Cody Lewis |
February 4, 2015 |
Annuity Basics, Retirement Planning
I don’t think I have received more questions or have seen as much confusion as I have concerning annuities and life insurance. For today’s discussion, we are going to focus on annuities – how they’re sold, how they’re bought, and what is important when buying not just annuities, but any financial product or service. The only product that may be more confusing to understand and explain than annuities is life insurance. They are similar in many ways, but most notably that they are both insurance...
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Erick Jon Arnett |
January 14, 2015 |
Annuity Basics, Income For Life, Inflation, Retirement Planning
So consider this source: I am an independent advisor, and I have been in the industry for 15 years. I have worked for big banks, small banks, a retail brokerage, fledgling hedge fund managers, registered investment advisory firms, and now I am completely independent and objective. I have seen it all and have had exposure to almost every tool or investment product that exists out there. I don’t say this to brag by any means. There are probably far smarter and better experts (as they...
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Richard Ericson |
October 31, 2014 |
Retirement Planning
There are many risks we deal with every single day of our lives. Some risks can be insured; others are uninsurable; and yet others are self-insured, meaning we carry the burden of risk upon ourselves. Risk management is the practice of appraising and controlling risk. Risk can, and should be, profitable for you now, as well as in the future. Are you ready for these risks? What if you become sick, disabled or pass away? What if your spouse dies? What if your car gets...
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Mark Lumia |
October 17, 2014 |
Retirement Planning
If you are reading this article right now, it is likely that you fall into one of these three categories: 1) You’re retired 2) You will soon be retired and are in the process of planning your retirement 3) You’re a successful professional planning ahead for retirement Regardless of which category you fall into, you’re in the right place. What you are about to learn is extremely important when it comes to building your retirement plan the right way. You don’t want anything falling through...
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Mel Brandon |
October 8, 2014 |
Fixed Annuities, Income Riders, Index Annuities, Retirement Planning, Variable Annuities
Which came first? Throughout the ages, the question of the chicken or the egg has led to many discussions and even more questions. This article is not about chickens or eggs, but it is about the order that we should think about financial matters. On first introduction, we are often asked, “What do you think of a specific investment, insurance product, or style of investing?” There is only one correct answer to this type of question: “It depends.” The intent is not to be vague...
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John P. Grimes |
September 8, 2014 |
Retirement Planning
The kids are off to college, your parents are still living independently, and there you are with your significant other, roaming around a big, empty house wondering why, and it hits you: “Let’s downsize!” Financially, it makes perfect sense. You’re paying for a lot of house you’re not using. You’ve got a big yard to maintain and a lot of stuff that you haven’t used in years. If you’ve owned the house for a while, you probably have some equity that could be used to...
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Chad Golseth |
August 28, 2014 |
Inflation, Retirement Planning
So the title (Retirement 101: Planning for FV=PV(1+i)t3) of my article is a bit odd, you say? Maybe it is to you, but it most certainly shouldn’t be to a professional financial advisor. I find it curious how so many advisors all across the country fail to solve for FV. What is FV, you ask? It represents “Future Value” (as in, the future value of your money) of course. Why is factoring inflation so important to the hard-earned asset base that you have accumulated to...
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Brandon Bowen |
July 29, 2014 |
Annuity Basics, Retirement Planning
As you consider all of your financial options, there is one simple question or thought that you must filter your decisions and strategies through to have a successful, independent retirement. However, before you can look at various solutions, you have to understand the needs of your household. Once you know how much your monthly expenses are and how much you need for income in retirement, you are now ready to take the next step. The single most important question that you and your advisor must...
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Kelly Shaw |
July 21, 2014 |
Fixed Annuities, Index Annuities, Retirement Planning
I’ve been a financial advisor for over 22 years, and one thing I’ve learned is that when most clients approach retirement, they consider themselves conservative investors. Yet in 22 years of examining retired clients’ asset mixes, I find that most are actually allocated more toward a moderately aggressive mix. Why is there such a discrepancy between what they want and what they have? The reason is that most of them don’t have a very clear picture of what retirement looks like to them – what...
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Frank Kalantari |
July 14, 2014 |
Retirement Planning
The first part of this question is very simple to answer. When do you begin planning for your retirement? The answer in my opinion is, “AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.” To give you a simple example of how this time concept works, imagine someone at age 20 sets aside only $50 per week for 10 years at 7% and stops adding any more money until age 65, he will have more money than if another person starts the same savings plan at age 30, and continues...
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