Finance explained.
Everything we do in life involves some element of risk. Some risks are known, and believed to be understood, while others are more uncertain and involve either probability or magnitude that we find difficult to quantify. When investing, we generally seek to obtain the highest return possible given the amount of risk that we are…
Picking the right life insurance is tricky. Should you go with the absolute cheapest coverage, term? Or is it better to buy a cash value policy such as whole life? What other choices do you have (such as return of premium) which may work better in your situation? Like many personal finance decisions, the right…
One of the more challenging aspects of advising clients about life insurance is helping them to recognize that life insurance is an “asset,” rather than an “expense”. For many people, this view is a bit of a foreign concept in a world where other types of insurance (auto, homeowners, health, and liability, just to name…
The variable annuity market experienced tremendous growth over the past decade. The introduction of a product which guarantees lifetime income payments while providing the opportunity for market growth was precisely what many investors were looking for. Companies such as Prudential, MetLife, AXA, Nationwide, Jackson, and Transamerica rolled out product after product which generated billions of…
Recent studies show that life insurance ownership is at a 35-year low with only 44% of US households owning some form of life insurance.* That statistic likely reflects the fact that families feel the need to drop their insurance coverage ahead of other items when times get tough. People need to understand that life insurance…
It seems like every time I turn around another variable annuity (VA) provider is closing its doors. Sun Life, John Hancock, AXA, Genworth, and ING are among the companies which have either limited new contributions to one of their VA products, taken some other step to minimize exposure to the VA market, or completely exited…
As most of my readers know, my blog is designed to inform clients about issues related to financial planning, investment products, and the economy. Lately I’ve been fielding more questions than usual about the various annuity products out there and which ones are best, the worst and potentially the most interesting. It’s also no surprise…
Welcome to one of the most misunderstood financial products out there. It’s no surprise how little most investors know about variable annuities because they’re extremely complicated and their explanations often come from insurance brokers and financial advisors who often don’t adequately explain their potential benefits and drawbacks. Over the past year variable annuity (VA) sales…
In the past long-term care insurance has been purchased primarily by middle and upper-middle class people. The wealthy tend to ‘self-fund’ their long-term care needs with extra assets which would otherwise be included in their estates. But now, with long-term care costs rising dramatically and over 40% of Americans 65 and older needing some sort…
The chatter surrounding variable annuities is louder than ever. Investors want security regarding their money in the face of increasing amounts of uncertainty about the future. Variable annuities may feed this desire with two features not generally offered together: the opportunity for growth combined with a variety of guarantees protecting both the payment to a…