How soon would you want to know if your investment advisor wasn't telling you about the three major investment types? If you've only heard of two - Variable and Fixed, then you may have a problem. Unfortunately, many investment advisors routinely fail to present all three types: Variable, Fixed, and Indexed as valid investment choices to their clients. This is normally because they are unable to offer all three options or they have a personal dislike for one or more of these investment types. So what is the difference in these investment types and what do the terms mean? The simplest answer is that these terms define how interest is earned on your investment. More specifically, it tells you how your money is invested and if your money is protected from market fluctuations. Let's take a look at these various investment options.
Forty years later, investing money is a game that I find has changed little. It's all but impossible to find the best investment, and the world of investing money is primarily a sales game aimed at uninformed investors (more than 90% of the investing public). I once read that NOW is always the hardest time to invest money. I've seen difficult times in the markets for over 40 years and I've NEVER repeated that phrase until now. At this time, I am afraid that it is really true. Allison and I have three children, who are all basically 30-something and trying to make it in a difficult world. Investing money for retirement is not an option for them. It is an absolute necessity if they don't want to work for the rest of their life. Many folks my age are covered by pension funds plus other entitlements, but that's not the norm for 2014 and beyond. Now, let's get down to business and talk about investing money in 2014 and beyond; and the best investment ideas I can muster as an older (but still on top of my game) retired financial planner.
A Fixed investment offers a pre-determined or fixed interest rate for a specified period. This is most commonly seen with bonds, CD's, annuities and universal life insurance products. Fixed investments have three major advantages over the other options. First, they provide a guaranteed or known interest rate that is disclosed prior to making your investment. Second, fixed investments are generally designed to protect your initial or principal investment. A Fixed investment also has two major pitfalls. First, because they provide a known or guaranteed interest rate, they generally provide a lower rate than what may be available when you're willing to risk your principal. Second, they normally have restrictions or penalties associated with any withdrawals made during the fixed interest rates term period. This is especially true with CD's and annuities. Overall, Fixed investments can be a great option for those not willing to risk some or all of their money, older clients using the investment interest to provide or supplement their income, and clients looking to provide a hedge against other, more aggressive investments.
Unlike Fixed and Variable investments, Indexed investments are somewhat unique to the insurance and annuity marketplaces. An Indexed investment shares traits of both Fixed and Variable investments, but with one major difference - how interest is earned. With an Indexed investment the underlying funds are not directly invested in the stock market or an Index, nor are they directly invested in a bond, CD, or other fixed investment. They are however, secured by bonds or other conservative investments which provide a minimum guaranteed interest rate similar to a fixed investment. Generally, this minimum or fixed rate is lower than what is available in a purely fixed product. This is because Indexed products offer a higher maximum interest rate over Fixed investment products. The Indexed products determine the maximum interest earned using a formula based on three factors, all part of an option purchased by the insurance or investment company. They are the participation rate, the cap rate, and the reset period.
Like all types of investing, HYIP is not for everyone. Many investors believe that opportunities to get involved with an HYIP are just like deciding to throw your money away. Because of e-currencies, many people receive emails for various HYIP programs and consider them nothing more than spam from scammers who want to steal their money. In certain cases this may be true, in other cases an HYIP is a legitimate way to make a good return on even the smallest investment. It's all about choosing the right HYIP and knowing when to pull out if things start to get a bit shaky.If you are good at recruiting people to invest in the programs that you are interested in, than an HYIP may be perfect for you. So long as you can keep getting "referrals" or new investors, your HYIP will likely continue to pay well for a substantial period of time. It'll pay even better if the people that you recruit will also recruit, as it's a pyramid scheme that will allow you to make more money if more people get involved.
Many opponents of Indexed investments point to this limiting of growth, especially in years were the Index or stock market exceeds the Index (option) cap or participation rates, as the Achilles heel of these products. There is also some controversy over the way the Index rate is determined in future years. While Indexed products do have a minimum cap and participation rate that is known for the entire term period, the current or maximum cap and participation rates normally reset on an annual basis. This makes it difficult to determine what will happen in subsequent years. Some advisors avoid these products claiming that the difference between the current and minimum rates creates client confusion. No matter which type of investment you choose, it is important to get the facts and options available for each. Each of the investment choices outlines provides different advantages that need to be weighed against their disadvantages, however they all have different uses and can all be viable choices when planning your financial future. As always, it is important to consult your "Financial Professional" to find out which of these investment choices is right for you.
Forty years later, investing money is a game that I find has changed little. It's all but impossible to find the best investment, and the world of investing money is primarily a sales game aimed at uninformed investors (more than 90% of the investing public). I once read that NOW is always the hardest time to invest money. I've seen difficult times in the markets for over 40 years and I've NEVER repeated that phrase until now. At this time, I am afraid that it is really true. Allison and I have three children, who are all basically 30-something and trying to make it in a difficult world. Investing money for retirement is not an option for them. It is an absolute necessity if they don't want to work for the rest of their life. Many folks my age are covered by pension funds plus other entitlements, but that's not the norm for 2014 and beyond. Now, let's get down to business and talk about investing money in 2014 and beyond; and the best investment ideas I can muster as an older (but still on top of my game) retired financial planner.
A Fixed investment offers a pre-determined or fixed interest rate for a specified period. This is most commonly seen with bonds, CD's, annuities and universal life insurance products. Fixed investments have three major advantages over the other options. First, they provide a guaranteed or known interest rate that is disclosed prior to making your investment. Second, fixed investments are generally designed to protect your initial or principal investment. A Fixed investment also has two major pitfalls. First, because they provide a known or guaranteed interest rate, they generally provide a lower rate than what may be available when you're willing to risk your principal. Second, they normally have restrictions or penalties associated with any withdrawals made during the fixed interest rates term period. This is especially true with CD's and annuities. Overall, Fixed investments can be a great option for those not willing to risk some or all of their money, older clients using the investment interest to provide or supplement their income, and clients looking to provide a hedge against other, more aggressive investments.
Unlike Fixed and Variable investments, Indexed investments are somewhat unique to the insurance and annuity marketplaces. An Indexed investment shares traits of both Fixed and Variable investments, but with one major difference - how interest is earned. With an Indexed investment the underlying funds are not directly invested in the stock market or an Index, nor are they directly invested in a bond, CD, or other fixed investment. They are however, secured by bonds or other conservative investments which provide a minimum guaranteed interest rate similar to a fixed investment. Generally, this minimum or fixed rate is lower than what is available in a purely fixed product. This is because Indexed products offer a higher maximum interest rate over Fixed investment products. The Indexed products determine the maximum interest earned using a formula based on three factors, all part of an option purchased by the insurance or investment company. They are the participation rate, the cap rate, and the reset period.
Like all types of investing, HYIP is not for everyone. Many investors believe that opportunities to get involved with an HYIP are just like deciding to throw your money away. Because of e-currencies, many people receive emails for various HYIP programs and consider them nothing more than spam from scammers who want to steal their money. In certain cases this may be true, in other cases an HYIP is a legitimate way to make a good return on even the smallest investment. It's all about choosing the right HYIP and knowing when to pull out if things start to get a bit shaky.If you are good at recruiting people to invest in the programs that you are interested in, than an HYIP may be perfect for you. So long as you can keep getting "referrals" or new investors, your HYIP will likely continue to pay well for a substantial period of time. It'll pay even better if the people that you recruit will also recruit, as it's a pyramid scheme that will allow you to make more money if more people get involved.
Many opponents of Indexed investments point to this limiting of growth, especially in years were the Index or stock market exceeds the Index (option) cap or participation rates, as the Achilles heel of these products. There is also some controversy over the way the Index rate is determined in future years. While Indexed products do have a minimum cap and participation rate that is known for the entire term period, the current or maximum cap and participation rates normally reset on an annual basis. This makes it difficult to determine what will happen in subsequent years. Some advisors avoid these products claiming that the difference between the current and minimum rates creates client confusion. No matter which type of investment you choose, it is important to get the facts and options available for each. Each of the investment choices outlines provides different advantages that need to be weighed against their disadvantages, however they all have different uses and can all be viable choices when planning your financial future. As always, it is important to consult your "Financial Professional" to find out which of these investment choices is right for you.
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Frank Miller has a Debt Consolidation Blog & Finance, these are some of the articles: The Factors To Consider Before Using A 401K Calculator You have full permission to reprint this article provided this box is kept unchanged.
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