Utter Failure
I actually don’t keep up with current events by watching TV. I get a lot of my information from podcasts to get further insight. Here’s The Athletics podcast “About Them Cowboys (link).
The Cowboys lost and casual , their errors were eerily familiar to me when witnessing what people do regarding financial matters. The rant about the Cowboys could be directly translated by me.
Poor preparation: too many penalties.
Penalties put the Cowboys (you) in a bad spot, leaving them (you) with declining room for error. More risk had to be accepted due to the poor preparation.
When the opportunity presents itself, you don’t execute. The Cowboys had the ball, 1st and 10, with more than 2 minutes left, and 3 timeouts.
Blame the officials for bad calls is like blaming confusing rules (or insurance companies)
The popular, wrongly-placed rally cry (it’s not fair, insurance companies are ripping me off), becomes an excuse.
The wrongly-placed rallying cry distracted the Cowboys from fixing #1.
You could have all the promise and talent in the world. Sometimes, it really is randomness that prevents you from getting to your goal. A key difference? You cannot fire yourself. However, you can get a coach. Hmm.
While You Were Sleeping
Not financial advice, dyor.
This morning, you’ll see a sea of red, as the 10-year note reached a 2-year high and oil reached a 7-year high.
Source: The Market Ear (link)
Gains To Income Stream?
With this backdrop, an oldie-and-not-very-goodie (but correct). If an advisor says that an annuity is always bad and that he/she will always outperform. The error is that entirely presumes that markets only go higher (in which case, yes, annuities will underperform, but that isn’t the function).
It is vital that people understand the role of a contract, and then measure its success based on THAT ROLE, and not compare it to other statistics. An annuity’s role is not for absolute return, so when it underperforms in a market that goes higher, you need to remember that was not the objective from the beginning.
Can you replicate an annuity? Perhaps. Can your advisor guarantee outperformance? If this statement is ever made to you, run. There is a word in the advisor community, annuicide. The reason is that if you deposit into an annuity, that is reducing the advisor’s fee, even if the reason for an annuity was completely rational.
It has traditionally been commonly believed that you don’t deposit into an annuity with pre-tax funds (401k, IRA). Candidly, I have found this guidance very very odd. Now, the Secure Act will certainly make annuities an option inside 401(k)s, etc.
ebook Days Away
The ebook will precede the paperback, due to supply chain problems that have now affected the physical production of the new edition.
official website for the book (link).
GH2 Benefits professional service (link).