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Digg it UP - Annuities - Equity Indexed Annuities - Don't Take The Bait
Equity cards, offered by banks and financial institutions, are the newest way to access a home equity line of credit.Let's say you're about to embark on a large scale home-improvement project. You want to remodel a large portion of your house and add a sun room and a patio or deck.You also don't possess the cash to finance your dream project, and would like something more convenient than setting up a home equity line of credit. You definitely don't want to put those expenses onto a high-interest credit card.If you are a homeowner with equity in your home,
To make matters more confusing, on some contracts you don’t get the guaranteed minimum return on all of the money you put in. For instance, some pay a 3% guaranteed minimum return on just 80% of your initial investment. So in essence, you’re really guaranteed only 2.4%. That doesn’t sound as good, does it? When the list average on a short term Certificate of Deposit is around 5%, why would you want to lock in a 2.4% rate for 15 years?
How the index return is calcu
Where is the best place to invest in tax lien certificates or tax deeds? Most people are concerned about which lien states have the highest interest rates and which deed states start bidding at back taxes. I believe that the best place to start investing is in your own backyard. I think that it’s best to invest in an area that you know, because you’ll know what the property values are and you’ll know what to look out for. Each state has different problems that you have to be aware of, especially if you’re purchasing raw land.In Pennsylvania where I invest in tax deeds,
Of course, for bait to be effective, it has to be something the intended target will happily swallow. Insurance companies have created a wonderful presentation that uses smoke and mirrors to give investors the impression that equity-indexed annuities are the answer to all their financial problems. But the reality doesn’t live up to the promises.
The marketers of financial products know that one thing older investors want is simplicity. Seniors don’t want to have to wade through a lengthy sales pitch or be overwhelmed by financial techno-babble. Salespeople know if they can offer an apparently simple solution to investors, their chances of making the sale are greatly increased.
Equity-indexed annuities are presented as being a simple way to have risk-free growth of your nest egg. They promise a guaranteed minimum return, while keeping the growth potential of the market. They promise that you can’t lose any money and many even sweeten the pot with first year bonuses and riders that allow you to access your money for nursing home care and other early withdrawals. It all sounds so good and it’s so simple. But is it, really?
The answer is no. Equity-indexed annuities are actually very complicated.
Let’s take a closer look at how complicated equity-indexed annuities really are by starting with their chief claim, the guaranteed minimum return. Most investors have the impression that on a year-to-year basis they receive the guaranteed minimum return or the market return, whichever is higher.
But that’s not true. You either get the indexed return or guaranteed minimum return for the life of the contract, whichever is greater. So if it’s a 15 year contract, at the end of the 15 years, the insurance company looks back and figures whether you’d have earned more, at the guaranteed rate or the market return for the entire 15 years. So suddenly the guaranteed minimum isn’t too impressive.
To make matters more confusing, on some contracts you don’t get the guaranteed minimum return on all of the money you put in. For instance, some pay a 3% guaranteed minimum return on just 80% of your initial investment. So in essence, you’re really guaranteed only 2.4%. That doesn’t sound as good, does it? When the list average on a short term Certificate of Deposit is around 5%, why would you want to lock in a 2.4% rate for 15 years?
How the index return is calcul
Real estate agents have been using postcards to market themselves for decades. But why is it that some agents succeed time and time again, while others fail? What's the secret to postcard marketing success?For one thing, the successful agents understand the three-part harmony of real estate postcard marketing. The three-part harmony includes element that, when combined, increase your chances of success many times over."Enough!" you say. "What are the three parts?"The real estate postcard three-part harmony:1. The right audience 2. The ri
The marketers of financial products know that one thing older investors want is simplicity. Seniors don’t want to have to wade through a lengthy sales pitch or be overwhelmed by financial techno-babble. Salespeople know if they can offer an apparently simple solution to investors, their chances of making the sale are greatly increased.
Equity-indexed annuities are presented as being a simple way to have risk-free growth of your nest egg. They promise a guaranteed minimum return, while keeping the growth potential of the market. They promise that you can’t lose any money and many even sweeten the pot with first year bonuses and riders that allow you to access your money for nursing home care and other early withdrawals. It all sounds so good and it’s so simple. But is it, really?
The answer is no. Equity-indexed annuities are actually very complicated.
Let’s take a closer look at how complicated equity-indexed annuities really are by starting with their chief claim, the guaranteed minimum return. Most investors have the impression that on a year-to-year basis they receive the guaranteed minimum return or the market return, whichever is higher.
But that’s not true. You either get the indexed return or guaranteed minimum return for the life of the contract, whichever is greater. So if it’s a 15 year contract, at the end of the 15 years, the insurance company looks back and figures whether you’d have earned more, at the guaranteed rate or the market return for the entire 15 years. So suddenly the guaranteed minimum isn’t too impressive.
To make matters more confusing, on some contracts you don’t get the guaranteed minimum return on all of the money you put in. For instance, some pay a 3% guaranteed minimum return on just 80% of your initial investment. So in essence, you’re really guaranteed only 2.4%. That doesn’t sound as good, does it? When the list average on a short term Certificate of Deposit is around 5%, why would you want to lock in a 2.4% rate for 15 years?
How the index return is calcu
Electronic mail, abbreviated e-mail or email is a method of composing, sending and receiving messages over the Electronic Communication System. The enormous development of the Internet has enabled emails conveying useful information, to be transmitted simultaneously to several recipients worldwide in a matter of seconds. The Power, Reach and Sophistication of Emails are such that it has become the most inexpensive and effective way to promote your Internet Marketing Business. Building opt-in lists has become part and parcel of the ritual of Internet Marketing today. Let's
The answer is no. Equity-indexed annuities are actually very complicated.
Let’s take a closer look at how complicated equity-indexed annuities really are by starting with their chief claim, the guaranteed minimum return. Most investors have the impression that on a year-to-year basis they receive the guaranteed minimum return or the market return, whichever is higher.
But that’s not true. You either get the indexed return or guaranteed minimum return for the life of the contract, whichever is greater. So if it’s a 15 year contract, at the end of the 15 years, the insurance company looks back and figures whether you’d have earned more, at the guaranteed rate or the market return for the entire 15 years. So suddenly the guaranteed minimum isn’t too impressive.
To make matters more confusing, on some contracts you don’t get the guaranteed minimum return on all of the money you put in. For instance, some pay a 3% guaranteed minimum return on just 80% of your initial investment. So in essence, you’re really guaranteed only 2.4%. That doesn’t sound as good, does it? When the list average on a short term Certificate of Deposit is around 5%, why would you want to lock in a 2.4% rate for 15 years?
How the index return is calcu
Are Office Supply Super Stores Killing Your Business?Have you ever noticed how convenient those giant office super stores are? I mean we all use them. They’re on every corner out here in the suburbs of Boston. It’s Officethis or Officethat or something like Paperclips, you know, all the major players. Well, I’ve recently realized that over the past 10 years of prosperity that my small business has been paying a huge premium for this convenience. In the past several months, as a result of the recent economic downturn in our local economy, I have been doing everything I c
But that’s not true. You either get the indexed return or guaranteed minimum return for the life of the contract, whichever is greater. So if it’s a 15 year contract, at the end of the 15 years, the insurance company looks back and figures whether you’d have earned more, at the guaranteed rate or the market return for the entire 15 years. So suddenly the guaranteed minimum isn’t too impressive.
To make matters more confusing, on some contracts you don’t get the guaranteed minimum return on all of the money you put in. For instance, some pay a 3% guaranteed minimum return on just 80% of your initial investment. So in essence, you’re really guaranteed only 2.4%. That doesn’t sound as good, does it? When the list average on a short term Certificate of Deposit is around 5%, why would you want to lock in a 2.4% rate for 15 years?
How the index return is calcu
Perhaps the simplest of all the lessons I have learned about writing for search engines is to keep my pages simple. That is to say, whether I am thinking about my readers or about Google, there is a huge advantage to keeping most of your pages confined to a single topic.There are three approaches I take to the creation of a page, and each has a significant impact on how high the listing for that page appears on Google.>> #1 – When I don’t think about Google and cover multiple topics.There are times when a page is put up simply for the benefit of my readers
To make matters more confusing, on some contracts you don’t get the guaranteed minimum return on all of the money you put in. For instance, some pay a 3% guaranteed minimum return on just 80% of your initial investment. So in essence, you’re really guaranteed only 2.4%. That doesn’t sound as good, does it? When the list average on a short term Certificate of Deposit is around 5%, why would you want to lock in a 2.4% rate for 15 years?
How the index return is calculated is much more complicated. You’d think that the insurance company would just tie your market return to an established index, like the S&P 500, and mirror its return. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. There are over 40 different methods in which these rates are determined and they vary widely from company to company. The explanations for these calculations are so complex, there’s no way the average consumer could even hope to understand them. Even professionals find these methods extremely confusing.
Even if you could understand how your index return is calculated, it doesn’t matter because the insurance companies can change how they calculate it from year to year. They can also modify the maximums, minimums, participation rates, asset fees, other charges at their own discretion. And there’s nothing you can do about it.
Why would insurance companies do this? That part is very simple. Insurance companies understand the importance of keeping their flexibility and control, because they know that the markets and interest rate environments can change dramatically over the life of your contract. They put these safety valves in place so they make sure they make a profit. Of course, that can reduce how much you make.
If insurance companies put a high priority on maintaining their flexibility and control, shouldn’t you? Be smart and don’t take the bait purveyors of equity-indexed annuities are offering. Use your head and don’t get sucked into a deal that, like many others, you may soon live to regret.
Mr. Voudrie is a Certified Financial Planner, nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and President of Legacy Planning Group, Inc., a Private Wealth Management Firm in Johnson City, TN. He can be reached at jeff@guardingyourwealth.com
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