I do a lot of reading, and I know that my clients do as well. I find in my daily exposure to retail clients, advisors, investment brokers and the media that a particular asset class or type is always in the crosshairs of someone. Whether it’s because that source doesn’t have the ability to sell or use the product, which is often the case, and they are ripping it apart hoping to gain clientele by looking like a hero or they are simply jumping on the band wagon of shredding a particular investment… because everyone else is, or they just want to sell their book… t happens on a daily basis.
The most recent example of this is in the case of non-traded REIT’s, but we have also seen it with variable annuities and just about every other financial product being offered to the public. By way of observation, this commentary typically lags reality… not keeping pace with the investing public who are relying on this type of commentary to make good decisions with their money, much like the regulatory environment that governs our industry in delivering their critique.
Example: I am not a huge fan of the variable annuity for instance, because I think that there are more efficient ways of exposing someone suitable for equity exposure to the market, however, they were being sold like hotcakes back in the late 80’s and early 90’s before the little downward adjustment we saw in equity values and everyone was making money. Even those that probably shouldn’t have owned them… they were making money too. I don’t recall a suitability gauntlet back then, any bad press because of fees/expenses… ou get the point.
The Essay on History of Money
... old. A long time ago, people did not buy or sell with money. Instead, they traded one thing for another to get ... his cow in half. But if he sells his cow for money, and buys wheat with money, he can get exactly the amount ... longer than most trade goods. If someone sells a cow for money, he can save that money away until he needs it. He ...
The fact is when people are making money and the environment is supporting the product class or type, everything is fabulous. Reality is, there are good and bad products being sold in every product category, in every environment, and even a few bad people selling them… true of any industry yes? Just because you dealt with a shifty salesman at your local Toyota dealership, does not warrant a blast from you about Toyota or automobiles for that matter… specially when we find out you sell Fords.
You get the point… The minute the dominos start falling the other way, we look in the rear view and say bad, bad, bad. I prefer real-time and I suspect that most of our clients would prefer that as well. The plain truth about annuity bad press I digress. The point of this is that people are relying on our commentary to make decisions believe it or not.
I think there is good argument for most investors to have exposure to most product and asset classes if they are properly educated, well informed and not being back doored by crafty sales folks… just look at any asset allocation chart and it would suggest the same. We need to get away from suggesting that because we only deal with one particular product class that everything else is not worth our clients consideration. I have never seen an asset allocation chart that was all one color, have you?
What… A positive article about annuities? Premier Annuity Source, LLC would like to acknowledge columnist Scott Burns. Scott has been an outspoken critic of annuities over the years. He is often introducing good debate and discussion over the place of annuities in a client’s retirement and safe-money portfolio. And while we don’t always agree with Scotts opinion, he has never shied away from bringing a differing securities viewpoint into the insurance and retirement planning industry.
The Essay on Bad Boss Good Boss
“Servants don’t know a good master until they have served a worse,” (Aesop). By the tender age of eighteen, most people have had a job. Whatever that job was, the kind of master –boss encountered most likely made a big difference in how work performance is perceived and what constitutes a good or a bad boss. The collaborative relationship or lack there of, between an employee and employer is a ...
However, in a recent article, Scott agreed that under current market conditions and low interest rate environment, annuities can often be the best safe money option. “Other than a stable value fund, you likely have no options in your 401(k) plans. Sadly, there are no “good old days” options anywhere. All we can do is look for the best safe offer available. Right now that appears to be in CD-like annuity contracts. The highest yield among these can produce a good deal more than the highest-yielding certificates of deposit. “
