From the category archives:

Risk

31 FLAVORS to Create an Abundant Retirement

July 25, 2010

Podcast: Download (22.9MB)

Missed Fortune RadioThis week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Complimentary Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, July 27th at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern).

The topic is “True Asset Optimization: How to Choose the Right Investments.” You’ll learn how to maintain liquidity and guarantee safety of principal while earning a healthy, tax-free rate of return that outpaces inflation.

Register now by calling 1-888-76-Radio (888-767-2346). If operators are busy, please call again.

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

Investors Losing Confidence in Traditional Investments

Investors are getting tired of the slow gains for a few years only to have those gains, along with original principal, be lost rapidly.

In 2008, most people lost 31 percent from their IRA and 401(k) and are still not back to what they had in as their initial principal.

Investors are getting fed up with the same traditional advice of investing in IRAs and 401(k)s, to postpone taxes and to have to deal with market volatility for the long-term gain.

According to a new survey from Prince & Associates, 81 percent of investors with $1 million or more in investable assets plan to take money away from their current advisor. An even larger number, 86%, plan to tell other investors to avoid their advisor.

Only 2% plan to recommend their firm to other investors. That’s of critical importance, because wealthy investors often get investment advice from each other.

Deferring taxes to a later date as taxes continue to rise, lacking liquidity, and placing the rate of return for a retirement nest egg in variable products are only three of the major problems with these traditional investments.

How Can You Gain Confidence and Prepare for an Abundant Retirement?

The first step to gaining confidence is to avoid falling into the investment traps that so many others are facing by deciding not to use the same investment advice that they are.

Why would you defer taxes knowing that the trend is that taxes are rising? Why you would place your retirement hopes into a volatile market and hope to time the market correctly?

By learning the 31 FLAVORS of Missed Fortune, you can:

  1. Choose tax-free investments instead of tax-deferred ones
  2. Have liquidity so that you can access your money when you would like to
  3. Enjoy safety of your principal where you can lock in gains using indexing.

FLAVORS stands for “fortunes lost amidst valid optimization and reallocation strategies.” Implementing 2 or 3 of the 31 can generate $70-80 thousand dollars a year for retirement that is tax free and will continue to be replenished year after year no matter what is happening in the market.

The 31 FLAVORS can show you key points in the different financial aspects of your life that can allow you to sleep comfortably at night knowing that you are not gambling with your retirement. They include:

  • 6 FLAVORS regarding choosing the wrong investments for retirement
  • 6 FLAVORS about your home and real estate
  • 3 FLAVORS on proper tax planning and avoiding unnecessary taxes
  • 7 FLAVORS on asset management
  • 5 FLAVORS regarding risk management
  • 2 FLAVORS about credit and debt management
  • 2 FLAVORS on estate planning

Meet with a Missed Fortune advisor and learn how to implement these 31 FLAVORS and guarantee yourself an abundant retirement.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders

The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg.

Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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How Safe is Your Money?

February 23, 2010

Is your money safe?

Customers of 1st American State Bank of Minnesota must have been wondering if theirs was when regulators recently closed its doors for good.

As of February 5, 1st Bank was the sixteenth bank to fail so far in 2010. Last year the U.S. saw the failure of 140 banks, which CNN Money reported was the “highest since 1992, when 181 banks failed.”

While 1st Bank customers were protected by the FDIC, with more bank failures predicted for 2010, you have to ask how prudent it is to keep serious money in the care of banks – especially when the future stability of the FDIC is coming into question.

The FDIC was $8.2 billion in debt as of September 2009, (which included $21.7 billion earmarked for future bank failures). What’s more, too many people hope to get long-term rewards from short-term savings vehicles like banks’ money market, CD and similar accounts.

Now more than ever it is critical to find safe places to put your money.

And it’s important to analyze your options for retirement savings vehicles that will yield optimal long-term benefits, as well as liquidity, rate of return and tax advantages.

Maximum-funded, tax-advantaged life insurance contracts can provide all of the above.

Learn now how these retirement savings vehicles can make a difference for your future. Because you deserve to feel confident that your money is safe.

Isn’t It Time You Became Wealthy?

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Where Can I Put My Money Where I Won’t Lose, But Still Enjoy a Good Rate of Return?

January 28, 2010

Traditional financial planning usually offers investors two choices: 1) guarantees with little upside potential, or 2) upside potential with no guarantees.

profitgraph-300x299 Where Can I Put My Money Where I Wont Lose, But Still Enjoy a Good Rate of Return?I prefer to invest my money in safe investment vehicles that have guarantees and allow me to participate in any upside potential.

In a post 9/11 and financial-collapse world, it’s better to use a proven strategy than trying to time the market with investments.

The indexing strategy that I use for my own money works in all markets, it does not require market timing (buying and selling), and it allows me to sleep at night.

Product-Picking & Market-Timing are Horrible Strategies

Most advisors recommend you pick specific products to invest in. Product-picking focuses on the extremes of safety or return, leaves you constantly second-guessing, and it has now been proven not to work.

Therefore, it’s wiser to employ a sound and proven strategy rather than trying to just pick specific products to invest in.

For years I have been recommending that people place their serious cash (such as money earmarked for retirement or their home equity) and keep it in investments that are liquid, safe, and earn a tax-free rate of return.

Only ONE Cash Accumulation Vehicle Offers These 3 Benefits

I choose to put my serious cash in maximum-funded, tax-advantaged (MFTA) life insurance contracts because they are the only investment vehicles that, when properly structured and funded, allow an investor to:

  1. 1Accumulate money safely, tax-free
  2. Withdraw the money later tax-free
  3. Transfer money income-tax free at death.

This is allowed under Sections 72e, 7702 and 101 of the Internal Revenue Code as I teach in my books.

Indexing: Get the Gains with No Losses

For the last 12 years, I have used a strategy called “indexing.” With this, your principal is protected and you don’t lose when the market goes down.

When the market goes up, you are credited whatever the index of your choice earns (like the S&P 500 Index)—up to a cap—without your money actually at risk in the market. Based on what the S&P 500 actually did the last 25-30 years, an average annual crediting rate of 7-8 percent could have been realized.

Some investors who had $100,000 in the S&P 500 during the last 10 years saw their money grow, but then dissipate to $68,000 as of April of 2009.

Had they used indexing, they could have had an account value of $178,000.

With indexing, during a period wherein you experience a gain, that gain is locked in and the point at which you will be credited the growth for the next period is reset. This “lock-in and reset” strategy is what protects you from losses when the market goes down and also allows you to participate immediately in any upside potential when the market starts to head back up—substantially reducing risk.

Proper use of such indexing strategies can help you safely regain what you may have lost and protect yourself so that you never lose again.

Take Action Now

Right now we are seeing upward trends in the market, and a recovery of the financial system. Inventory depletion is also resulting in growth in the economy. But employment will continue to rise, housing prices will likely remain stable, and inflation is around the corner.

But I implore people not to wait for unemployment to rebound before taking action.

Using indexing strategies, many smart and safe savers may have experienced only a 1 percent gain on their money in 2008, but they have already experienced a 12-16 percent gain just last year.

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Saving Money Shouldn’t Cost You

January 5, 2010

A recent New York Times article, “At Tiny Rates, Saving Money Costs Investors,” spelled out the downside of traditional savings vehicles.

The article states:

“Millions of Americans are paying a high price for a safe place to put their money: extremely low interest rates on savings accounts and certificates of deposit…. Many have seen returns on savings, CDs and government bonds drop to niggling amounts recently, often costing them money once inflation, fees and taxes are considered.”

This underscores what the True Wealth Strategies have been teaching for quite some time. Taxed-as-earned savings vehicles will hinder your path to wealth much more than those that are tax-advantaged or tax-free.

To illustrate, one dollar doubling every period for twenty periods will grow to over $1 million if it does so tax-free.

If it’s taxed-as-earned, then one dollar doubles to $2, but you will only have $1.75 after paying 25 percent in tax.

The $1.75 doubles to $3.50 in the next period, but if you pay tax on the increase every period — at the end of the same twenty periods — instead of having $1 million, you would only have about $72,000 in a 25 percent tax bracket. In a 33 percent tax bracket, you would only have $27,000!

And yet that is how most Americans save—by using after-tax dollars and putting them in investments that are taxed-as-earned.

This is why it’s so important to learn more about maximum-funded, tax-advantaged insurance contracts. They are the only retirement savings vehicles where your money:

  1. Accumulates tax-free
  2. Can be withdrawn tax-free (even before age 59 ½ – without penalty)
  3. Transfers to your heirs tax-free when you pass away

Find out more and begin now to empower your financial future.

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No, Your Nest Egg is not “Safe Again” if it’s in 401(k)s

January 3, 2010

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

Missed Fortune RadioThis week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Complimentary Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, January 5th at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern).

The topic is “The 401(k)/IRA Dilemma.”

You’ll learn the best alternatives to qualified plans, which provide liquidity, safety of principal, and a healthy, tax-free rate of return that outpaces inflation. You’ll also learn how not to lose when the economy is down.

Register now by calling 888-76-Radio (888-767-2346).

Just for registering you’ll receive a bonus e-book and audio book on the IRA/401(k) dilemma.

Furthermore, all attendees will receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

Ridiculous Reports from Traditional Financial Planners

Newsweek recently published an article by Linda Stern entitled “Is Your Nest Egg Safe Again?”. The story reports that large investment firms, such as Fidelity and Vanguard, have performed recent studies “showing that most workers have seen their retirement accounts recover to precrash levels…”

But why? According to the article:

“Both firms (Fidelity & Vanguard), which provide 401(k) accounts, reported that most of the workers in their programs now have more money than they did when the stock market started its slide in 2008. The primary reason, they reported, was that continued employee contributions helped to offset declines in balances.”

Huh?

In other words, these funds haven’t grown in terms of a rate of return! Financial services companies with vested interests are trying to pull the wool over your eyes by making you think that everything is okay with risky qualified plans.

Think about it: Your account is worth $100,000. The market tanks and you lose $25,000, so you’re left with $75,000. You then make an out-of-pocket contribution of $30,000, taking your account balance up to $105,000.

You’ve still lost and have not recovered from the $25,000 loss, yet according to large investment firms (which, of course, offer 401(k)s), your account is doing just fine.

To add insult to injury, these deceivers recommend that people nearing retirement age increase their risk to make up for lost time:

“At an age when they are typically told to eschew risk, older workers may need to take on a bit more investment risk in the hopes of snagging bigger returns going forward. People who are five years away from retirement should have 60 percent of their portfolios in stock, argues Christine Fahlund, a senior financial planner at T. Rowe Price.”

If you want to continue losing money, then stick with this advice. But Missed Fortune offers a much better and safer approach.

Escape the 401(k) Trap

Though they’re promoted heavily by the traditional financial services industry, 401(k)s are horrible accumulation vehicles, for the following reasons:

  • They tax your harvest, rather than your seed.
  • Contrary to traditional advice, your taxes will most likely be higher, not lower, in the future because you’ll have far less deductions.
  • The 10% withdrawal penalty prevents you from accessing the money when you need it most.
  • The accounts come with strict and constricting rules, such as mandatory withdrawal by age 70 and a half. If you don’t meet the guidelines you could be subject to a 50% penalty.
  • The accounts are subject to estate taxes, meaning that your heirs could be left with as little as 28% of your account balance when you die.

You need to escape this trap now while taxes are less than they’ll ever be. The Missed Fortune asset optimization strategies provide a way for you to roll your money out of qualified traps and into accounts that solve all the problems of 401(k)s.

Click here to get started now.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders

The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg.

Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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Is Your Money in a House of Straw, Sticks, or Bricks?

December 17, 2009

The stock market is a house of straw, real estate is a house of sticks. Doug Andrew and Missed Fortune clients put their serious cash in a house of bricks.

Do you know what that is and why Missed Fortune clients haven’t lost any money in the past two years?

Watch the following video to learn more:

*If you are getting this feed in RSS or email and cannot see the video, please click on the header to view it on the blog.

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Why it’s Time to Retire the 401(k)

November 1, 2009

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

Missed Fortune RadioThis week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Free Webinar

Attend our free 3-hour webinar live over the Internet this coming Wednesday, November 4th at 5:30 p.m. pacific (6:30 mountain, 7:30 central, 8:30 eastern).

Don’t miss your chance to understand how to protect your money during this economic crisis and get competitive rates of return during the good years. This strategy is called indexing and you need to know all about it. To register call 888-76-Radio (888-767-2346).

Just for registering you’ll receive a free e-book and audio book on the IRA/401(k) dilemma. Admission is free for Missed Fortune Radio subscribers and listeners. All attendees will receive a free copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug’s New York Times best-selling book.

Time to Replace the 401(k)

Time magazine recently published an articled entitled “Why It’s Time to Retire the 401(k)” that essentially teaches what we’ve been teaching with Missed Fortune for over 35 years.

Consider these revealing quotes from the article:

“The ugly truth, though, is that the 401(k) is a lousy idea, a financial flop, a rotten repository for our retirement reserves…From the end of 2007 to the end of March 2009, the average 401(k) balance fell 31%, according to Fidelity.”

“In what must seem like a cruel joke to many, the accounts proved the most dangerous for those closest to retirement. During the market downturn, the 401(k)s of 55-to-65-year-olds lost a quarter more than those of their 35-to-45-year-old colleagues. That’s because in your early years, your 401(k)’s growth is driven mostly by contributions…But the longer you hold a 401(k), the more market-exposed it becomes.”

“…nearly 73 million Americans…now have a 401(k). And collectively we pour more than $200 billion into these accounts each year. But retire rich? Don’t bet on it. The average 401(k) has a balance of $45,519. That’s not retirement. That’s two years of college. Even worse, 46% of all 401(k) accounts have less than $10,000. Today, just 21% of all U.S. workers are covered by traditional pensions, and the number shrinks every year.”

It’s time to stop relying on the government to provide retirement for us. We can’t even trust their incentives. They give us a tax break up front but then get it back by taxing us when we withdraw our funds.

The 401(k) Replacement

There is a solution to the 401(k) dilemma. It’s a product that guarantees safety of principal while providing competitive rates of return. It provides liquidity and flexibility. It keeps you away from the dangers of market volatility. Best of all, it provides both tax-free accumulation and tax-free withdrawal.

This product is a maximum-funded, tax-advantaged life insurance product that uses an indexing strategy to lock in your gains and prevent losses.

Everyone who has followed our advice has not suffered any losses, while those invested in the market have been devastated.

2-Day True Wealth Transformation Clarity Retreat

Our retreats help you optimize your assets, manage your equity, and empower your wealth.

Our next retreats are November 6th and 7th in San Diego, California, and November 20th and 21st in Salt Lake City, Utah. Contact us now to learn more and to register.

Free Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders

The Problem? The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg.

Download this free e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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Risk and Liquidity

December 18, 2008

Whenever you look at risk, you should simultaneously be looking at liquidity. You can understand your risk exposure best by initially analyzing your liquidity. Do you have enough cash that is accessible to pay your mortgage, and pay all other bills? For how long? How about enough to allow you to ride out a downturn in the market, economy or job loss?

Be sure that you start with a sound foundation when building wealth. That starts with liquidity and managing risk. It is like the song I used to sing in Sunday School about the wise man versus
the foolish man.

1. The wise man built his house upon the rock, The wise man built his house upon the rock, The wise man built his house upon the rock, And the rains came tumbling down.

2. The rains came down, and the floods came up, The rains came down, and the floods came up, The rains came down, and the floods came up, And the house on the rock stood still.

3. The foolish man built his house upon the sand, The foolish man built his house upon the sand, The foolish man built his house upon the sand, And the rains came tumbling down.

4. The rains came down, and the floods came up, The rains came down, and the floods came up, The rains came down, and the floods came up, And the house on the sand washed away.

Emron Andrew

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Understanding, Managing & Reducing Risk is Paramount in Building Wealth

December 17, 2008

We talk a lot about optimizing assets, and understanding, managing and reducing risk is paramount in this process. You cannot achieve financial independence until you understand the risk exposure you have on all your assets.

Once you understand all the different types of risk with your home, real estate, IRAs, 401(k)s, retirement accounts, insurance, etc.; you can then begin to learn how to manage and reduce your risk exposure.

I did not say eliminate risk. There is no way you can completely remove all risk. Even if you were able to, there would be no return nor any reward. You would remain stationary with no opportunity for growth. Risk is essential to building wealth, but it can also be its demise.

One way to manage and reduce risk is to share the risk with someone else or with another entity. That way you do not have full exposure and neither does the other party. But together you are stronger and can be empowered to do much more. The most common example of this is a mortgage on your home. But it also can be applied to your retirement accounts, life insurance, and other long term investments.

Emron Andrew

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Shift your Focus during Troubling Times

October 6, 2008

While observing the recent turmoil in the financial markets, watching the political debates, and seeing unrest around the world, it has been interesting to see how Americans — and the entire world community — react.

I have had several radio interviews during the past few weeks in which the interviewers always wanted to know my advice for dealing with the current troubling state of affairs.

My best and simplest advice applies to life in general, and it might surprise some people. I would urge everyone to stop worrying specific events, losses and difficulties. Rather, focus on being grateful.

Whenever there is “bad news,” I try to focus on the positive. It doesn’t do any good to complain. Complaining attracts negative thoughts and people.

Gratitude allows your confidence, faith and hope to be nurtured and grow. When you exercise faith and hope, you’ll discover that new opportunities will emerge, and you will open yourself to the best possible consequences.

It is impossible for faith and fear to occupy the human heart simultaneously. Whenever I am feeling fearful about anything, I take it as a signal that I need to exercise more faith. Sure enough, when I do so, fear is dispelled.

We are constantly being bombarded with bad news through the media. I have worked to train myself to see bad circumstances differently — when something arises that most of the world would view as a threat, I see it as an opportunity.

Try doing this whenever a crisis happens in your life. Ask yourself, “What do I know from experience that will help me, and others, deal with this crisis?”

You will be energized. You will see yourself focusing on what matters most — on your relationships, on creating value, on new opportunities, on progress, on who you can be, and on what you can do for others. You will forget about what’s missing and begin focusing on what’s available.

As a result, you will find out that the world rewards usefulness, and people will compensate you in some form for your wisdom and advice.

For example, as a result of coming through my own financial crisis in my early years, for more than three decades I have advised people to separate the equity from their home to maintain liquidity, safety of principle, and earn a rate of return.

I have also recommended that people avoid putting put their serious cash — home equity, IRAs, 401(k)s and other retirement funds — into variable investments like the stock market, but rather in maximum-funded, tax-advantaged equity-indexed life insurance contracts with highly-rated insurance companies.

Our clients who have done this have not lost any of the principal on their money during the recent severe downturn in the real estate or stock markets, because their money was not trapped in those places.

They continue to have liquid cash available for emergencies and can readily handle a higher mortgage payment, a temporary job loss or any other curve ball that this economy may throw at them.

Because of this, I continually receive comments and letters of gratitude for the advice given, and clients have been referring their friends and relatives to our firm.

Our business continues to thrive during these otherwise tenuous times.

Why? Because we have been able to create new opportunities to help people overcome their greatest fears, seize their greatest opportunities, and harness their greatest strengths. I am grateful for the trust and confidence that people have placed in us.

As Zig Ziglar has always said, “Help enough other people get what they want, and you will have everything in life that you want.”

I wish you all the best as you look for opportunities in difficult circumstances, dispel fear with faith, and maximize your financial potential through strategic planning.

Doug Andrew

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