Finding the best variable annuities suitable for your needs isnt easy. With hundreds of choices can distract you. Knowing whats bad and whats good can be something of a minefield. In this article, weve done the hard work for you.
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1. Variable Annuities
Description
Variable Annuities will provide an overview of all the relevant aspects of Variable Annuities (VA) products from an insurers perspective. It will be a collection of contributions from several authors, co-ordinated in such a way that it covers all relevant areas with minimal overlap and a consistent level of detail. The market is of huge interest for US, European and Japanese insurers. For several hundred years, the insurance industry has offered a tremendous variety of life insurance products. Some of these life insurance products are aimed at providing investment possibilities, such as with-profits endowments and annuity products. These products typically provide substantial investment guarantees, which is one of their main advantages, along with tax privileges and the fact that the assets are managed prudently. The success of these products can be traced back to the fact that together with the distribution model, directly approaching potential customers, these products are ideal for the clients that are either less sophisticated in planning for their retirement, or do not want to invest efforts in this planning or have avoided to address this topic at all. But there are some clear disadvantages, which may not be relevant to all, but to some customers and the forces of competition lead companies to develop new products, which addressed these disadvantages, which are: The opaqueness of the investment process The lack of customer-control over the investment process The not sufficient profit sharing of returns above the investment guarantee and the opaqueness of this profit sharing mechanism Over time it has become apparent that there is an additional disadvantage from a company perspective, which is the substantial required risk capital these products generate due to the guarantees they provide. All these problems can be addressed with so-called unit linked products at the expense of not providing investment guarantees any more. Unit-linked products invest the savings part of the premiums of the policyholder transparently in investment vehicles, mostly internal or external funds and let the policyholder participate fully in the investment returns of these funds the upside as well as the downside. While these products clearly address the issues mentioned above they typically do not provide any investment guarantees any more. The obvious step now is to build investment guarantees into unit-linked products this is what Variable Annuities provide. Variable Annuities combine the advantages of traditional life insurance products long term investment guarantees, with the advantages of unit-linked products transparency of the investment and full upside participation. This of course comes with a price: The policyholder has to pay a premium for the additional investment guarantee The shareholder has to manage the substantial risks generated by such products Nevertheless these products have had a tremendous success in the US and in the past few years we have seen these products being offered in the European markets. These products are new to Europe, except in some locations, where they have been widespread, e.g., Switzerland, and have generated a lot of interest as they can address the weaknesses of the traditional life products. New sales volumes are encouraging and we can witness the creation of a new product class, after the unit-linked products have entered the European market some decennia ago. This book will cover: * History of the VA market * Current VA market environment in North America, Europe, Australasia * Valuation of VA contracts * Risks and Risk Management of VAs * An analyst and rating agency s view of a VA writer * Insurance regulations governing VAs * Liquidity in global derivatives markets * Effectiveness of hedging programs during the market turm2. Variable Annuities: What you Should Know
Description
Variable annuities have become a part of the retirement and investment plans of many Americans. Before you buy a variable annuity, you should know some of the basics and be prepared to ask your insurance agent, broker, financial planner, or other financial professional lots of questions about whether a variable annuity is right for you. This is a in-depth description of variable annuitieswhat they are, how they work, and the charges you will pay. Before buying any variable annuity, however, you should find out about the particular annuity you are considering. Request a prospectus from the insurance company or from your financial professional, and read it carefully. The prospectus contains important information about the annuity contract, including fees and charges, investment options, death benefits, and annuity payout options. You should compare the benefits and costs of the annuity to other variable annuities and to other types of investments, such as mutual funds.3. Investing with Variable Annuities: Fifty Reasons Why Variables Annuities May Be Better Long-Term Investments Than Mutual Funds
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Used Book in Good ConditionDescription
Book by John P. Huggard4. Life, Health and Variable Annuity, Study Manual
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Used Book in Good ConditionDescription
Book by NAIFA Florida5. The Truth about Variable Annuities