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Growing Your Retirement
Let us help you grow your retirement account.
We can give
you the tools to grow your
retirement through our:
High Yield
Banking, CDs and World Currency Accounts
Alternative,
Non-Traded Investments for
Accredited Investors
Other Helpful
Resources
College Planning
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529 Plans
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As we specialize in asset management, we are one
of the few firms that offer self-directed 529
plans. This means that our 529 plans can be
managed similar to our asset managed accounts
instead of relying on vague mutual fund
allocations that rarely seem to maximize growth.
A
529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan designed
to encourage saving for future college costs. 529
plans, legally known as “qualified tuition plans,”
are sponsored by states, state agencies, or
educational institutions and are authorized by
Section 529 of the Internal Revenue
Code.
Income For
Retirement
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- Tax Free Municipal Bonds
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According to Wikipedia, a Municipal Bond is a
bond
issued by a city or other local government, or
their agencies. Potential issuers of municipal
bonds include cities, counties, redevelopment
agencies,
school
districts,
publicly owned airports and seaports, and any
other governmental entity (or group of
governments) below the state level. Municipal
bonds may be general obligations of the issuer
or secured by specified revenues. Interest
income received by holders of municipal bonds is
often
exempt
from the federal
income tax
and from the income tax of the state in which
they are issued, although municipal bonds issued
for certain purposes may not be tax exempt.
- - Corporate Bonds
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According to Wikipedia, a Corporate Bond
is a
bond
issued by a
corporation.
The term is usually applied to longer-term debt
instruments, generally with a maturity date
falling at least a year after their issue date.
(The term "commercial paper" is sometimes used
for instruments with a shorter maturity.)
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Sometimes, the term "corporate bonds" is used to
include all bonds except those issued by
governments
in their own currencies. Strictly speaking,
however, it only applies to those issued by
corporations. The bonds of local authorities and
supranational organizations do not fit in either
category.
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Corporate bonds are often listed on major
exchanges
(bonds there are called "listed" bonds) and
ECNs
(Electronic Communication Network)
like MarketAxess, and the
coupon
(i.e.
interest
payment) is usually
taxable.
Sometimes this coupon can be zero with a high
redemption value. However, despite being listed
on exchanges, the vast majority of trading
volume in corporate bonds in most developed
markets takes place in decentralized,
dealer-based,
over-the-counter
markets.
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Some corporate bonds have an embedded
call option
that allows the issuer to redeem the debt before
its maturity date. Other bonds, known as
convertible
bonds,
allow investors to convert the bond into equity.
Life Income
Annuity
According to
Wikipedia, a Life Annuity, is a financial
contract according to which a seller (issuer) -
typically a financial institution such as a life
insurance company - makes a series of payments
in the future to the buyer (annuitant) in
exchange for the immediate payment of a lumpsum
(in the case of a single-payment
annuity)
or a series of payments prior to the return
payments. The payment stream from the issuer to
the annuitant has an unknown duration based
principally upon the date of death of the
annuitant: it generally stops then. Thus it is a
form of
longevity
insurance.
It is possible
to structure a life annuity so that the payments
instead only stop upon the death of a second of
two annuitants (i.e., a joint and survivor
annuity); sometimes the instrument reduces the
payments to the second annuitant.
With a "pure"
life annuity an annuitant may die before
recovering their investment in the annuity. If
the possibility of this situation, called a
"forfeiture", is not desired it can be
ameliorated by the addition of an added clause
under which the annuity issuer is required to
make annuity payments for at least a certain
number of years (the "period certain"); if the
annuitant outlives the specified period certain,
annuity payments then continue until the
annuitant's death, and if the annuitant dies
before the expiration of the period certain, the
annuitant's estate or beneficiary is entitled to
collect the remaining payments certain. The
tradeoff between the pure life annuity and the
life-with-period-certain annuity is in exchange
for the reduced risk of loss, the annuity
payments for the latter will be smaller.
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Variable
annuities,
on the other hand, let you decide
where to allocate your funds in any number of
mutual funds. While variable
annuity products must be registered with the SEC,
must issue prospectuses and can only be sold by
professionals with securities licenses, EIAs are
not federally regulated and brokers don't need a
securities license to sell them.
Annuities are long-term financial products
designed for retirement purposes. In essence,
annuities are contractual agreements in which payment(s) are made to an insurance company,
which agrees to pay out an income or a lump sum
amount at a later date. There are contract
limitations and fees and charges associated with
annuities, administrative fees, and charges for
optional benefits. A financial professional can
provide cost information and complete details.
Withdrawals from annuities are subject to normal
income tax treatment and if taken prior to age
59½, may be subject to an additional 10% federal
income tax penalty. Withdrawals may also be
subject to a contractual withdrawal charge.
Please consider the charges, risk, expenses, and
investment objectives carefully before
purchasing a variable annuity. For a prospectus
containing this and other information, please
contact a financial professional. Read it
carefully before you invest or send money.
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An
equity-indexed annuity,
or EIA for short, is
an annuity that earns interest that is linked to a
stock or other equity index. One of the most
commonly used indices is the Standard & Poor's
500 Composite Stock Price Index (the S&P 500).
EIAs offer consumers what could be described as
the best of both worlds: a market-driven
investment with potentially attractive returns,
plus a guaranteed minimum return. In short: You
get less upside but also less downside.
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An equity-indexed annuity is
in the category of "Fixed" annuities. That means,
you may earn a comfortable return on your money
while deferring the taxes on your gains. Fixed
annuities also offer specified annual
company-guaranteed returns. Variable annuities, on
the other hand, let you decide where to allocate
your funds in any number of mutual funds.
Death Benefit
Should you pass away before taking income, a
death benefit equal to the full accumulation
value of your annuity, less any withdrawals made
prior to death, is payable to your beneficiary.
Because the payment is to the beneficiary, it
avoids the costs, delays and publicity of
probate. Additionally, no withdrawal charges
will apply.
If you pass away after income payments have
started, the death benefit, if any, will be
determined by the provisions of the annuity
contract and income option selected.
Competitive
Current Interest
Fixed annuity interest rates can be higher than
those of other fixed-interest, long-term savings
vehicles. Moreover, since annuity interest not
withdrawn is not subject to current taxation,
the effective yield may be even more favorable.
But, the current interest rate is not the most
important consideration in selecting an annuity.
Because an annuity is a long-term financial
instrument, the initial interest rate is not
nearly as important as the long-term rate of
return. Of course, that's not easy to predict,
as the rate will fluctuate overtime with changes
in economic conditions. In order to anticipate
what might happen in the future, it's worth
looking at what has happened in the past. In
other words, how a company has treated its
contract holders in the past may be a good
indication of how it may treat contract holders
in the future. Some companies offer a very
attractive interest rate to entice new contract
holders, but they may not offer that rate for
very long, or they may credit a lower rate to
subsequent contributions than they are crediting
on premiums paid to new annuities.
Other Things
to Consider
Although annuities should be viewed as long-term
financial instruments, the length of the
withdrawal charge period, which may be several
years, may be important for you. Some companies waive
the surrender charge in the event of premature
death or annuitization on many of our fixed
annuity products, but other withdrawals before
the end of the withdrawal charge period may
incur a withdrawal charge. For more details
refer to a current withdrawal charge schedule.
Annuities are long-term, tax-deferred vehicles
designed for retirement. Earnings are taxable as
ordinary income when distributed and, if
withdrawn before age 59½, may be subject to a
10% federal tax penalty.
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