Capital

Annuity pricing can be confusing and a detailed discussion is beyond the scope of this buying guide.

Insurance companies take in huge amounts of money from policyholders.  Part of the purpose of an insurance company is to invest the massive amount of policyholder funds.

Much of the money is invested in bonds or fixed income, some can be invested in stocks or equities, and portions can be invested in real estate, hedge funds, venture capital, etc.

It’s a Small World

Insurance companies or insurance “carriers” are the organizations that actually produce or manufacture annuities.

There are some outstanding financial planning tools and some very poor, misleading tools. 

Your financial future is a bit like your health—it is complex and multi-faceted.  As in healthcare, the tools used for financial diagnosis and the practitioner who interprets the results need to be up to the task.

The following are a few key concepts to think about, look for, or listen to when developing a financial plan:

Information Gathering: This is one of the first steps in the financial planning process.  Your financial advisor should gather quite a bit of information about you and your current financial status.