How to avoid deer-in-headlight syndrome

[Charpress]

No, it does not. You can turn income on and off.

Spouse inherits with all accumulation and all options.

Children inherit with option to take full 12% accumulation stretched over lifetime or take lump-sum walkaway with guaranteed minimum accumulation of 6% per year from origination of policy.

Are there downsides? A few, but you have to sit down across the table from me hear about it.

 

[joshril]

No, it does not. You can turn income on and off.

Spouse inherits with all accumulation and all options.

Children inherit with option to take full 12% accumulation stretched over lifetime or take lump-sum walkaway with guaranteed minimum accumulation of 6% per year from origination of policy.

Are there downsides? A few, but you have to sit down across the table from me hear about it.

Sounds like a reasonable product for someone that has money they want to pass on and don't intend on spending much of it... Which is a common scenario...

 

[Charpress]

Yes, that is true enough. But it is marketed towards the 50 something who may want to defer for 10-15 years and then start a stream of guaranteed lifetime income at retirement.

Unless, of course, someone wants to depend solely on Social Security to be there in it's present form 15 years down the road.

 

[somarco]

you have to sit down across the table from me hear about it.

I KNEW there was a catch!

BTW, I like the new avatar. The monkey was freaking me out.

 

[Charpress]

I like the new avatar. The monkey was freaking me out.

Decided to upload my actual photo.

 

[somarco]

Dang, I thought you were dead . . .

 

[Charpress]

Nope. Got tired of the Hollywood scene, went into rehab, and decided to sell insurance.

 

[Mr. Bill]

I see dead people!

Dang - I must be in Houston!

Local 2 Investigates Dead Voters - Local 2 Investigates News Story - KPRC Houston

 

[patch36]

I have a seminar coming up in 2 weeks that was planned and paid for before the recent (well, most recent) market tanking.

I will be stressing safety and moving away from market risk -the usual thing. Here's the problem, when there is a reasonably volatile market it is fairly easy to get people to move because they are merely nervous about he market.

With what we are seeing now, people I meet literally look like deer in the headlights. They are scared silly and don't want to move anything. This is mostly because they have lost so much that they will not even consider taking the losses by liquidating.

You can make the usual arguments about stopping losses and participating in future gains if the market comes back with indexing, but right now it does not seem to be working.

Any bright ideas out there? I hate to put on an expensive seminar and look out at 35 deer in the headlights.

I can't imagine a better time. Annuities have been given instant credibility with the recent events of the markets. Sure some of the money is going to be hard to pry loose, but not all money should be pryed loose. As often as not, you are planting seeds and developing future customers.

The bonus products are for the most part the only annuities I sell. The money appropriate for these products is in the market, but also in older annuities and CD's. A simple 14pct plus return on a typical 10 + pct bonuse product in the fixed account is a lot better than these folks will probably get if they hang in the market. We are in for a long recovery and and uncertain recovery at best, so the selling of the concept is especially easy right now.

It was really hard selling the concept a year ago when the market was gaining and recovering from the last downfall, but now the point is made for you by the 6 o'clock news.

I hate the Allianz 22pct pitch. After you explain it, it will seem like way too much fine print for people who just lost 40pct of their life savings in the last 12 months. The 14pct pitch (bonus plus fixed interest) will sound pretty damn good and their is no fine print other than surrender period.

Did I mention I don't like Allianz I don't like the complication of the product, the death benefits, the withdrawal provisions,... AVIVA, Midland, North American, and a few others are a lot cleaner and client friendly. Just my personal preference and like most of us Annuity guys, I am like the products I am used to and the ones easiest to explain to the potential client. I deal for the most part with 65 +. If I was dealing with Boomers more, I may have a different perspective on products.

 

[xrac]

Here is some new stock market terminology that you might use. It will bring a laugh and would be a good launching point to discuss things and how you differ. Personally I think presenting EIA's isn't out of line. An EIA would be a way of protecting against further loss but also allows some participation if and when the market comes back.

VALUE INVESTING-The art of buying low and selling lower.

P/E RATIO - The percentage of investors wetting their pants as the market keeps crashing.

BROKER -What my broker has made me.

STANDARD & POOR - Your life in a nutshell.

STOCK ANALYST - *** who just downgraded your stock.

STOCK SPLIT -When your ex-wife and her lawyer split your assets equally between themselves.

FINANCIAL PLANNER - A guy whose phone has been disconnected.

MARKET CORRECTION - The day after you buy stocks.

CASH FLOW - The movement your money makes as it disappears down the toilet.

YAHOO - What you yell after selling it to some poor sucker for $240 per share.

WINDOWS - What you jump out of when you\'re the sucker who bought Yahoo @$240 per share.

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR - Past year investor who's now locked up in a nuthouse.

PROFIT - An archaic word no longer in use