“Besieged” by Variable Annuity Cases

In 2012 variable annuity cases were the only class of security where arbitration cases increased. Recently, Diane Nygaard, a Kansas City, MO based lawyer said she has been “besieged” by investors claims, as reported in The WSJ. “[Brokers] will stand up in front of a room and sell what they tell people are tax free, high income, you-can’t-lose-your-money investments…That’s the shtick.”

Investors in variable annuities are at the mercy of the issuing insurance company. Take a look at the chart below. It’s an ETF of insurance companies. It gives you a snapshot of how they performed when times were tough. Variable annuities are only as good as the issuing insurance company’s ability to pay. Variable annuity investors were sweating it big time as their insurers’ stock prices cratered. Next time, the government may not be there with a bailout.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

E.J. Smith is the Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH, where he completed course-work in Practical and Defensive Handgun, Conceal Carry Pistol, Shotguns, Precision Scope Rifle and Kidnapping Prevention. E.J. plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set with Zilldjian cymbals. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com. Sign up here to receive all the best content from Richardcyoung.com each week.