Free Lunch, FIA

[rescueme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude What you should have said was that the Rule of 72 refers to the amount of time in years it would take for your portfolio to increase above the Ameriprise fees..........

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rescueme

Be sure to say: "I got that from an independent FA"..........maybe that will get you more ........

[frayne]

Got my $100 gift card today in the mail, good for the following; Outback Steak House, Bonefish Grill, Carrabba's, Roy's and Flemings.

Not exactly a free meal but not bad for a two hour lesson on FIA.

[easysurfer]

Congrats! You're a brave man

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by easysurfer Congrats! You're a brave man

I will agree with that. I would choke under the pressure and get the $100 card and an annuity contract signed at the same time. Then 5 minutes later wonder why the heck I just signed that while driving home.

[Free To Canoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by frayne Got my $100 gift card today in the mail, good for the following; Outback Steak House, Bonefish Grill, Carrabba's, Roy's and Flemings. Not exactly a free meal but not bad for a two hour lesson on FIA.

A well deserved congrats! To paraphrase Mallory: we win free lunches from FIAs "because it's there".

I have friends who win junk off of time share people as a hobby. Not me.

[mickeyd]

Op's story and the balance of the thread reminds me a bit about the year or so (maybe 2005?) that I decided to attend as many of the free lunch financial seminars as I could take as a form of entertainment. Cocktail hour (cash bar) always preceded each presentation/meal. I thoroughly enjoyed the food, friendly chats with fellow attendees, and avoiding the free office visit that all attendees were "entitled to."

Most of the sales pitches/dog and pony shows were about EIAs and were very predictable and vague. Like I said, entertainment.

I don't seem to get those offers in the mail any more.

[haha]

I only have been to only one of these. I had fun. The meal was average at best, and the pitchman close to insufferable, but I enjoyed having a glass of cabernet and talking with a nice Chinese American businesswoman at my table. She had already bought several of whatever it was that the guy was selling, and was quite happy about it all. I appeared interested in this, and mentioned that perhaps I might get one when I have the money.

But I later decided not to.


Ha

[target2019]

I've been to about a dozen and a half of these things. It is really a mixed bag. We can sort out the beginners from the real sharks. Sometimes the meal is very good. Sometimes it is rubber chicken. Depending on your area, you may get these offers once a week. In the beginning I looked at it as a personal challenge--how many free meals can I get in 2010...

There are definitely one or two strategically placed couples who are in the know. They are usually current customers who were invited to say a few words, or maybe give feedback later on how the presentation was received.

I did see the nice Chinese-American businesswoman at a few of these, but she was quite busy.

[KRobby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 73ss454 Cool story, I often wonder what the % is of people who buy these things that actually have any idea what they bought. I would say it's very low as anyone that knew what it was wouldn't buy it. When I had a broker I asked him how he got paid on a product he was trying to sell me on. His answer was the same, it didn't cost me anything as the ins company paid him. Gotta love it!

[Mod Edit] Believe it or not, some people don't want to put their many at risk, (or at least a portion.) The rates are beating CD's, treasuries etc.. but the catch is it's long term.
So what, if you're long term, it may be great,
If it's short term, it's not the right product.
If you want stock market gains, it's not the right product.
If it's long term and you want guarantees, it may be great. Is it really that hard to understand?

And yes, the broker does get paid by the insurance company, not from the client, look on the balance after purchase. It's not from your contribution. It's all figured in the caps etc, but again, it's not designed to COMPETE with stock market performance. Surrender charges apply, NOT up front charges. It's not short term. Do you think insurance companies can charge no upfront OR surrender charges, they lose out when one bails early, as they're using the funds as well to make this guarantee possible.

Any broker that tries to persuade anyone to buy this is wasting their time. Find the buyers. There's plenty of intelligent people out there.

[KRobby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by frayne except that it was a good deal and it was insured by the FDIC ! This person is no dummy, college educated, retired early but has no clue when it comes to financial instruments.

It's backed at the state level, not the federal, what likely happened is your friend got it mixed up or the broker is new. In my state:
Cash Surrender: $250,000 for deferred annuity per contract owner
Annuity in Benefit: $300,000 per contract owner

In addition to sheer size and worldwide exposure of many insurance companies backing up their promises. Safe as a CD with better potential, um, yeah.

[Speculator]

I enjoy attending these presentations when the seminars fit my schedule. For a few hours of my time, I am able to learn about different financial instruments, time-shares, new condo and town home developments, and travel opportunities while getting a meal, and many times, some free stuff in the future, too!

Most of the time, the products or services being "pushed" don't fit my needs and I'm certainly skeptical of many of them. But, "who cares?" The folks who sell them are only trying to make a buck and it doesn't cost me anything to listen. Plus, I learn something at each one, so if nothing else, I'm a more informed consumer when I leave. Maybe not a "free" lunch, but for me, a great educational opportunity.

[noone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KRobby [Mod Edit]. Believe it or not, some people don't want to put their many at risk, (or at least a portion.)

Noone likes annuity salesmen who show up here to call posters dumb - especially when pointing out how some people don't like risking their many. Do you have much success getting clients to put their few at risk with you?

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KRobby [Mod Edit] Believe it or not, some people don't want to put their many at risk, (or at least a portion.) The rates are beating CD's, treasuries etc.. but the catch is it's long term. So what, if you're long term, it may be great, If it's short term, it's not the right product. If you want stock market gains, it's not the right product. If it's long term and you want guarantees, it may be great. Is it really that hard to understand? And yes, the broker does get paid by the insurance company, not from the client, look on the balance after purchase. It's not from your contribution. It's all figured in the caps etc, but again, it's not designed to COMPETE with stock market performance. Surrender charges apply, NOT up front charges. It's not short term. Do you think insurance companies can charge no upfront OR surrender charges, they lose out when one bails early, as they're using the funds as well to make this guarantee possible. Any broker that tries to persuade anyone to buy this is wasting their time. Find the buyers. There's plenty of intelligent people out there.

Even if all this blather were gospel truth, why on earth would you take credit exposure to an insurance company, pay a salesman's mortgage and get locked in for years and years when you can do the exact same thing on your own in about 15 minutes with expenses of less than $50 a year? Voila: Life, Investments & Everything: Rolling Your Own

[frayne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KRobby It's backed at the state level, not the federal, what likely happened is your friend got it mixed up or the broker is new. In my state: Cash Surrender: $250,000 for deferred annuity per contract owner Annuity in Benefit: $300,000 per contract owner In addition to sheer size and worldwide exposure of many insurance companies backing up their promises. Safe as a CD with better potential, um, yeah.

Wonder what may have happened if AIG went belly up ?

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KRobby It's backed at the state level, not the federal, what likely happened is your friend got it mixed up or the broker is new. In my state: Cash Surrender: $250,000 for deferred annuity per contract owner Annuity in Benefit: $300,000 per contract owner In addition to sheer size and worldwide exposure of many insurance companies backing up their promises. Safe as a CD with better potential, um, yeah.

Its not "safe as a CD." CDs are FDIC insured and have the full faith and credit of the US gubmint behind them. State insurance guaranty associations are significantly less financially capable. Details to your heart's content here: nolhga.com :: welcome

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 Its not "safe as a CD." CDs are FDIC insured and have the full faith and credit of the US gubmint behind them. State insurance guaranty associations are significantly less financially capable. Details to your heart's content here: nolhga.com :: welcome

Always amusing how many people think FDIC is solvent......... Yeah, they can borrow more money, and get Congress to allocate more funds, but with all the bank failures lately, you have about $60 billion covering $ 8 trillion or so in assets...........

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude Always amusing how many people think FDIC is solvent......... Yeah, they can borrow more money, and get Congress to allocate more funds, but with all the bank failures lately, you have about $60 billion covering $ 8 trillion or so in assets...........

Last I checked, you have the full faith and credit of the us treasury on the line. Uncle Sam can tap you and me any time he likes.

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 Last I checked, you have the full faith and credit of the us treasury on the line. Uncle Sam can tap you and me any time he likes.

These days, I am wondering about that "full faith and credit" thingy........ I think we are about a decade from austerity measures but what do I know? And yes, taxes ARE going up in the future, up to early 90's levels at least, probably higher.......

If we can give AIG a couple hundred billion, certainly we can bail out a few thousand banks........

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude These days, I am wondering about that "full faith and credit" thingy........ I think we are about a decade from austerity measures but what do I know? And yes, taxes ARE going up in the future, up to early 90's levels at least, probably higher....... If we can give AIG a couple hundred billion, certainly we can bail out a few thousand banks........

If you are worried about full faith and credit, you should be buying guns, ammo, MREs and a mule, not annuities.