For registered reps, annuities, one of the most lucrative and complex items in an advisor's repertoire, can appear to be a cure-all for clients. Clients seem to love them, because of the guaranteed income even if they don't understand them. Many...

There is one thing that can be deadly medicine to the financial health of even well-prepared clients: long-term care. This year, the number of men and women over the age of 65 who will need long-term care will hit nine million, or about 3 percent...

Those who have trouble getting excited by insurance products should note the following: A recent study by LIMRA International, a Windsor, Conn.-based research and consulting firm, showed that 44 percent of U.S. households say they need more life...

It's a rare event indeed when an IRS ruling is cause for celebration, but such was the case in April when the tax-meisters made some alternative deferred-compensation funding investments more tax friendly. Specifically, the IRS ruled that an...

A Morgan Stanley advisor sat at his desk a few months ago, reviewing his professional life. During the late 90s boom, he had been trading millions of dollars a day. When, like many reps, he crashed to earth in the boom's aftermath, he had to re...

THE QUESTION WHAT NEXT? is an expression of exasperation but also one of hope as if so much has already happened that it can't possibly get worse. With all the scandal that's buffeted the securities industry, it's understandable if reps are...

The Scottish poet George MacDonald wrote, Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling of the fresh life within, and financial advisors familiar with the intricacies of life insurance know what he means. As people age, their perspectives...

It's an unfortunate fact of life that a worthwhile goal usually requires copious sacrifice. You can't be a pro football player, for instance, without spending untold hours pumping iron. A surgeon doesn't get to the good part of his job before...

Consumer Reports recently released a study that concluded, for most people, long-term-care insurance is too risky and too expensive. True as this may be, many people still find the idea of life without this safety net far more frightening than its...

Picture this: An older woman with a limited investment horizon her nest egg in a diversified portfolio, but at his advisor's urging, he agrees to move everything into a variable annuity with whopping upfront fees and penalties for early withdrawal...