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Check Out Guarding Your Wealth
By JLP | September 5, 2007
I was talking with my dad the other day and he told me about a website he found called GuardingYourWealth. It’s a website written by Jeffrey Voudrie, a Certified Financial Planner. His website is full of articles about annuities, insurance and other exciting (yes, exciting) topics.
I suppose I like Jeffrey’s website because we see eye-to-eye on a lot of topics. Like me, he’s not a big fan of equity-indexed annuities. In addition to his shorter articles, he also offers longer reports (you will have to give your email address and zipcode in order to gain access to the free report).
Anyway, there’s lots of interesting (and controversial) stuff there so go check it out.
Topics: Blogging | 7 Comments »
September 5th, 2007 at 10:29 am
how great it would be if every day a new prospective sucker reads of the horrors of annuities on this board and politely tells salesman , “not interested, thanks.”
September 5th, 2007 at 10:37 am
muddlehead,
Aside from equity-indexed annuities, not all annuities are bad. The problem is finding a reputable source to explain the ins and outs of annuities, whose pay is not dependent upon which annuity you purchase.
Also, it really bugs me that there is such a huge disparity in the commissions that annuities pay. It makes it very difficult for people to decide which is best. Of course the insurance industry loves it this way. They must, or they would outlaw a lot of the crap that’s out there.
I say if annuities are that great for the investor, then why not give them the same commission structure as mutual funds.
September 5th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
A general rule-of-thumb regarding sales commissions: The tougher the sale, the greater the commission. In other words, the less something makes sense, logically and financially, the more you have to pay someone to push it over more sensible products.
September 5th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
jlp, we’ll have to agree to disagree. and i would like you to respond so we can educate about annuities in a friendly manner. here’s my complaint. please don’t take it personally. when you in your position of reverence on this board say “not all annuities are bad”, you are misleading the readers. i think they are all bad due to – 1. high hidden fees 2. the incredible idea a buyer is giving up all rights to the money in exchange for an annual return 3. the fact you could invest with a similar return in cd’s and keep the money in your control once the cd’s mature. 4. any human being who would sell another an annuity in an ira account format is a bad, bad person.
September 5th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Vanguard annuities aren’t all that expensive.
I wouldn’t suggest sticking all your dough in an annuity, but annuitizing a small portion (perhaps 1/4 to 1/3) for folks that are risk adverse might be worthwhile. The key is keeping the costs down and use them appropriately.
So, I agree that you should hang up on the sales calls, but look into buying them from a discount broker, if they appeal to you.
September 5th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
muddlehead,
I’m not going to say that ALL annuities are bad because they aren’t. Yes, A LOT of them are crap but there are annuities that are good.
1. As lorax said, you don’t have to buy a high-cost annuity. Vanguard offers some great annuities at a fraction of the cost of some of the broker-sold products.
2. Vanguard even offers riders (for a fee) that will grow the income at a specified interest rate (called an inflation rider).
3. Part of the appeal of annuities is the fact that your annuity payment consists of two parts: 1. Income and 2. a return of principal. If you choose a lifetime benefit, you receive the payment for as long as you live. Yes, it’s a gamble but for some people, the product fits.
Finally, I don’t sell annuities.
September 6th, 2007 at 10:07 am
hello friends. it seems from where i sit the same people who were selling whole/universal life insurance have now moved into annuities. that is not a good sign. term life insurance is 100% awesome. all anybody ever needs. period. the whole/universal life insurance product is the biggest scam ever. people used to debate me on that point by saying for a few, for example, those who couldn’t get medical insurance, whole/universal provided for that… blah blah. my answer. great. for 1% of the population whole/universal might work. same for this now ubiquitous annuity thing. “investing” in any insurance product is bad for your financial health. you’re saying annuities can work for some – and even then go to a vanguard for it. i love vanguard for no load index funds. i would like to see some specifics of how a vanguard annuity has a place in anyone’s portfolio.