Anyone at ET have experience selling annuities? I am curious about the pros/cons and difficulty of selling annuities. If a successful trader is able to accumulate $200K+ (and feels burned out), I would think that they could sustain/profit from selling annuities quite easily. any thoughts?
I think they're a rip-off and people who push them are usually liars. They often prey on older people aproaching retirement.
Even Livermore purchased annuities... There is a wide spectrum when it comes to investor sophistication. Annuities make sense for people desiring retirement income with minimal investment knowledge or aptitude. Otherwise, an investor could achieve better gains on his/her own.
most annuities are sold by insurance companies. i would never touch one. any product that has to have 10 pages of disclaimers is trying to trick you.
What are the advantages to an annuity over just buying some bonds for retirement income? I really don't see any advantages to annuities.
For folks in the higher income brackets, who've already maxed out their allowed tax-deferred contributions, there may be some benefit to annuities as a way to shelter more income. I'm not a financial planner, but I've heard this twice from two experts whose opinion I trust. As always, due diligence is in order. For most people, annuities are a more expensive way to save for retirement. Most would be better off diversifying their investments across markets or pay an investment adviser to manage their money. The reason annuities are pushed so hard is because they pay well - to the person who sold it. Good luck to all.
I agree that there are some unethical people selling annuities (along with unethical people in all types of business) I also agree that I would never purchase one...any trader here should be able to perform better than an average annuitiy. I just wanted knowledge of becoming licensed and selling annuities. Insurance is one route I may consider in the future.
most traders can't beat the markets, most people can't beat the markets, therefore, an annuity might be a good idea for some people. Jesse livermore purchased annities, not because he expected them to beat the market, but because he knew that if all else failed he had something to fall back on. I think we can all agree that hedging your bets and diversifying your income stream is a good idea for everyone.
Correct, and in-addition to what AmbushHillbilly said; I know some "large" business owners/operators that buy annuities because in many states they (annuity) are protected from lawsuits. From what I understand, Ken Lay has 10 Million in annuities that the govt. will never be able to touch. If you don't have these problems then there are probably better investment vehicals, but some people like the guarantees they offer; I guess it helps them sleep.
unethical people selling annuities is not the problem. its the structure of the annuity itself that is the problem. i hear regretful stories all the time from people who buy these things and cant escape. there is a small nitch for some people who have exausted all other types of plans or some rollover situations after retirement where an annuity can be useful but for the vast majority of people should avoid them.