Article - America's Most-Hated Investments

Thanks to Mike Reese for sharing this recent article on Smart Money that talks about the types of investments that have seen the greatest increase in FINRA complaints since the financial meltdown.

And the 3 winners are...

1. Preferred Stock
2. Corporate Bonds
3. Variable Annuities

Really not a huge surprise if you think about it - all of them are products that have risk associated with them that many brokers position as safe alternatives to individual stocks or mutual funds. Here's a quick excerpt from the article below and a link to it on Smart Money's website.

THE FINANCIAL CRISIS AND its aftermath have raised investors’ ire over all sorts of investments. But by one important measure, three kinds of investments in particular are emerging as the meltdown’s most-hated products.

Who are the new offenders? They’re everyday investments that saw many investors burned in the past year: preferred stock, corporate bonds and variable annuities. Based on data about arbitration claims filed by investors with FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, those three investments are seeing the sharpest rise in the number of complaints filed.

The backlash against these products gives another window into how dramatically the financial crisis upended many notions about investments. The meltdown saw the market lose roughly half its value – the S&P 500 fell 57% between its peak (1565) on Oct. 9, 2007, and its nadir (677) March 9 this year – wiping out big chunks of retirement portfolios and savings. The damage was severe enough that many investments that had been pitched as relatively safe still saw tremendous losses.

Click here for the entire article.

U.S. Unemployment Rates Timeline

I ran across this timeline of the Unemployment Rate in the U.S. by county since January 2007, it explains a lot about our current economic position. Interesting if you think about the market's performance in this same timespan and look at how the ripple effect made it's way into the job market. Great information to be aware of as it's tough to have a recovering economy when 10% or more of your population is jobless in vast majorites of the country.

January 2007

October 2009

Click below for the entire slideshow...

http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html

UPDATE 151A - SEC Consents to Delay 151A's Effective Date

I just received an update that the court has ruled to delay 151A's effective date, here it is in legal jargon...

The Commission consents to stay the effective date of Rule 151A for two years after completion of all proceedings on remand, to run from publication of a retained or reissued Rule 151A in the Federal Register. Such a stay would remove the current January 2011 effective date and alleviate the petitioners' concerns regarding the period within which they would need to come into compliance with the reissued rule.

Great news for everyone involved in the indexed annuity world! I'll keep you updated as I hear more and here's a link to the legal document - 151A Update.

P.S. If you don't have it already, make sure to contact me at 209-TOP-PROD (209-867-7763) for a 2 year study on Indexed Annuities from the Wharton School of Business showing how they've outperformed a number of alternative investments since their inception in 1995!