Re: Annuities...are they a crap shoot?

Elle,

Thanks for the valuable input so far.

I think that annuities should be used sparingly and with great
discretion. They're definitely not for everyone. I'm also a believer
that if an investment makes you uneasy, don't buy it (regardless of
the reason). My first goal is peace of mind. Financial savvy comes
second.

The lack of aforementioned discretion used by many advisers has fueled
the anti-annuity fires. The good news is that many compliance
departments are starting to restrict VA sales. I can only speak for
the firm for which I work, but our compliance dept. requires numerous
forms that justify the use of an annuity (many of which the client
never sees). Most of the questions they ask are the same concerns
often brought up in this group. I think that's a step in the right
direction.

I hope I didn't confuse too many readers. I have much more success
using visual aides and hand-written hypotheticals. It's simply too
much information to convey through text. Showing the two accounts side-
by-side and going through a half dozen examples goes a long way
towards clients understanding.

Best wishes to all.

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