An Unanticipated Recommendation |
August 17, 2012 |
Cal Burgess, Indexed Universal Life, Life Insurance, Member Posts, Retirement Planning
Written By: Cal Burgess | Retirement Servicing Group A few months ago I made a recommendation to a referral (now a client) regarding an indexed universal life policy. His financial goals were straight forward; he wanted to protect his money from rising federal income taxes while protecting as much of his money from market risk as possible. When we met, I could tell that he was frustrated with the performance of his portfolio and was skeptical about other financial vehicles that he entertained. After about...
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Death of the Traditional Pension Plan |
June 7, 2012 |
Cal Burgess, Income For Life, Member Posts, Retirement Planning
Written By: Cal Burgess, Retirement Servicing Group PLLC The traditional pension plan is a concept from the past that is likely to never come back to the American culture. The concept of the pension plan is ingrained into the fabric of our country’s roots, and Generation X is going to be the first generation in US history that will not experience the benefits of this retirement plan. Through adamant deregulation of the investment banking industry from the early 1980s throughout the 1990s, deteriorating market conditions...
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The Accumulation Phase is the Missing Link |
June 4, 2012 |
Cal Burgess, Income For Life, Member Posts, Retirement Planning, Your Retirement
Written By: Cal Burgess, Retirement Servicing Group With respect to income and retirement planning, there are 3 phases of life. The introduction phase, the accumulation phase, and the preservation phase. The second phase, the accumulation phase, is the phase of life where you accumulate funds to retire (working years of life), pay off as much debt as possible, and try to achieve the best quality of life you can. This is the phase that is destroying the American dream of retirement. Most of us grew...
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How Policy Owners Were Able to Survive The Fall of AIG |
May 30, 2012 |
Cal Burgess, Index Annuities, Life Insurance, Member Posts
Written By: Cal Burgess, Retirement Servicing Group The financial correction of 2008 is undoubtedly one of the most memorable events in US history. Several companies fell at that time including financial giants AIG and Lehman Bros. We all know the story of how the credit lines of these companies were extended by the Federal stimulus, which came to over $800 billion up front. Most people think companies like AIG fell because of financial insolvency. This was not the case at all. AIG fell because of...
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Adaptation to an Evolving Market |
May 25, 2012 |
Cal Burgess, Member Posts, Retirement Planning, The Global Economy, The United States Economy
Written By: Cal Burgess, Retirement Servicing Group PLLC In the latter part of March 2012, despite the growing concerns of a debt-ridden Euro, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was able to creep above the 13,000 mark for the first time in 2012. Even with this market rally, the struggling mortgage industry lowered the 30-year fixed mortgage below 4 percent again (and mortgage interest rates are still falling). With legitimate foreign concerns and a troubled housing sector, the stock market has been able to sustain higher...
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Fear and Greed on Wall Street |
May 24, 2012 |
Annuity123, Cal Burgess, Member Posts, Retirement Planning, Your Retirement
Written by: Cal Burgess, Retirement Servicing Group A recent article on www.Money.Cnn.com titled “Fear and Greed Index” illustrates an accurate description of what is happening on Wall Street. Because of the recent volatility stemming around Greece and the Euro, and unemployment domestically, the fear gage for investors is all the way in the red. This means that investors as a whole do not put much faith in the outcome of their investments. Bottom line, volatility is becoming a normal event investors are unwilling to tolerate...
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