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Article: Annuities Are Getting Hotter: Once shunned as ugly ducklings, variable annuities have grown into sophisticated swans.
- Article from:
- Financial Planning
- Article date:
- March 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 SourceMedia, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Many consumers, and perhaps many planners as well, still tend to see variable annuities as low-risk, low-return instruments that can provide a moderate supplement to the moderately well-off. But the creativity of the insurance companies that sell them, and the planners that find new uses for them, knows no bounds. The market now boasts of exotic annuities with features suitable even for the wealthy. Whether there's a tax problem or a missing piece of a retirement plan, annuities are being pushed as the solution. Just where do annuities fit with your clients' plans? And, are they in danger of being oversold and overhyped?
Annuities are no longer simple, although ...