In the Media
Designed to Deceive
An equity-indexed annuity is an insurance-company product that’s marketed as a way to lock in stock-market gains when the market is rising, while protecting principal against losses when the market is falling. What could be better than that? Read more
Up and Down Wall Street
Darren Pollock, whom Barron’s refers to as having “a seasoned investment eye,” mentions that the shares of a particular industry titan may be undervalued. Read more
Tax-Shelter Tango: Keep Your IRA
Over the past decade, assets held in variable annuity contracts have increased rapidly, to more than $900 billion — due to a combination of deceptively clever marketing and the sales efforts of agents motivated by high commissions. Read more
Irrational Exuberance Moves Home
Darren Pollock, amidst euphoria for all things housing, warns readers of the dangers beginning to surface in the residential real estate market and describes how the eventual downfall will occur. Read more
Up and Down Wall Street
Darren Pollock forecasts trouble in the housing market and, in describing how home prices could decline, provides “an antidote” to Alan Greenspan’s oft-proclaimed assumption that the residential market is healthy. Read more
