Conditions are not normal currently. Spreads between Treasuries and other Bonds have widened. This continues currently!
5/06/2010 Note: DOW tanks 1,000 points intra-day and Closes Down 347.80 or 3.20%. This is another example of why Index Annuities and Immediate Income Annuities are a must for a portion of your portfolio.
1/12/2010 Note: Immediate Annuities are a must for a portion of your Retirement Income. If you didn't learn this lesson in the 2000 - 2002 Stock Market sell off, you Certainly have now learned the Hard Way in the last 2 Years!
Looking for safe place for your money but want to share in Future Stock Market Gains? Buy the High Quality Index Annuities we have for you. Only here will you get the very best value Index Annuities on the 1st recommendation. Index Annuities are NOT all created equal.
6/02/2009 Note: This Stock Market Rally has now reached its High in this Bear Market. As I write this note at 1:45PM Eastern Time the DOW is at 8,751 and the S&P500 at 946. You may get another 200 points up in the DOW but I believe it is time to exit right now. The market will then begin the next leg down.
Immediate Annuities are a must for a portion of your Retirement Income. If you didn't learn this lesson in the 2000 - 2002 Stock Market sell off, you Certainly have now learned the Hard Way in the last Year!
02/14/2009 Note: The Rapid reduction in Annuity Interest Rates has started. A large number of carriers have lowered rates effective on 2/17/2009. The few holdouts will lower their Interest Rates effective March 1st. This is due to a contraction of spreads on High Investment Grade Corporate Bonds. This means Credit Markets for Corporate Bonds are normalizing. TARP I, the Federal Reserve, FDIC & other actions by the Bush administration to help Credit Markets are working. TARP 2 and other programs to help the Securitization market must be implementmented for this improvement to take a permanent hold and finally work for good. This so called Stimulus package (Supposed to be "Timely, Targeted and Temporary") turned out to be one big special interest and pet project give away. I hope the country can overcome this Bill and that it won't send the country into a depression. In my review, I think only ~ 1/3 of this bill actually meets the origional goal. This is the kind of Garbage you get from asking Congress to solve economic problems, regardless of the party you support.
Immediate Income Annuitiy Payouts are holding up very well.
Index Annuities: This is a Great Time to BUY Index Annuities if you haven't already. You don't know what Index Annuities are and how they work? Read these pages and all links (Click Here) when you're done with that contact us.
As for the Stock Market, I think it rally's from today through the last week in March (DOW to 8,800 - 9,100 range). Then my previous notes will apply.
01/16/2009 Note: Bond market spreads have narrowed materially. This has had the effect and will continue to have the effect of pushing Annuity Interest Rates Lower. If you want Annuity Interest Rates above 5.00% your time to buy these may be ending soon.
As for the stock market, the next waive down will start very soon. I expect Sub 6,500 on the Dow with an outside chance of Sub 6,000 on the Dow. The way things have been going all the "outside expectations" have been hit.
The Buy and Hold Strategy for Equity Securities has now been proven to be a complete Farce! Make a list of 25 Companies that you're interested in. Do your own research on them and select 10 to 15 based on this research that you would like to buy. When the Dow goes Sub 6,500 begin to buy the top 10 on this list. Add to these holdings on down market days below 6,500 on the Dow. Continue to research these companies and if nothing changes plan to hold them for 1 to 4 years. Equities should never be more than 15% to 25% of your portfolio going forward. Remember... BUY LOW and SELL HIGH! Buy Index Annuities for a Buy & Hold strategy... learn all about Index Annuities... the product you Stock Broker will Never tell you about!
Index Annuities can be bought and held long-term. This should be used for up to 50% of your portfolio. Not all Index Annuities are created equal. You should Buy those with the Highest CAP Rates on CAP only Index Annuities or Highest Participation Rates on Participation Rate Only Index Annuities. We present to you the Very Best Value Index Annuities for Your long-term growth of money! We are Unbiased and Honest! This QUALITY is in short supply in this world! Read our Index Annuity pages for you to understand index annuities.
For Guaranteed Monthly Income... Immediate Annuities are Very Attractive and will continue to be attractive. Contact us if you want to Buy the Very Best Immediate Annuities for Guaranteed Monthly Income for Life and/or a Period of Time.
12/17/2008 Note: The Federal Reserve has gone all in. which means they are pulling out "ALL TOOLS" to stop this economic decline. You can read and analyze the full statement below.
What does this mean for Non-Treasury Interest Rates? Quite Simply. all other INTEREST RATES WILL GO LOWER! All these SAFE attractive interest rates at or above 5.50%+++ and at 6.00% WILL CERTAINLY DECLINE SOON! The Federal Reserve with their "ALL TOOLS" ANNOUNCEMENT will make sure this occurs. How you ask? The Federal Reserve will go out into the market and BUY all Debt Instruments that it deems necessary to FORCE Interest Rates Lower. They will in effect be in competition with Private Capital to Purchase this debt and once they get the ball rolling (Lower Yields) it will become a snowball effect (a race to lower market yields for non-treasury instruments). To keep rates lower for an extended period of time they also announced that they will BUY Long-Term Treasury Securities. At first glance, this would seem to not make sense. But. as I see it, they want to force lower non-treasury market rates and also contract the spreads between corporate debt and treasury securities. Low across the board interest rates (yields) on all durations is their ultimate goal. This Fed action coupled with a big fiscal stimulus package that President Obama will sign into law in late January, early February is the plan to get the country out of this downward spiral. Will it work? It will work in forcing all interest rates lower. It is open for debate on ending the downward spiral and getting material economic growth started again. I think it can work as long as taxes are NOT raised, however, this recovery process will take longer than most currently think. If it does work, then the Fed will have to unwind what it has done at just the right moment in just the right way or they risk massive inflation and/or re-starting the decline.
I still believe this current move UP in Stocks is just another Bear Market Rally with new lows to come and/or a test of current lows. The Fed going to an all in "ALL TOOLS" approach and communicating it, this fact tells me they are very concerned about where economic activity is going. Remember, desired results of Fed actions taken today usually lag for at least 9 months.
BUY Immediate Annuities for SAFE INCOME in Retirement. BUY Multi-Year Guaranteed Rate Annuities for compounded SAFE Growth for Future Income needs. BUY Index Annuities for the ONLY SAFE way to Grow Savings Long-Term. The ONLY SAFE TRUE BUY and HOLD STRATEGY!
On any major Stock Market Decline from this point (below 7,000 on the DOW) begin an Equity position in small amounts. Don't chase the market up. Always wait for pull backs to continue to add. If you're age 55 or over, for the vast majority of people, you should NEVER AGAIN have more than 15% to 25% of your money in Equity Securities. Tax Deferred Compounding of Interest has worked for centuries and will always continue to work.
See Federal Reserve Statement 12/16/2008 Below.
12/04/2008 Note: All Annuity Rates may decline in January. This may be the Last Couple of weeks to BUY these High Rates. Reason: The strong funding demands at Year End. Plus with Treasury Bond Yields at Historic Lows, I can't see how other Rates can remain at these High Levels much longer. Look at these Treasury Rates.
1.51% on the 5 Year / 2.55% on the 10 Year / 3.06% on the 10 Year.
In an Annuity You can lock in a 6.25% Rate for 7 Years and 10 Years. Now that is attractive! Take a look at the Annuity Rates Page.
11/24/2008 Note: This current stock market rally is just another Bear Market Rally. Don't get suckered in! Near to Sub 6,500 or even Sub 6,000 in the DOW is very likely before this all ends and stabilizes, in my opinion.
11/19/2008 Note: Guaranteed Fixed Annuity Rates of 6% & over will be available for a short-time only, now through maybe the end of the year. Once the credit crisis settles down a bit more, if it settles down, rates will decline into the low 5%'s or below 5% and stay there until the recession is over and well into a recovery in my opinion. Demands on funding are always tight near the end of the year and ease early in the New Year. This time I think the easing will be more pronounced. I hope they don't decline for the foreseeable future and stay around 6%. But hope is not reality.
Immediate Income Annuities have also held up well. If you have been considering these for monthly income, STOP CONSIDERING and BUY them now.
Did you know that NOT ONE DIME of Principle and Credited Earned Interest has been LOST in INDEX ANNUITIES to date? NO... that's because the powers to be don't want you to know about them and/or constantly TRASH THEM! If losing 30% to 50% or more of your Portfolio in 2000 to 2002 and again losing 30% to 50% and counting in 2008, which means your losing for the last 11 years, is a great deal for you then you will not be interested in index annuities.
Maybe... just maybe, diversification should include Index Annuities, Immediate Income Annuities and Fixed Guaranteed Rate Annuities. Wow... what a revelation! Do you think the Powers that be will have this revelation? I think NOT! They want to sucker you back in with all your money by restarting future performance percentages at the very bottom of this downturn. I say give them no more than up to 25% of your money!
Read all about index annuities, educate yourself. Start here (Click)
10/30/2008 Note: This latest stock market up move is in my opinion just another Bear Market Rally. The lows will be tested again and may break through to set new lows. I think this will begin to occur right after the election especially with an Obama win. If McCain wins the rally will continue for a while longer and then turn lower.
Annuity Interest Rates are currently the highest since the year 2000. Buy them NOW because this will NOT continue for much longer.
Index Annuities have performed Fantastically over the last 10 years and everyone should have a good portion of their money in high quality Index Annuities. Not one dime of your initial amount and credited interest has been given back to the market. Take a look at this CLICK HERE! I bet you wish that you had your money in Index Annuities instead of Mutual Funds. Did you know that you can use 401K money to Buy Index Annuities. Become our client and find out how.
10/10/2008 Note: Wow, what a week! The DOW hit a low today of 7,882.51 and the S&P 500 hit a low of 839.80. This is where I expected these indexes to go. However, I didn't expect to hit these levels in such a short period of time. Unfortunately, as I analyze the situation, this decline is not over. I am now not sure where the bottom will be. Possibly in the 6,580 to 7,050 range on the DOW and 760 to 815 ranges on the S&P 500 or maybe closing near 7,882.51 and 839.80 will be sufficient. In any event, it will take a long time to repair this damage.
As for Annuities, rates and payouts continue to hold up well. I don't think this will last much longer. Once things settle down, the rates and payouts will begin to decline. Some are starting to decline now.
Index Annuities are the way to go. To BUY the Best Index Annuities please contact us. To learn about Index Annuities in general, READ this entire website.
10/03/2008 Note: Immediate Income Annuity Payouts are still holding up well. Guaranteed Annuity Rates above 5.00% are still available but may decline below 5.00% in the weeks ahead.
Index Annuity performance has been outstanding over the long-term. Principal Plus Credited Interest NEVER DECLINES! Take a look at this CLICK HERE!
Keep in mind Insurance Companies in general and particularly Life and Annuity Insurance Companies are the safest Companies in the world. These Companies are conservatively managed and are heavily regulated by each State in the country with very high capital standards and reserves. Many have been in existence over 100 years and have survived ALL the previous US Financial Disasters and World Wars.
9/05/2008 Note: Rates are declining rapidly as people begin to realize and believe that this is turning into a global recession. I say with conviction that the US Stock market will continue to decline. In July I warned of a Bear Market Trap and to not go back into the stocks and/or equity mutual funds. In my opinion the DOW will go into the 8,000 area and the S&P 500 will go into the 1,050 area before this Bear Market ends. This is what I have thought for some time now... But now I am convinced. 10/06/2008 correction on my S&P index comment. It should have read the 900 area.
Immediate Annuity Rates may decline by the end of September and if you were waiting for higher payouts in this 4th quarter to buy... you may be disappointed for waiting.
Fixed Guaranteed Annuity Interest Rates may decline by the end of September.
Fixed Index Annuities; for all you Non-Believers, the un-informed and others with a vested interest against Index Annuities; have performed Fantastically as compared to the S&P 500 Index over the last 10 Year Period and NOT one client has lost any of their initial money and NOT one client has lost any interest that was credited to their account. Plus are positioned to share in the gains when a new bull market begins. Buy and hold in Index Annuities over the long-term provides a great deal of comfort to Annuity holders by knowing your account values cannot decline due to declines in the market. It is however important to select the right index annuity just like anything else in life. Take a look at this CLICK HERE!
Will Index Annuities always perform better than the S&P 500 over a 10 Year Period? No it won't! It can't! However they are designed to allow you to share in a portion of the Gains of an Index without any of the Risk of Losses. After all what is preached in investing is a diversified asset allocation. What that also means is a long-term diversified return. Correct me if I am wrong but that would be in the 6.50% to 8.50% range long-term historically for most investors. Especially for portfolios of people over the age of 50 years old.
7/18/2008 Note: Stocks have rallied late this week. This is nothing more than a short covering rally/bear market rally and will prove to be a Bear Market Trap! Be careful... don't get talked into buying stocks or equity funds at this time. You will regret doing so for the rest of your lives. Interest rates have also bounced up in these last few days. Lets see if this continues, especially if stocks begin the next leg down in this bear market.
7/15/2008 Note: Treasury Rates have declined over the last 30 days and I am receiving information from the Annuity Companies that current Rates may decline by the end of the month if this continues. The Time to Buy is Now!
6/27/2008 Note: July 1 rates are beginning to come in and are up to unchanged. I repeat... June, May and July over the last several years have proven to be the Highs in rates and payouts for the year. It's possible that this may happen again. A 9 Year Guaranteed Rate of 5.63% is extremely attractive to lock in now. 5.25% for 5 years and 5.20% for 4 years are also attractive. Walk away at the end of the term if you choose.
The Bear Market in stocks will continue with all technicals in the major indexes breaking down over the last several days. This will be a BIG move down from here IMO. Don't expect any help from the consumer. The consumer ATM (Home Equity) is on empty and once they max out credit cards the recession will finally show up in the GDP numbers. Compound this with a likely Obama win and more of a democratic majority in the House and Senate. This change in Washington is guaranteed to lead to an increase in Income and Capital Gains Taxes and the Stock Markets may really get ugly as investors rush to cash in long-term gains before the proposed doubling of Capital Gains Tax Rates become effective (Probably 1/01/2009).
06/07/2008: June Annuity Rates are 95% in and most have held steady with several increases. June, May and July over the last several years have proven to be the Highs in rates and payouts for the year (You can see the high period from the Treasury chart above). Will this period prove to be the highest again???? Tough call... But these current rates are very attractive and if you have been looking at Annuities to Buy from January to Today, NOW is the time to execute your purchase. Please contact us for updated Immediate Annuity Quotes. (Click Here) 7 to 10 Year Guaranteed Fixed Rate Annuities are also very attractive along with any of the Index Annuities we recommend for a NO RISK opportunity for Higher returns than other Fixed Income instruments.
Release Date: December 16, 2008
For immediate release
The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to establish a target range for the federal funds rate of 0 to 1/4 percent.
Since the Committee's last meeting, labor market conditions have deteriorated, and the available data indicate that consumer spending, business investment, and industrial production have declined. Financial markets remain quite strained and credit conditions tight. Overall, the outlook for economic activity has weakened further.
Meanwhile, inflationary pressures have diminished appreciably. In light of the declines in the prices of energy and other commodities and the weaker prospects for economic activity, the Committee expects inflation to moderate further in coming quarters.
The Federal Reserve will employ all available tools to promote the resumption of sustainable economic growth and to preserve price stability. In particular, the Committee anticipates that weak economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for some time.
The focus of the Committee's policy going forward will be to support the functioning of financial markets and stimulate the economy through open market operations and other measures that sustain the size of the Federal Reserves balance sheet at a high level. As previously announced, over the next few quarters the Federal Reserve will purchase large quantities of agency debt and mortgage-backed securities to provide support to the mortgage and housing markets, and it stands ready to expand its purchases of agency debt and mortgage-backed securities as conditions warrant. The Committee is also evaluating the potential benefits of purchasing longer-term Treasury securities. Early next year, the Federal Reserve will also implement the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility to facilitate the extension of credit to households and small businesses. The Federal Reserve will continue to consider ways of using its balance sheet to further support credit markets and economic activity.
Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; Christine M. Cumming; Elizabeth A. Duke; Richard W. Fisher; Donald L. Kohn; Randall S. Kroszner; Sandra Pianalto; Charles I. Plosser; Gary H. Stern; and Kevin M. Warsh.
In a related action, the Board of Governors unanimously approved a 75-basis-point decrease in the discount rate to 1/2 percent. In taking this action, the Board approved the requests submitted by the Boards of Directors of the Federal Reserve Banks of New York, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Minneapolis, and San Francisco. The Board also established interest rates on required and excess reserve balances of 1/4 percent.
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Normal Market:
For Example: If the Insurance Company last changed Rates 3 weeks ago when the 10 Year Yield was at 5.16% and the 10 Year Yield today is 5.00%, a change of 16 Basis Points or a 0.16% change lower, then you should expect a Decrease in Immediate / Income Annuity Payouts and a Reduction in Deferred Annuity Interest Rates at some point in immediate future if this lower rate level holds. The amount of the Annuity change may be higher or lower than this Treasury Rate change because the Annuity Rates are NOT based on the Actual Treasury Rates. The opposite is true for Increases in Yields. Most insurance companies will adjust all their annuities with a 1 to 3 week time lag following a change in Yields and most of the time with limited notice.
Remember, this is ONLY a Directional Indicator and based on our experience a prolonged move of at least + or - 0.15 may trigger an adjustment in Annuity Rates and Annuity Payouts. The exact time of the change is hard to predict.
