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I think when the market is down it's the best time to prepare, because as the other investors are confused, it's easier to see clearly where the market is heading 10, 20 years down the road. Since your plan is supposed not to give you speculative gains but to generate a lifetime income, you...

$200K enough? Well, if these conditions are met, maybe: 1) Your Long-term care insurance had been paid up or can be financed by a separate source of income (eg rental income from your property which had been paid up); 2) You have a separate fund or source of income (eg above-mentioned) that...

Hi, before I reply, let's read an interesting article regarding how the 'regulation' layer of assurance plays a part in ensuring the continuity of s reinsurer during potential crisis (not necessarily due to stock market crash): The above is a real story of how the regulators would take action...

Haha, if someday more start to survive beyond 100, it's possible that those insurance companies who sold their annuities decades ago assuming the mortality is 85 will do likewise. Actually, when we buy an annuity, we'd rather that the people insured in the same pool would die earlier. >:D If...

As I had explained, it's a comparison. In the case of financial difficulties, the insurers may still claim from the reinsurers, whereas most other private companies do not have this additional layer of protection.

I see that you are still obsessed with rating. As I said, it's a historical reference, and neither is rating as reliable as we hoped it is. As the subprime crisis reveals, some CDOs rated highly sank. In retirement planning, which is what we are discussing about, the certainty of one getting...

Let me explain how reinsurance works using an illustration. A common form of reinsurance is the 'Proportional Reinsurance' arrangement. Suppose an insurer insures $1m, and chooses a PR of 50%, then $500K of the risk is transferred to an reinsurer. There are also various other arrangements, such...

You might want to read up:

Hi, regarding the points that if the stock market is not doing well, how can insurance companies still stay afloat and continue to pay the annuity pay-outs, and why annuity pay-outs can be more than the 4% SWR even when insurers incur expenses and pay commissions: I think most haven't...

I am surprised that the CFA is so highly regarded and exclusive in the US. In Singapore, it seems to me that more and more people hold it. Comparatively, the DBA is certainly tougher and more demanding, since a Doctorate by definition is the highest degree. You could expect a DBA to teach CFA...

But it seems to me that the majorn certifications in this industry----CFP, ChFC, CLU, CFA and CPA----are becoming more common nowadays. So, to distinguish oneself, an MBA or DBA might be helpful. While the PhD is indeed an academically inclined and focused research degree, the DBA is quite...

I share this view. I think investing solely in a balanced fund and withdrawing at the 4% SWR is both inefficient and riskier. I had proposed my personal view that a better plan would be to combine an annuities portfolio with a balanced fund. One major reason why an annuity should be included is...

Well, I am asking about those accredited but non-top-ranking universities. A few examples I am looking into are: 1) University of South Australia (EQUIS accredited) 2) Charles Sturt University 3) Charles Darwin University These are ordinary universities which are legitimate, but not ranked...

I'd like to seek you guys' opinion about taking an Australian degree. How do you perceive an Australian government-funded university accredited by EQUIS as compared to an American universited accredited by AACSB? Would you respect a professor who holds an Australian PhD as you would an another...

Personally, I feel that someone your age should first be concerned about insurance protection. If you are not protected from financial risks from Critical Illnesses, hospitalization, Disability, etc, you cannot expect to have a secure future. Moreover, you are younger, and insurable now. So, do...

But don't Americans feel they are superior to the rest of the world? Why would you feel that Australian degrees are better than American ones?

A) How do you perceive Australian government-funded universities and their degrees? Do you perceive them to be: 1) Better than regionally accredited US universities; 2) As good as regionally accredited US universities; 3) Inferior to regionally accredited US universities? B) How do you...

Unfortunately, this financial crisis is the worst since WW2, and may well worsen into a depression. In other words, we can't presume that the Bush Administration, given its poor track records, is capable enough to end it as just another recession.

Ok, gd that u brought up these 2 points. To reply, 1) The reason why the annuity is taken up in the 1st place is not to have the highest possible projected returns, but to have an insured stream of income + some counter-inflation features to preserve this insured stream's purchasing power. In...

But it's always good to listen to someone who has done it successfully for others, and who has done it for a living.

My response is: No, I am not getting a non-inflation-protected annuity. I am getting an immediate variable guaranteed annuity. To describe such an annuity (eg the one I intend to buy in Singapore), it works like this: 1) First, you pay a premium, say $100,000 2) You are guaranteed a minimum...

Yup, in this case, from a financial planning perspective, I need to have more assets than 'necessary', and also use more advanced investment techniques like hedging. Beside a portfolio of annuities, insurance and stocks and bonds, I will have an additional fund for hedging that are focused on...

Insurance companies should be affected by CDO failures, but the difference is that in the case of insurance companies, comparatively, more regulations are in place to curb such risks. There are capital requirements. The types of investments that may be done are also governed. There are...

If you want to show that you are older than 3yo, can you show that AMP's insurance policies do not deliver their obligations? :rolleyes: [/I]

I'd like to add that with the biomedical field's rate of progression, we can only expect to live longer. So, any swr for 30 years or even 40 years are no guarantee of a secure stream of retirement income, especially for ER. For example, I plan to ER at 35, in 5 years. A 30-year stream of income...