Brokerages are marketing structured products that use complex derivatives and promising equity-like returns with less risk. But they are not as safe as they may appear to be, and experts say that most of them are actually worth less than what you pay for them, according to Jane J. Kim and Ben Levinsohn in their […]
Much of the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Legislation passed by Congress is broad-brush painting with the critical details to be contained in regulations created by the Securities and Exchange Commission. For investors, one of the most important of these regulations will determine whether brokers will be held to a fiduciary duty standard, and ? most importantly […]
In the wake of broad stock market declines and uncertainty, it is only natural that investors are attracted by products with promises of downside protection, a minimal guaranteed return, and a slice of any increase of the stock market. Equity-indexed annuities are marketed by insurance companies as having those attributes, but they carry downsides and […]
Sales pitches often misrepresent and fail to disclose important facts about equity-indexed annuities, according to Mel Lindauer in his August 13, 2010 Forbes article, “The Truth About Equity-Indexed Annuities.” Despite claims that they are simple, equity-indexed annuities are so complex that most people who sell them have an insufficient understanding of how they operate, according […]
It is no surprise that retirees are often the targets of investment scams. But it is a surprise that the scammers are often empathy-challenged senior citizens themselves, and that is surprising. Attorneys and advocates for the elderly are reporting an increase in the number of elder scams perpetrated people their age, according to an article […]
In the current interest rate environment, investments traditionally viewed as “conservative” such as money-market accounts or certificates of deposit are yielding investors almost nothing. As such, many retirees or “conservative” investors are in a bind and looking at alternatives to provide them with a yield that gives them sufficient annual income. One of the alternatives […]
Public school teachers have filed a class action lawsuit against The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Co., known as VALIC, according to a recent article in InvestmentNews by Darla Mercado. The teachers are suing on behalf of all individuals who bought a VALIC deferred annuity after Jan. 1, 1974, in order to fund a qualified retirement […]
Financial advisors’ unenthusiastic reception of recently-offered lower-cost variable annuities confirms what most observers took for granted ? that variable annuity sales are driven primarily by commissions. See “Slimmer variable annuities attract thin following,” InvestmentNews, Jan. 10, 2010, by Darla Mercado.
A four-year class action lawsuit brought on behalf of hundreds of thousands of American consumers against insurance giant Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America has come to a confusing and contradictory end, reported the Minnesota StarTribune in its October 14, 2009 article entitled, “A split decision in Allianz Life annuity lawsuit.” Or has it? […]
Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a rule that brought Equity Index Annuities within its regulatory jurisdiction and provided greater investor protection. Previously, those insurance products were not considered to be securities subject to SEC regulation. The SEC rule was challenged in court by a group of insurance companies. A federal court of […]
