Expenses should be a top priority for any financial services consumer.  Many people have been conditioned to be aware of expenses when it comes to investment products.  Indexed-bases investment management companies such as Vanguard have contributed greatly to this awareness by consistently demonstrating the detrimental impact that expenses have on investment performance over time, and how actively managed and more expensive mutual funds actually tend to underperform their index-based peers.

Two industry-leading consultants have published a study that compares a range of wealth management strategies that are available to individuals in retirement.

None of the strategies are dominant on an overall basis, but certain approaches show clear strengths in terms of income generation, levels of wealth, and the impact on bequest motives.

The dramatic impact of product fees is also addressed.

Six different retirement strategies are discussed:

Annuities are products that combine insurance and, in the case of variable annuities, asset management.  Costs are absolutely critical, so definitely ask you financial advisor to spell-out the costs for each of the items discussed below.