Annuities Fulfill Their Core Purpose Beautifully
Fish swim, birds fly, dogs bark, cats meow, politicians spend. Everything has a core purpose. That is the thing it was created to do, the thing it does better than anything else, its singular...
View ArticleAcademics and Annuities
Annuities have been around for several centuries. They satisfy a demand for security. Yet they inspire controversy and emotion. Dispassion and detachment govern life in the academy, at least in...
View ArticleDoes the Placebo Effect Explain Government Intervention?
The news (MSNBC.com) brings word that many doctors occasionally prescribe or recommend substances that have no physical effect on their patients, but that are intended to instill the belief that the...
View ArticleHow Is a Variable Annuity Like a Bumblebee?
The answer is: Both are not optimally designed for their primary activity. Bumblebees fly, but their aerodynamic characteristics make aviation engineers shudder. Variable annuities are investment...
View ArticleManaging Retirement Withdrawals
Retirement finance has an accumulation stage and a decumulation stage. Accumulation gestates, hatches, and cooks your retirement nest egg; decumulation allows you to eat it. Accumulation commands the...
View ArticleThe Best Possible Result, or the Best Result Possible?
The British bridge expert, S. J. Simon, drew a distinction that is just as valuable to investors as it is to bridge players. Simon criticized players who sought to achieve the “best possible result” on...
View ArticleWhy Aren’t Annuities More Popular?
Annuities have been around forever. Anybody with any experience in investments is familiar with them. They’re issued by insurance companies, the epitome of financial soundness. Fixed annuities are...
View ArticleThe Internet and Retirement
Some aspects of retirement are eternal and immutable. In other ways, today’s retirees are unlike any others in human history. Living standards depend on productivity, which is spearheaded by...
View ArticleHappiness Is a Reliable Income Source
The content of human happiness is a subject for never-ending speculation and wonder. One aspect of this picture seems to have clarified, however. Retirees consistently say that they are happier when...
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