Young Research & Publishing Inc.

Investment Research Since 1978

Disclosure

  • About Us
    • Contributors
    • Archives
    • Dick Young’s Safe America
    • The Final Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report
    • You’ve Read The Last Issue of Intelligence Report, Now What?
    • Dick Young’s Research Key: Anecdotal Evidence Gathering
    • Crisis at Vanguard
  • Investment Analysis
    • Bonds
    • Currencies and Gold
    • Dividend Investing
    • ETFs & Funds
    • Investment Strategy
    • Retirement Investing
    • Stocks
    • The Efficient Frontier
  • Investment Counsel
  • Retirement Compounders®
  • Free Email Signup

Your Success is a Choice

June 24, 2014 By E.J. Smith

EJ-SmithOver the weekend I read an article on the top 50 annuities. It was the weekly feature in a major financial publication. I can only conclude that someone has to pay to keep the lights on at the publication.

Most investors have a number of investing options they should do first, like max out their 401(k), IRA, Profit Sharing etc., before buying an annuity. The guys that need annuities most tend to have more pressing problems such as whether they should weekend on Nantucket or in the Hamptons. They have money.

Investors that don’t have a lot of money to spare should stay away from annuities, especially variable annuities. This is the worst of the bunch and they’re often sold with a full-court press by a salesman. Variable annuities are the 800 pound gorilla in the living room, comprising 80% of the category’s $142 billion in sales last year. They’re not liquid and they cost a fortune in fees.

A lot of investors will read the article as the Bible on annuities. And they’ll jump in headfirst. That’s a mistake. It was not a genuine piece. A lot of investors are going to end up with this crap in their portfolio because their broker read it.

I’ll give you two examples.

One advisor claims income annuities are better than 30-year bonds. I consider both to be questionable investments today. His reasoning was the bonds could lose value if interest rates go up. That’s true. But investors buying that long maturity should understand duration risk before buying. I don’t like the comparison. And annuities with fixed returns also suffer in comparison as rates rise.

Another broker that sells annuities said the whole model really depends on some dying younger than others. That’s how the model works. Someone has to pay, right? That’s how the math works. But the publication isn’t complaining. Someone has to pay to keeps the lights on.

Your success is a choice.

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

You Might Also Like:

  • Your First Step Toward Investment Success
  • Will You Outlive Your Money?
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
E.J. Smith
E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris.

Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com

Click here to sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
Latest posts by E.J. Smith (see all)
  • Your Retirement Life: Adventure Awaits - February 3, 2023
  • Early Advice from Her Dad on Tipping at Charlie Trotter’s - February 2, 2023
  • Reagan’s America Remembered by Your Survival Guy and More - February 1, 2023

Search Young Research

Most Popular

  • Tom Brady Retires, Again. Should You?
  • Suddenly, Holding Cash Looks Good Again to Many
  • What Happens if the "Fed Put" Is Over for Good?
  • Are the Realists Winning the Debate over the Future of EVs?
  • Warren Miller: If You Don’t Do It This Year, You’ll Be…
  • Reagan's America Remembered by Your Survival Guy and More
  • Vanguard Wellesley (VWINX) vs. Wellington (VWELX): Which Fund is Best?
  • Biden Administration Destroying Retiree Fiduciary Protections
  • What Kind of Life Are You Investing For?
  • CATO: Global Freedom Is in Sharp Decline

Don’t Miss

Default Risk Among the Many Concerns with Annuities

Risk and Reward: An Efficient Frontier

How to be a Billionaire: Proven Strategies from the Titans of Wealth

Could this Be the Vanguard GNMA Winning Edge?

Cryptocosm and Life After Google

Warning: Avoid Mutual Fund Year End Distributions

Is Gold a Good Long-term Investment?

How to Invest in Gold

Vanguard Wellington (VWELX): The Original Balanced Fund

What is the Best Gold ETF for Investing and Trading?

Procter & Gamble (PG) Stock: The Only True Dividend King

The Dividend King of the North

You’ll Love This if You’re Dreaming of an Active Retirement Life

RSS The Latest at Richardcyoung.com

  • EVs and Human Trafficking/Modern Slavery
  • USA and Russia: A Global War for Resources?
  • TERROR TACTICS: Globalists Use Fear to Demand Compliance
  • Your Retirement Life: Adventure Awaits
  • Are Flights About to Get MORE Expensive?
  • Dick Young: Learn from Hillsdale College Online
  • Is Amazon’s Slowdown a Warning?
  • Chinese Spy Balloon Traveling Over Sensitive U.S. Sites
  • Breaking News: Reform at New College, Sarasota, Florida
  • German Opposition Leader Denounces the Country’s “Insane Drunkenness about War”

RSS The Latest at Yoursurvivalguy.com

  • Your Retirement Life: Adventure Awaits
  • Zumwalt-Class Guided Missile Destroyers to Get Hypersonic Weapons
  • Early Advice from Her Dad on Tipping at Charlie Trotter’s
  • Treasury Bonds Ready to Rock and Roll
  • Survive and Thrive February 2023: 4 Life Changing Words: “You Should Try This”
  • Tom Brady Retires, Again. Should You?
  • Reagan’s America Remembered by Your Survival Guy and More
  • America’s Unprecedented Debt Problem
  • Iran’s Ballistic Missiles Could Give Russia the Edge in Ukraine
  • What Kind of Life Are You Investing For?

About Us

  • About Young Research
  • Archives
  • Contributors

Our Partners

  • Richard C. Young & Co.
  • Richardcyoung.com

Copyright © 2023 | Terms & Conditions

 

Loading Comments...
 

    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.