Anton Hendler |
August 14, 2014 |
Annuity Basics
Against a background of more and more talk of another market correction, we thought it a good time to revisit the role that Fixed Index Annuities (FIAs) play in one’s overall retirement strategy. Essentially you have your safe money-that is money that you want to protect and on which you never want to take a loss, and then you have ‘risk’ money-that is money that you are prepared to place at risk in return for promise of greater returns. As always, there is risk vs....
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Anton Hendler |
August 4, 2014 |
Annuity Basics
We spend so much time dwelling on why you should buy an annuity that we never go over some reasons not to do so. Also there are some myths out there regarding annuities that we hope to dispel. First, let us make the point that not all annuities are the same. We work primarily with Fixed Index Annuities which have little to nothing in common with, say, a variable annuity. For the purposes of this article for annuities read Fixed Index Annuities (FIA). 1) Your...
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Anton Hendler |
April 14, 2014 |
Index Annuities
Not that long ago, many corporate and government employees had the safety of a defined benefit pension plan which was funded by the employer and would provide a steady stream of “guaranteed” retirement income for the rest of their life. Sadly, this type of pension plan is a disappearing commodity and, with them, goes the security of an income stream to support one throughout retirement. So, given the inevitability of the current trend to alternative vehicles, what can a retiree or future retiree do to...
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Anton Hendler |
March 21, 2014 |
Fixed Annuities, Index Annuities
Given the current market uncertainty we thought it a good time to revisit the question of Fixed Index Annuities (FIAs) and whether one can, in fact, gain without losing. The short answer is, of course, yes. But there are a few points that need to be made to properly explain what is meant by gaining and losing. Certainly with a FIA you will never share in any market losses. Your gains, if there is a gain, are ‘locked in’ on a set basis (usually every...
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Anton Hendler |
March 4, 2014 |
Annuity Basics
With the recent uncertainty around bitcoin in general and Mt.Gox (the biggest bitcoin exchange) in particular, we felt this was an apt time to reiterate a few of the points we have made in recent months regarding Fixed Index Annuities (FIAs). For those not familiar, bitcoin is a virtual currency that can be used as payment for certain transactions and is traded on various exchanges. According to their site bitcoin “uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority or banks; managing transactions and the...
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