growth of annuities, the guarantee of principal found with Fixed Indexed Annuity products and the ability to create a lifetime income stream just like a pension!

Tom

]]> By: victor http://www.theretirementpros.com/blog/2008/02/the-one-annuity-you-should-never-own/comment-page-1/#comment-122 victor Thu, 21 Feb 2008 01:52:41 +0000 http://www.theretirementpros.com/blog/2008/02/05/the-one-annuity-you-should-never-own/#comment-122 So much retirement blog can be found on boomermingle c o m, many seniors there are discussing it. Are you intersted in? So much retirement blog can be found on boomermingle c o m, many seniors there are discussing it. Are you intersted in?

]]> By: TJ McCue http://www.theretirementpros.com/blog/2008/02/the-one-annuity-you-should-never-own/comment-page-1/#comment-93 TJ McCue Wed, 06 Feb 2008 09:13:50 +0000 http://www.theretirementpros.com/blog/2008/02/05/the-one-annuity-you-should-never-own/#comment-93 Hi there, I was referred to your blog via another blogger and her site is now escaping me..But, she had you as one of her faves. I am working with a CPA (my client) who has helps his clients create solo 401k plans to invest in alternative investments like real estate, franchises, startups. I'm sure you are familiar with this, more than me. Have you written about this topic at all? I'm not trying to pitch you, but to see if you could point me to the articles/posts. If someone could contact me via email, i would like to learn more about your work and plans for your site. Thanks, TJ McCue Hi there,
I was referred to your blog via another blogger and her site is now escaping me..But, she had you as one of her faves.

I am working with a CPA (my client) who has helps his clients create solo 401k plans to invest in alternative investments like real estate, franchises, startups. I’m sure you are familiar with this, more than me.

Have you written about this topic at all? I’m not trying to pitch you, but to see if you could point me to the articles/posts. If someone could contact me via email, i would like to learn more about your work and plans for your site.

Thanks,
TJ McCue

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