Search Results for: "annuities of mass destruction'"

Annuities of Mass Destruction

  Unlike the evasive WMD’s that were never found in the Iraqi desert, expensive and inappropriate annuities are all the rage in many teachers retirement plans. This practice must be stopped before the retirement dreams of many educators are blown to smithereens. William Bernstein, one of the sharpest minds in the investment world once stated,…

The Antonio Brown of Annuities

Timeshares and investment never belong in the same sentence. Replacing Timeshare with Indexed Annuities leads to similar results. Many are marketed with the calling card of Charlatans since the beginning of time – Low risk, high returns. 95%  of funds invested in Indexed annuities go into bonds. The rest is allocated to derivates, or call…

The Doomsday Machine

A Doomsday Machine is obliterating the health and wealth of innumerable Americans. It’s no accident. The attacks are devastating, complex to evade, and well-coordinated. Let’s start with our health. Our healthcare system, processed food industry, government, and financial services sector fuse forces generating hefty profits while ravaging the health of millions of Americans. Grady Means,…

Toxic Financial Ecosystems

Financial illiteracy and a steady paycheck are guests of honor at the Predator’s Ball. Soldiers and teachers provide vital service to our nation. Some companies view them not as heroes but as prey. Young soldiers arrive at boot camp with little money experience and a regular paycheck. They’re the perfect ingredients for exploitation. New York…

Don’t Be A Financial Monster

War is hell.- General William Sherman What’s worse – sometimes the good guys end up doing bad stuff. Hitler once stated, “To defeat Fascism, you need to act more like a Fascist.” The murderous tyrant had a point. In both World Wars, the United States resorted to violations of democratic principles more commonly seen from…

Financial Salespeople Don’t Suck – Their Incentives Do

Imagine paying jurors on their conviction rates? Defendants wouldn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of getting a fair shake. Not much different from current financial services models that pay salespeople high commissions to sell the most expensive products. Incentives matter – A LOT! Someone recently told me a story of a school custodian who…

(B)Ware Of 403(b) Loans

The CARES Act doesn’t care enough about teachers’ 403(b) plans. What else is new in a retirement space filled with more murder holes than Omaha Beach? The CARES Act makes it easier to access retirement funds using loans. Previously, workers could borrow the lesser of $50,000 or one half of their account value. The new…

Pay Close Attention To Who’s Steering Your Investments

Steering people into inferior investments due to preconceived prejudices isn’t a relic from the bad old days. Long Island’s housing market is infected with this disease. Newsday recently published a 3-year investigation documenting patterns of widespread discrimination. Long Island Divided, uncovered a widespread separate and unequal treatment of minority potential homebuyers. Testers were sent out…

You! You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide!

The fumigation of teacher’s rancid 403(b) plans has commenced. Fire at will. The SEC is investigating Valic, a unit of AIG, for improper sales and disclosure practices. According to the Wall Street Journal, The inquiry centers on whether incentives in Valic’s compensation structure rewarded representatives for selling higher-cost products to retirement plan participants and whether…

403Badlands

“Nature abhors a vacuum.” – Aristotle Empty space fills.  No law that says it has to be with something good. After World War I, the United States decided to follow a policy of Isolationism, the 1920’s version of “America First.” The war quickly became a deadly fiasco. The treaty ending it wasn’t much better. Americans…