Life-annuity

With all the controversies of variable annuities today, Michael does an excellent job of showing the appropriateness of the annuity. The book was written at the basic level for the investor, capturing an informative overview of the many different investment options such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds and how the annuity fits into the investor's overall investment strategy. I would highly recommend this book to all investors!

I've read many different points of view about the value of VAs -- this book explains them clearly. Lane's book shows how tax deferral wroks. He takes you step-by-step so you can see how all the parts relate and why. Read chapters 5 "Suitable Uses of VAs" and ch 18 "Analyzing the Payout" and you will know more than most advisors. Great book congrads.

Having been in this business for 5 years it's nice to find a refreshing look at the real uses of variable annuities and when they make the most sense. Michael is very enlightening in his approach to when a variable annuity makes sense and for whom. He also is very concise in his description of all the factors which contribute to determining the above. In an industry which is muddled with both the pros and cons of variable annuities this book is a straight shot to doing what is in the best interest of the client.

Gordon Williamson states that you can receive a FREE copy of Lipper Inc.'s Variable Insurance Products Performance Analysis Survey. That is not accurate. As this guide is expensive to produce and Lipper distibutes it on a paid subscription basis, it is impossible to make free copies available to readers of this book.

More than just a lengthy diatribe on life insurance and annuities, this book is also a great tome of modern financial literature. As I opened the pages, I was whisked away to a magical land of contracts, contracts, and more contracts. And were those contracts ever amazing! Not for the weak hearted or illiterate, only people with degrees in finance or law will truly understand the magic of contracts. To the rest of us, it's all giberish. But owning this book sends a message to anyone who's eyes would stray to your bookshelf. It says: "don't bother me, or I'll bore you to tears."

I was very impressed with the information this book provided. The examples it provides aids in understanding the material. I used this book along with the workbook. Together, an excellent choice to pass your LOMA test. Workbook ISBN # 1-57974-030-8.

This book is a must for anyone in the financial services industry! I'm always looking for the most accurate tax information to provide clients. Tax Facts is that resource. Not only is the information completely accurate, it's easy to find the information I need. The book is written in a question-and-answer format so I can always locate what I need. I'm confident that I'm providing my clients with the most accurate tax related information for their financial planning needs. Also, you can't beat the price for this book. I have a lot of other publications on my shelf that cost way more than this book that don't contain half of the information as Tax Facts. This book is a must for anyone in the financial services industry!

This book is for any life agent, financial advisor, CFP, CPA, or anybody who specializes in the financial services industry. This book is for agents who still sales whole life or universal life ,variable universal life can do anything that fixed insurance product can do and more. This book is also for those who sale the VUL, it will help you understand what it is and how it works, It is a hell of a lot more than just Life insurance. This book is also for buy term and invest the difference people, after reading this book you will understand that term investing the difference is a foolish mistake and a amiture one as well. If you are giving financial advise and not looking to see if the VUL can fit into their portfolio in some cases you might be leaving your client an incompleate financial plan. I would ask for all those specializing in these areas to please read this book. As of today there isn't a financial product that can do what the VUL can if structured properly. Please email me if anybody finds a better and more productive product.

The reviewers who think this books is peddling one form of life insurance (VULs especially) really are missing the important part of this book. This book is organized to teach you all about the forms of insurance on the market, from the simplest (term), through the most complex (VUL), because each one builds upon the prior! Why do you think so many forms of insurance exist? Because they started simple, and over time the industry added features they thought consumers would like. It helps to understand where it all came from. In fact, if you try to just dive into the VUL section you may get lost.

This can be a difficult, time consuming read, but it does an excellent job of explaining how life insurance works. The book does not pander to one type of insurance over another. It does give you crucial information about plan types that can help you make the right decision for you. Once you understand the book, you can easily look at an insurance contract and understand the most important fine points. I could stump the agent with the most basic of questions! Cut through their sales tactics. Now that is power!

The book is user friendly and full of great ideas to help you make the most of your money. Perfect use of life insurance and its unique tax advantages. I feel sorry for those that believe that investing the difference and buying term is the best choice, it is not anymore a good choice.

The book is great for an intorduction...period. Nothing technical, no details and no insight. That is why I would have a different title than plain "annuities". I was a little mislead.

Excellent book on annuities with focus on US market.

The book talks about fixed and variable annuities, concepts and definitions are really clear.

Taxation is also dealt and what is really good about the book is the way it is presented, examples, illustration etc.

The entire life cycle of annuities (from distribution to claims / disbursement), history of annuities, need for regulation - in one word, the book covers everything about annuities.

This was the first time I was tempted to send a book back to Amazon and get a refund. This book delivered plenty of "sizzle" about Swiss annuities, but didn't give me much "steak."

The authors spent significant (wasted) print space trying to sell the reader on the general concept of Swiss annuities. You don't have to sell me on the general concept of Swiss annuities. If I wasn't interested, I wouldn't have bought the book. Like any investment, I want to see the details and an objective, well reasoned analysis before I plunk down the cash. I'll use the information that you provide to make an educated decision. In my opinion, the authors failed to provide enough information. They also failed to temper their (perhaps justified) enthusiasm for Swiss annuities. So what I was left with was little more than an enthusiastic sales pitch. One that cost me $25.

Some questions I would have liked to have seen answered: What if the Swiss franc! doesn't continue to be a favored currency relative to the dollar, how would this change the equation? (a relevant question since the Swiss franc HAS dropped to about SF 1.50 to $1.00 USD, and the prevailing opinion of European analysts is that they expect it to drop some more this year) What about variable annuities offered by Swiss insurance companies? What are the products offered by the companies you recommend? What makes them recommended? What makes the companies different? All in all, the only really useful information for me was at the end of the book where they provided names and addresses of recommended Swiss insurance companies. If you go and buy a recent copy of PROFIT magazine (I can't remember but I think it was the July issue) you can get the exact same information. Save your money, buy the magazine.

In all fairness to the a! uthors, I do have to thank them for their efforts to public! ize a relatively obscure investment device that shows some real potential.

Better than Gold is the first book-length study of one of today's hottest investment possibilities. In clear, detailed chapters, Bill McCord and Donald Moine offer essential information on how to evaluate and invest in Swiss annuities. In brief, McCord and Moine believe passionately that Swiss annuities provide investors with an outstanding opportunity to grow and protect their money. This Swiss "safety net" allows funds to grow at reasonable rates of return.. At the same time, it protects funds from lawsuits and creditors. It seems like an unbeatable combination. For many investors, it will be. McCord and Moine also provide a detailed analysis of who will benefit most from investing in Swiss annuities, and the place of these annuities in a balanced portfolio. The iron-clad protection offered by Swiss privacy laws, for instance, means that professionals at high risk of lawsuits should be investing in this product. Swiss Annuities are also among the most flexible in this class of investment, and Moine and McCord are careful to provide thorough disclosure of the terms and conditions governing their purchase or redemption. Overall, the book will be worth well more than its cover price to investors seeking full information or financial professionals seeking the best counsel for their clients.

This book has some good information, but after reading the section on annuities, I put the book down and refuse to read another word of it and do not recommend it to anyone. This is because the author fails to even mention that anyone can purchase an annuity with no surrender penalties whatsoever with many no load mutual fund companies. Sorry Brian, but that fact you left that out reveals your bias perspective, and is just plain unacceptable for a book like this. Shame on you.

This is a wonderful explanation of all the terms you need to understand before buying life insurance. Just bear in mind this one thing. The insurance company will always try to get more money out of you then you get from them. So, life insurance is a bad investment unless there is a catastrophe.

This is a good investment if you are looking at establishing financial security and your plan includes insurance coverage. This will prepare you with some good common sense tips and easy to understand explanations. It is a quick read but worthwhile if you are totally new to this area.