According to ImmediateAnnuities.com, nearly $9 Billion in immediate annuities were purchased in 2012.  However, insurers think the demand is there for significantly more sales with a few additional features being added to their products.   For years the knock on immediate annuities was lack of flexibility once purchased and the negative gamble of the policy [...]

Secondary Market Annuities have been gaining in popularity in recent years as interest rates continue to trend downward.  But What are SMA’s?  According to www.SecondaryMarketAnnuity.net:   Secondary Market Annuities are simply existing in-force Structured Settlement Annuities that people seek to sell for cash today. You may have heard radio and TV jingles for this business. [...]

We all want to know that we will retire comfortably and live out the retirement we’ve always dreamed of.  Since we were young, we have always been ingrained with the idea that we can be whatever we want to be when we grow up.  For most of us, we probably aren’t living out the lives [...]

Here’s a link to a Video on WSJ.com about Annuities: http://live.wsj.com/video/annuities-the-pros-and-cons/0F4C9BF2-7796-4559-88E3-310B714578BE.html#!0F4C9BF2-7796-4559-88E3-310B714578BE   This is a good report on some of the benefits and tradeoffs of Variable annuities with an assortment of riders, primarily income and death benefit riders.  Please take a minute to watch it.  However, we would challenge WSJ to include multiple types of [...]

Annuities are becoming more and more popular every year.  Sales numbers continue to increase.  The concepts are becoming more mainstream.  Even President Obama is recommending annuities.  In this article from the Boston Globe, Lynn Asinof writes of some of the reasons for the increased popularity and president endorsement.   Today, however, annuities are making a [...]

Annuities are financial tools which have many features.  Growth is one purpose of purchasing an annuity.  There are annuities and annuity-like products in the market which provide growth while ensuring that you never lose your principal.   Not every annuity is going to solve for growth so make sure that you understand how they work.  [...]

There’s great news for annuity advisors and consumers alike.  Aplifi has created a software program that allows insurance carriers to accept applications for annuities digitally.  This software will dramatically cut the time and money spent on mailing, printing, and processing paper applications.  A large insurer’s recent study on their internal processing found that 84% of applications [...]

-Marketwatch    – In August 2011, with gold at a peak, Gallup Inc. asked investors where they’d want to keep money long-term. Gold GCM3 -0.15% was the best investment for 34% of those queried.   The yellow metal gleamed brighter than stocks, bonds and real estate. A year ago, gold’s dominance had slipped, with 28% of [...]

Is it possible for me to make money while I go to Augusta National golf course to enjoy the legendary Masters tournament?  If your money is invested in the stock market, sure you may make money, but you may lose money.  If your money is invested in a bank CD, you should be safe, but [...]

Annuity sales declined 8% in 2012 according to Limra.  Total annuity sales were $52.6 billion in the fourth quarter and $219.4 billion for 2012.  Although it does look like this is a downward trend, there are a few reasons why the annuity market will rebound.  Income annuities hit a record high in 2012, eclipsing the [...]