127 – Annuities 101: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Bob and Shawn discuss the pros and cons of an annuity, i.e. the good, the bad, and the ugly. What exactly is an annuity? It is an insurance contract issued and distributed by financial institutions with the intention of paying out invested funds in a fixed income stream in the future. We discuss the types of annuities – variable annuities, fixed annuities, and fixed indexed annuities.
Did you know many annuities don’t require you to be a financial advisor to sell them? This is why it is so important to always go through a fiduciary-based investment advisor when dealing with annuities and other investment products. For example, fixed and fixed indexed annuities are the MOST sold annuities but are NOT regulated by the SEC or FINRA, which can lead to abusive selling practices. This, along with several other issues, may lead to severe complications in the future for investors. There are some good qualities as well, which are also touched upon in this episode, but we want you to get the full story.