Big insurers avoid equity-indexed annuities (South Coast Today)
One of the insurance industry’s hottest products is coming under fire — from insurance companies. Sales of equity-indexed annuities have soared, hauling in $23 billion in 2004 and an additional $21 billion in the first nine months of this year, according to annuity tracker Advantage Compendium.
Types of annuity (Guardian Unlimited)
The average standard level annuity income purchased with a 100,000 pension fund has dropped from nearly 13,000 in 1990 to a little more than 8,000 now. But for many people, the most galling thing about annuities is that their pension fund assets cannot be passed on after their death.
On buying expertise (Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune)
A broker is someone who invests your money until it’s all gone.