Investors who purchased variable rate annuities with guaranteed minimum returns may be surprised to learn that the guarantee is not necessarily guaranteed. Under some contracts, it is possible for the insurer who wrote the annuity to cancel the guarantee or significantly reduce its payout.
With the decline in the major stock market indexes, many life insurance agents are now urging their customers to buy Equity Indexed Universal Life Policies, or EIUL’s. These policies have a life insurance component that pays a benefit when you die plus an investment component which usually earns a portion of the gains of a […]
On May 13, 2009, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) approved a rule change that requires brokers to disclose alleged sales practice violations made by a customer against a securities broker in the body of a civil lawsuit or arbitration claim, even if that broker is not named as a defendant or respondent. The […]
Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC has had trouble retaining some of the most successful brokers in its Private Client Group as a result of questionable sales practices. According to an article in Investment News, dozens of brokers serving Fidelity’s most affluent clients recently left the firm because, even though they were required to obtain certified financial […]
Investors owning variable annuities should carefully review their investments from several perspectives. Investors should evaluate the risks that they have been exposed to in the past and consider whether they wish to continue being exposed to such risks in the future. This is particularly important for variable annuity investors, many of whom sought a relatively […]
Following a year in which stocks have dropped by more than 40%, brokers and insurance salesman are aggressively pushing the Equity Indexed Annuity (EIA) as an investment by which an investor can participate in the upside of the stock market without any exposure to the downside. As a smart investor, you shouldn’t fall for this […]
Recently many investors in variable annuities have experienced unanticipated losses. Since some people purchase variable annuities based on the assumption that they are immune to market fluctuations, many have learned the hard way that, like mutual funds, variable annuities invested in equity “sub-accounts” can lose significant value. However, if a variable annuity is sold to […]
401(k) Plans ? the primary retirement savings vehicles for most Americans ? have lost more than $500 billion over the past 12 months as a result of the market crisis, as reported by Eleanor Laise of the Wall Street Journal on October 11, 2008 in an article entitled “Statement Shock Hits 401(k)s.” The average 401(k) […]
Variable annuities have long been known to be poor products for almost all investors. Insurance companies, however, made tremendous profits in selling them and paid high commission to brokers. Now, in the wake of massive stock market declines, variable annuities are starting to drag down the profits at such insurers. According to a recent article […]
Where is the end to the Fed’s willingness to bailout faltering businesses by nationalizing them and subjecting taxpayers to extensive risk? Unfortunately, in the current economic environment, there are countless major companies across the American economy whose business plans are faltering. Among those in serious trouble, are most of the airline companies, most of the […]
