In this episode, The Annuity Man and Rick Ferri discuss:

• Outperforming 90% of investors

• Developing a simple portfolio

• Five ways to improve your portfolio

• Facing the risks

Key Takeaways:

• Investing is not as difficult as others would have you believe. The best way to invest is to keep things simple; the fewer moving parts, the better.

• Develop a simple portfolio that will hold four funds, two stock funds, and two bond funds. The bond funds have to be some fixed income type of allocation, while on the stock side, you do a stock market index fund and a total international fund.

• Are you going to be active or passive? Select a portfolio strategy. Determine whether you’re going to be aggressive or conservative and assess if you need a higher rate of return and if you can handle high volatility.

• In bad times, remember that “this too shall pass.” Investing doesn’t come without risk. Everything in life has risks. Even burying your money has a risk; inflation will eat away at its value. It’s better just to face the risk.

"The idea is simplicity. Be simple, be low-cost, be consistent, stay the course, be tax-efficient." — Rick Ferri.

Connect with Rick Ferri:

Website: https://rickferri.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheIndexer/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-ferri-b6994010/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rick_Ferri

Books: https://www.amazon.com/Richard-A.-Ferri/e/B001IGJTE8%3F

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: Stan@TheAnnuityMan.com

Book: Owner’s Manuals: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/how-do-annuities-work

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today - https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:

• Not everyone needs to be exposed

• Bonds and market volatility

• Looking into lifetime income

• Questions to ask your advisor

Key Takeaways:

• Financial advisors tend to advise their clients to do 60% equity and 40% bond split or that they always have some exposure, but it doesn’t apply to everybody. People who’ve won the game don’t have to keep playing.

• Bonds aren’t fool-proof; they go down in value if interest rates go up. If you’ve already accumulated enough to live the life you want and don’t want to tie yourself into any risks or volatility, then don’t. You have that option.

• If peeling off the interest rate isn’t an option for you, then why not look into lifetime income? You can structure your annuity where your money doesn’t have to go to the annuity company when you die. There are so many ways you can structure the contract in a way that achieves your goals.

• Advisors get paid assets under management, which is why they want you to dip into the market. Ask your advisor if you have enough money to live off. From a fiduciary standpoint, they’ll have to look at the money and tell you honestly if you are able to do that.

"Plan for when you win the game to stop playing the game. Look up at the scoreboard; you won!" — Stan The Annuity Man.

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: Stan@TheAnnuityMan.com

Book: Owner’s Manuals: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/how-do-annuities-work

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:

• Bonuses are not the true benefits

• Unethical practices that rush an annuity sale

• Focus on what really matters

Key Takeaways:

• Upfront bonuses are merely a part of the contract rather than the true benefits they seem to be. Focus instead on the lifetime income guarantee, on the financial stability and predictability an annuity can offer.

• Agents sometimes tout bonuses rather than clarify the long-term financial implications of the annuity in order to close a deal. It is unethical and in some cases, could even cross the line into being illegal.

• Look past the smoke and mirrors of upfront bonuses and instead, search for the annuity with the highest contractual guarantee. These guarantees are what will determine the annuity's genuine value over the course of your retirement.

"The only number that matters is the lifetime income guarantee that the company is backing up. All of the bonuses are just shiny things - candy for the stupid. Don't be that person. " — Stan The Annuity Man.

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: Stan@TheAnnuityMan.com

Book: Owner’s Manuals: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/how-do-annuities-work

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Jason Fichtner discuss:

• Preparing for depletion

• Preaching to a hurricane

• Maximizing returns and minimizing risks

• The real danger zone

Key Takeaways:

• There’s going to be depletion in combined trust funds in 2024. In response to this, you can delay claiming your social security until you absolutely need it, you can also save a little more - do anything to minimize the risk.

• People want a personal pension and a guaranteed paycheck for life, but they don’t want an annuity. That’s absurd, because that’s exactly what an annuity is and people have it already in the form of social security, because it’s such a good thing, they would want to have another one.

• We’ve trained people to be good investors, in that they must always ask how they can maximize returns. But there is no ROI in retirement, not until you die, so we need to keep talking about how minimizing the risks with annuities is the best way to go.

• The danger zone is complacency. We need to keep reframing and educating people on the truth about retirement and finances. People right now are not too crazy for annuities, and that’s not a good thing - because that means that it’s not being represented factually.

"In retirement, we're not trying to maximize returns, we're trying to minimize risks - ensure that I have enough income to last for the rest of my life." — Jason Fichtner

The Peak 65 Generation: Creating A New

Retirement Security Framework: https://drive.google.com/file/d/128-Azi2dpeWXYafgPGAQ1Pi5f8S_ThVA/view?usp=sharing  

Connect with Jason Fichtner:

Website: https://sites.google.com/site/jasonjfichtner/ | https://bipartisanpolicy.org/

Email: jfichtner@bipartisanpolicy.org

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: Stan@TheAnnuityMan.com

Book: Owner’s Manuals: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/how-do-annuities-work

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today - https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:

• Annuities are customizable

• An example of life with cash refund

• What does it mean to get a joint-life policy

• Options and choices when getting an annuity

Key Takeaways:

• A life-only contract means that the annuity company is on the hook to pay as long as you’re breathing, but the money goes away when you die.

• Life with cash refund means that you get paid while you’re alive, with some money going to your beneficiary when you die.

• A joint life policy means that you and your spouse will receive payments. When you die, their income continues uninterrupted and unchanged.

• There’s not just one annuity, there are many kinds, and there are also a lot of options when customizing your contract.

"I want you to understand what you’re buying and how it works ‘cause remember, an annuity is a contract" — Stan The Annuity Man.

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: Stan@TheAnnuityMan.com

Book: Owner’s Manuals: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/how-do-annuities-work

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today - https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:

• What does it mean to live off the interest?

• Living off guaranteed interest

• When interest rates go down

• If you can’t live off of the interest

Key Takeaways:

• At the time of this taping, some money markets are 4, some CDs at five, and some MYGAs at five and a half. A lot of you out there have enough funds that whatever interests you can take off of those products is sufficient, and you never have to touch the principal.

• There's no guaranteed return with index annuities, variable annuities, or buffer annuities. That doesn’t mean they’re bad products, but if you can live off of a guaranteed interest, why not do that?

• When you lock in at a certain interest, it doesn’t matter if the interest rates go down in the market - you’ll benefit from what is contractually guaranteed.

• Suppose we can prove mathematically that we can’t hit your goal from living off of the interest. In that case, that’s when we’ll look for contractual guarantee products for lifetime income because they’ll provide a higher payback of your money.

"You're going to ride that peeling off the interest as long as you can. You're gonna ride that train of never touching the principal and never paying a fee as long as you can, and if rates go down, then we will pivot " — Stan The Annuity Man.

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: Stan@TheAnnuityMan.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man and John Olsen discuss:

• The suitability approach and consumer trust

• How the annuity industry can be better

• Approaching people who hate annuities

• Risk management and risk transfer

Key Takeaways:

• There is a considerable certainty that companies out there are determined to give the right product to their clients.

• If you’re looking for a solution for your client, the agent should be able to show 3-10 companies that could get the client what they want and need.

• Improving your knowledge of annuities as an agent is simple: read the contract. Don’t rely on the marketing material, read the hard words.

• Here’s what you can do with risks: you either assume it, remove it, reduce it, or transfer it. Annuity allows you to transfer risks.

"These are investments to a degree, but most annuities are risk management tools. There are a few things you can do with risks: assume it, remove it, reduce it, or transfer it… Transfer the risk, that’s what annuities do. Fixed annuities are all about guarantees." — John Olsen

Check out John Olsen’s books here: https://www.amazon.com/John-L-Olsen/e/B011PP1LBK/

Connect with John Olsen:

Website: http://olsenannuityeducation.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-olsen-clu-chfc-aep-ba551217/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.olsen.165

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: Stan@TheAnnuityMan.com

Book: Owner’s Manuals: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/how-do-annuities-work

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today - https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:

• What are MYGAs and SPIAs?

• Annuities are contractual commodities

• MYGA to SPIA

Key Takeaways:

• A MYGA, Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity, is the annuity industry's version of a CD. The good news about MYGAs is that the interest rate is locked in and non-callable. This means that when interest rates go down, you’re going to be locked in.

• Annuities are contractual commodities, meaning that when you're buying them for the contractual guarantees, you can shop all carriers for the highest contractually guaranteed payout for your specific situation based on how you structure them.

• Through MYGAs, you can protect the principal, peel off interest, and retain liquidity. After the duration of the MYGA, we can then shop all SPIA carriers and transfer the MYGA to the SPIA.

"You can have your cake and eat it too, you can protect the principle, you can peel off interest if needed during that duration of the MYGA, and at the end of that term, you have full control of the asset." — Stan The Annuity Man.

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: Stan@TheAnnuityMan.com

Book: Owner’s Manuals: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/how-do-annuities-work

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!