Monday, October 27, 2008

Why You Need an Annuity Index

By Terry Collins

Investing in an annuity index may be right for many investors. An annuity index can be a safer investment than investing in stocks or even bonds and usually even more than mutual funds. However, some people think that the stock market is too risky and bonds do not grow fast enough so they start investing in an annuity index instead.

An annuity index is not fully understood by many investors even when they are already investing in annuities. Most people think that an annuity index is nothing special but if you fully understand what an annuity index is, you may be surprised at its potential and may want to invest in it.

Before you find out what an annuity index is, you first have to know what an annuity is. An annuity is a type of investment but it is not like stocks or bonds. Insurance companies issue annuities so they are insurance products not really investments.

An annuity index is a type of annuity. An annuity index is not the most common type of annuity but many companies do have them and people do like investing in an annuity index. An annuity index's performance is based on a specified index, rather than a general account or a separate account like other annuities.

An equity annuity index is the most popular type of annuity index because people want to invest in the stock market but do not want to take on the risks associated with stock investing. That's why investing in an annuity index is popular and attractive for these investors.

The advantage of having an annuity index instead of a stock is that, the insurance company guarantees some of the investments. For some annuity index, you will never lose your money. However, since the insurance company is taking on the risk of guaranteeing against the downside, the investor has to pay some fees just like they would with life insurance.

If you are ok with investing in an annuity index and paying the high fees charged by the insurance company, there are also other restrictions that go hand in hand with annuity investing. An annuity index is supposed to be a long term investment and you usually cannot take your money out in a whim. Taking money out early from an annuity index could mean hefty penalties.

While there are obvious disadvantages of investing in an annuity index, there are definitely advantages that many investors with a low risk tolerance simply cannot live without. For example, some investors wouldn't invest in anything unless it is guaranteed. That means, if they cannot invest in an annuity index or other types of guaranteed annuities, then they wouldn't be investing at all. - 15224

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