Volatility Controlled Indexes: Everything You Should Know

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The most recent innovation in the world of Index Annuities is the Uncapped Point to Point Managed Volatility Index. What makes the Index Annuity a very unique product, is the use of the call option by insurance companies. This allows gains to be realized when an index increases, and no losses to be incurred should the index decline. The price of the call option is what determines how much upside p...
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Long Term Care Benefits With Annuities

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Long Term Care (LTC) is a legitimate concern for retirees and with traditional Long Term Care Insurance on the decline, many retirees are looking elsewhere to solve the need for some type of protection.  Recently the annuity industry has addressed the need for LTC with two types of annuity designs, the use of Income Riders and annuity products that increase values specifically for LTC. Income R...
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Volatility Index Information

Posted on by wcfsannuities
Links to Daily Closing Prices Barclays ARMOUR II Gross 7% USD  Barclay's U.S. Low Volatility II ER Risk Controlled Index 5% Barclay's U.S. Low Volatility II ER Risk Controlled Index 7% Barclays US Dynamic Balance II Index BlackRock Diversa Volatility Control Index BNP Paribus High Dividend Plus BNP Paribas Multi Asset Diversified 5 Index Citi Flexible Allocation 6 Excess Return Index ...
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Insurance Guaranty Fund Info

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Insurance Guaranty associations. Liability Limits To visit a particular states life and health insurance guaranty association web site, click on the links provided in the table below.     State Max. aggregate benefits for all lines of insurance Max. death benefit with respect to any one life Max. liability for cash or withdrawal  value of life insurance po...
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The Annuity as a Bond Alternative

Posted on by wcfsannuities
In the past bonds have been effectively used as an additional asset class to reduce the risk of holding a 100% stock portfolio. The traditional 60/40 mix of stocks and bonds has defined the moderate portfolio for years, and today target maturity mutual funds are commonly used, which will increase the bond allocation as one nears retirement to reduce the overall portfolio risk. With today’s hist...
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How an Annuity Can Lower the Tax on Social Security

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A major point of frustration for many retirees is paying tax on their Social Security benefits.  In some cases an individual or married couple will exceed the income thresholds with pension income and cannot do anything about the tax of their Social Security, but they may be able to control how much of their Social Security is taxed. In other cases by doing some strategic planning, the entire tax ...
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Fixed Annuities as a CD Alternative

Posted on by wcfsannuities
When it comes to the typical CD investor, the number one reason that CD’s are used, is the safety that is offered within the CD. The mindset for the CD investor is like Will Rogers quoted, "I am not so much concerned with the return on capital as I am with the return of capital." Of course the appeal is the FDIC insurance of up to $250,000. With CD rates this low, many folks are just leaving their...
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Types of Annuities Part 3: Fixed Index Annuities

Posted on by wcfsannuities
The most recent type of annuity to be introduced, the fixed index annuity or FIA, has quickly become one of the top selling annuities in the marketplace today. It also has been the target of many in the financial services industry, as with its complexity, it has caught the attention of many skeptics. Let’s go over the main features for now and tackle the in depth details in another post “What D...
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