My wife received a mailer in the mail recently that caught my eye. The return address was Flemings Steakhouse and Wine Bar. The outside of the envelope offered a complimentary gourmet meal. If you know Flemings, you know we are going to open the envelope. Upon opening the envelope, we were being invited to a presentation on “Understanding Different Retirement Strategies”. We’re not going to mention the presenting company, but, let me list three of the meeting bullet points:
1. Options that may provide an income that you won’t outlive* (the asterisk references insurance company guarantees)
2. How our clients have kept their money safe from market returns
3. INFLATION: How to maintain your purchasing power in retirement
Each of these bullet points and mention of Ukraine/Russia in another is playing on your emotions. And anytime a company does that, watch out, they are likely going to try to sell you an indexed annuity!
Frankly these kinds of marketing activities should be outlawed. They are deceiving and dangerous to investors. Because once you are coaxed into one of these products, a commission is paid to the agent and now you are locked into a product that takes many years to get out of. Plus, annuities are one of the least tax efficient products despite their tax-deferred growth. There are very few cases where annuities make sense. They are merely a ploy for some agent to play on your emotions and earn a fat commission because you fell for it!
If you would like to learn more about annuities, give us a call. We would be happy to share the reasons to buy one and the reasons to pass on the free dinner.
