New York Times Article about dinner seminars

[Tahoe Ray]

So obviously this guy handled the situation poorly but his presentation was inherently flawed...

Indexed annuities are not comparative to equities...they are a bond alternative.

So, if you're looking for an accumulation product that has a risk/return profile that sits nicely in between high quality bonds and a diversified stock portfolio, then you've found a great option.

If you're looking for lifetime income that is between a SPIA and a bond portfolio, then indexed annuities with lifetime income work.

If you can't qualify for life insurance and want to leave assets to your beneficiaries, then an indexed annuity with a death rider is a perfect fit.

When these products are allocated properly, they're a solid fit for most portfolios.

Unfortunately, this agent didn't take this approach.

Although, as someone who generates online leads and relies on SEO, I am pretty jealous that this guy got a backlink from the NY Times...the author did him a solid in that regard.

 

[DHK]

Finke: Why Annuities (and Free Steak Dinners) Deserve a Second Chance | ThinkAdvisor

“Most who do research on annuities,” like Olivia Mitchell of The Wharton School and Jeffrey Brown of the University of Illinois Gies College of Business, “agree that annuities are often an optimal choice for funding safe income in retirement. There’s no real argument about their value,” according to Finke.

Commenting on the shadier side of insurance-product sales, he said: “Insurance companies have the ability to limit abusive sales practices through self regulation. If they fail to do this, these types of articles will continue and consumer acceptance of annuities will be limited. This is also a problem.”

He continues:

“We’ve seen RIA firms use negative perceptions of annuities to drive their own business. This is a shrewd response to a failure to self-regulate. But it isn’t in the best interest of consumers who are looking for secure retirement income.”

 

[VolAgent]

The refusal of certain industries to self-regulate, particularly when dominated by a few key parties, continues to baffle me. Industry can either self-regulate or wait for the inevitable over reach by legislation. This has played out time and time again, yet each new industry wants to stick its head in the sand and pretend it won't happen.