1 | Open MIC notes for the Crew

……15 Years and still rolling…….

Open MIC is open for anyone.

9:00: AM Pacific Thursday 800 504-8071 Code is

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT US

CALL OR EMAIL

ANTHONY OWEN

888-74AGENT (24368)

tony@annuityagentsalliance.com

OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE

2554567

1 | P a g e A s a l w a y s , f r e e t o a l l : O u r 2 6 t h y e a r

Very sadly we inform you of the loss of our friend and colleague, Jed Mayfield. Jed was one of those rare people you meet during your life journey, friendly, ethical and very caring. Over the years, Jed and I had become very good friends, his passing is not just a loss for those who knew him, but for me personally. Jed enjoyed tremendous success in business, in his personal and family life and in his church. He was a great collector of friends and I am proud to be included on that list. He will be missed greatly.

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Below are articles I found of interest, the links are live if you would like to do research.

DOL Fiduciary Rule: https://www.looktowink.com/2018/01/dol-court-appeal-ruling-might-take-time-analyst/

Tax Info:

http://www.thinkadvisor.com/2017/12/26/how-trumps-tax-act-could-affect-annuity-issuers

Annuity Info: https://www.looktowink.com/2018/01/voya-financial-joins-first-industry-neutral-bloomberg-gender-equality-index/

Life Insurance Info: https://www.looktowink.com/2017/12/7-new-peeks-inside-life-insurers-underwriting-machinery/

https://www.looktowink.com/2017/12/baby-boomers-still-consider-life-insurance/

3 | P a g e A s a l w a y s , f r e e t o a l l : O u r 2 6 t h y e a r

I get it, I accept that as I have aged I have changed my attitudes, it is only natural I suppose. One thing that hasn’t changed for me in the past 25 years is my opinion (and attitude) about annuities. I own them, I believe in them and I suggest they are the very best options for safety and security in long term retirement planning.

The stock market is in a giant mess right now, stocks are as volatile as they could possibly be and yet, on TV today as the market closes, the market representative explains to me (the viewer) that the market will come back----don’t panic.

I am not panicked and if I were a market player, I would understand that market fluctuations are normal (in a sense). But I look at things from a different point of view-----what happens to my client’s money and will their retirement be affected IF the market dropped and their important money was in danger?

Look…. there comes a time when everyone runs to safety. It is just human nature. Is it your turn now? Your clients? Of course, the answer is based on your personal (and their) situation. (BTW, an ad on the Super Bowl pointed out 1/3 of Americans have no retirement funds.)

Let me help you look at it from a different point of view, suppose you did select as your accumulation vehicle an annuity instead of products like mutual funds (or stocks).

Is the reward worth it? Is being exposed to market risk worth the chance of making a few extra percentage points?

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Below is a chart with yields that Anthony shared with us last week, have a look?

Hello Partners, I personally own a 222 and am looking forward to getting my statement this year. Here is one that just came in with a 19.59% return on the account value. I reached out to Bob Kelly and asked him for recent yields on his clients because I had a prospect here in California and I wanted to illustrate what “might” be a yield scenario. He sent me 4 shares.

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12.925%

Look at these category yields

8.29%

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8.79%

Are these an example of what might be expected in the future if you buy a FIA? No, these are exceptional returns, but, they were actual earnings.

And remember, once a gain is booked, it becomes part of the guaranteed principal.

Most of my personal clients earned 4-5% simply because I chose a less volatile allocation for them. Let’s look risk.

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If I want the highest potential growth and will ACCEPT risk, it looks like stocks for me.

I can reduce my risk by moving down the line to cash, but my yield is negligible.

How about possible (and moderate growth) with very low risk? I could move to FIA. How do I preserve my principal?

Q: But what about inflation? What happens if I live to long? What is the worst thing that could happen to me financially? How do I remove market risk?

“Mr. Jones, today, your IRA is worth $101,000. If you remove it as income, it would pay you $5,050 each year for the rest of your life.” It is irrelevant how long you live, it will continue to pay. If you were to die prematurely, any unused funds will be refunded to your named beneficiary.”

How can an insurance company do that? How can they keep paying as long as you live?

Because of a secret, the secret that allows them to offer this benefit. An insurance company does NOT want your money.

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Let me repeat that: An insurance company does NOT want your money!

What they want to do is HOLD your money. The longer they can hold your money, their greater chance of earning a higher rate of return.

The benefit to you is simple:

• Income for life • Safety and security • Stress free money management • No market risks

So, let them hold it.

What is the worst thing that can happen to you if you let them hold it, what is the worse income scenario in the future?

Look at the next chart.

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Just look at the green line, the contractual guarantee, a deposit of $100,000 at age 60 is guaranteed to provide an income of $5,050 (male) in lifetime income. But is the annuity only providing the very MINIMUM guarantee, at age 70, the WORSE thing that can happen is an income for life of $9,121.

Disclaimer: I have the actual payouts from Anthony’s Income Illustrator. This is only an example, please do not use my numbers for a presentation, instead obtain your own. The cost for subscribing to Income Illustrator is a latte a day for a week! More at www.annuity.com/agenttools

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Use the power of this tool to illustrate the worst thing that can happen. Then look at the chart and historical performance. If the worst thing that can happen is still ok, then consider how any real growth will affect your prospect! How much income would they have at a growth of $170,000.

Now look at the chart again and explain how our FIA does not participate on market drops, instead all money in the FIA is intact.

Hmmmm…no downside, gains locked in, can convert to retirement income….and all I have to do is let them hold my money?.....BB

I think too many agents focus on the possible gain, for me it is the opposite, I am interested in the worst thing that can happen.

Sell the worst that can happen. Everything else is background music.

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The article below from Anthony is based on a small website whose existence is lead generation. Their message is always edgy enough filled with partial truths designed to get leads to respond for more information. They then recruit agents to sign up with them. They are located about 60 miles from me in Northern California.

This is a pure come on….

I reversed searched them and found out the owner of “Annuity Check” is a small firm called:

Insurance Whisperer Associates LLC. ******They require a 2 day training session…..what sort of organization do you think they are?

Insurance Whisperer Associates, LLC San Ramon

925 255-0700

Be careful my friends, the internet is the Wild Wild West…..BB Hello Partners, This is my review of Annuity Check software (Webinar): https://register.gotowebinar.com/recording/4264839966225968902?assets=true

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Software Website: https://annuitycheck.com If you are using this software, or thinking about it, this is a must read. The software promoter says I hate income riders and so should you. Hmmm… that sounds familiar. Here is what I hate. I hate it when someone trying to sell something makes blanket oversimplified self-serving statements that can hurt people. At 34:36 he says income riders are sold with reckless abandon. Really? If you are selling income riders without a comprehensive, fact finder based, laddered, and inflation hedged plan, gap problem vs. solution case design then there is some truth in that statement, but it still doesn’t support the spend down strategy which is full of “reckless abandon” planning concepts. I think the “reckless abandon” shoe fits better on hypothetical planning than on income riders. This review is long overdue. Over the last year or so I have run into a push to avoid income riders and instead use the growth of an annuities account value and a spend down strategy. Can this concept work? Yes. Can it fail? Yes! It is the same roll of the dice strategy in chameleon clothes we see over and over again playing the game of “let’s take a chance on rate of return and your mortality and see if we get lucky”. It’s the financial planner gambling with the life expectancy of their client via hypothetical growth and mortality rates. It is IFCOME planning, not INCOME planning. If using an indexed annuity for this hypothetical planning is it better than losing your money in a market crash? Yes. Does it remove the risk of running out of money before you die? NO! Therein lies the problem. People pushing IFcome planning have a tendency to draw false equivalencies. They look at the value to returns but not the value of guaranteed lifetime income. They put almost no value on black swan events (i.e. curing cancer) that would massively increase

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lifespans. They use average lifespans but to get that average at least half of the people live way beyond that expected age of death. That means any mortality rate planning is wrong 50% of the time. You can’t compare the IRR of lifetime income to the IRR of a hypothetical plan for death (a plan that requires you to die by a certain age for it to work). It is a false comparison because the value of knowing you won’t run out of money removes stress, creates certainty, allows you to focus on things other than your money, reduces anxiety for your children, and may in fact allow you to live longer. My father used to say to those questioning his faith, “If you are right and I am wrong, I have only wasted my time on earth. If I am right and you are wrong, you have wasted eternity.” There is much more power, and a much bigger return on being right about eternity than earthly mortality. Same is true for income planning. If I am wrong and he is right, the worst thing that happens to the client is opportunity loss. If I am right and he is wrong, the client runs out of money before they run out of life, a disaster. Here are the statistical facts! When people know how much money they have to spend, they live a more disciplined financial life. If they are “winging it” they tend to make very poor decisions. A client who is planning their finances based on hypothetical mortality is going to be wrong 100% of the time unless suicide is part of the plan. They are either going to spend too little or too much and if human nature tells us anything they will most likely spend too much. Here are my summary thoughts on this software and the planning process pitch that goes with it: PROS:

1. Fees do matter and should always be disclosed and understood. A picture of the impact of fees, if used with honesty and accuracy, is very valuable.

2. This could be used to discourage someone from buying a VA (if you are securities licensed) as long as you are absolutely sure of the fees and use an understated amount for 12 b1 fees so you don’t accidently factor in an inflated percentage but… see # 1 under cons.

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3. Could be used for a spend down strategy sale when a client that has massive amounts of liquidity outside the income your plan. If the client is disciplined and capitalized for a black swan event, then an income rider may not be the best strategy. The Allianz 222 would be an exception to this because there is no fee, the PIV is also a death benefit, and liquidity is 10% of premium.

CONS:

1. Fees matter in the context for which they are charged. If the purpose of money is income, then the fee only impacts the death benefit. The false equivalency presented in this software creates the impression that the account value on an annuity with an income rider is relevant to guaranteed cash flow from the rider. Income is used while alive and account value is used when dead when you have an income rider. The two factors do not have equal weight.

2. There is a huge liability using this software due to massive opportunities for inaccuracy for existing VAs. It is logistically impossible for them to keep track of ever variation of VAs and their fees. Just one example is 12 b1 fees. Even if you know what the fees are now how do you know what they were in the past or will be in the future? How do you weight the different 12 b1 fees when the funds are spread over different sub accounts and account for historical and future reallocations? It is one thing to say, “This is the impact of a static 3.5% fee on VA returns if you held it for 10 years” and it is a completely different thing to call out the name of the carrier and a specific VA. Even with a securities license I would not touch this software with a mile-long pole to illustrate the negative impact of fees on a specific VA. You will be misrepresenting a carrier by name and product in an illustrative process to induce a sale which is absolutely the wrong thing to do. It’s not if, but when, someone gets in big trouble for using this. You can’t make an illustrative solicitation to induce a replacement unless you are 100% accurate.

3. The software does not factor in sequential variable rates of return. Variable return can have a massive impact, especially during the spend down period. You cannot compare a variable account value return to a constant income rider return. Over simplified bad math.

4. Also, a 5% rate of return is not conservative! You would almost always see hypothetical cash value propagators, both in annuities and life insurance, over estimating the long-term growth rate of products. I

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don’t care what carrier or index strategy you are using, a 5% rate of return on account value is aggressive. It is not actuarily supported. Some people will get this return, but the average will not. You will see lots of illustrations supporting an average return of 5% or higher, and it definitely can happen, but it is not conservative. We have been in an upward market for how many years? Don’t let the recent statements you are seeing from your client’s indexed accounts cause you to over-represent our products. The power of our products is still the power of zero and the power of reset, not massive average growth rates.

5. Please, please, if you use this software and get “certified” do not use the certification as a credentials. It is not accredited, and you are asking for trouble.

6. DOES NOT support a guaranteed lifetime income. It is roll of the dice planning. It uses over simplified, potential false equivalencies, and potential misleading information to deceive the planning process and therefore the client.

In summary, there are a few things this software could be useful for if used properly but lots of pitfalls and some very bad case design strategies being promoted. If you have any questions about this give me a call. Thanks for the biz, Anthony R. Owen

Stay away from marketing like this….BB

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Q: REITS: 2-3 Open MICs ago I was asked about competing against REITS (Real Estate Investment Trusts). I noticed today that since December, the REIT Index was down by more than 6%. Safety and security? I don’t think so. Here is a link: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/why-2018-will-be-the-year-of-the-reit-and-2-to-buy-now-cm905684

Facts: Only 23% of baby Boomers have enough money for retirement

1-4 65-year olds will live to age 90.

$260,000 out of pocket medical costs for the average 65-year-old couple moving forward

61% of Baby Boomers have helped adult children financially in past 12 months.

48% of Baby boomers retire earlier than planned due to health issues.

More below :

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View in Web Browser

ISSUE DATE: February 5, 2018

Save Time with Ready-to-Go Prospecting

You need more time, we get it. Save a ton of time by using our content that is ready to use with the click of a button. No matter what age your client is, we’ve got tailored content that will work for them. Are they a Generation Xer? A Baby Boomer? A Millennial? No problem. Check out the prospecting tools on Generation Matters to engage prospects in the life insurance conversation.

New Insure Your Love Shareable Content Available Life Insurance is love insurance, which makes February and Valentine's Day a perfect time to remind clients and prospects of their need for life insurance. This year's theme is "This Is Love". With this simple message, clients can see that gestures—large and small—all constitute love, including the purchase of life insurance. Find videos and social content, as well as links to free, downloadable materials on our Insure Your Love Microsite.

How Advantageous is it to Increase Savings? Clients considering increasing their retirement savings in 2018? Clients generally know that it’s important to save all they can for your retirement, and you can help them assess the benefit with this tool from John Hancock. Read more.

Women’s Top Financial Questions Answered

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Financial advisor, and Director of the WISE Group (Women Inspiring, Supporting and Educating), Nicole Spinelli, asked her advisory board to identify the most common questions from female clients. Read more from Lincoln Financial as they offer answers to women's top financial questions.

Underwriting Insight: Pathology Reports Pathology reports are often a key part of insurance applicant medical records and the underwriting offers these customers receive. Learn more about the basic components of pathology reports, and how they affect your customers, in the latest Underwriting Dialogue from Legal & General America.

February 5, 2018

THIS WEEK'S ANNUITY CARRIER NEWS Allianz Life Effective February 6th, 2018, Allianz Life will decrease rates on the Core Income 7 annuity. This change will only affect the Bloomberg US Dynamic Balance Index II strategy. The rates of the additional strategies and annuities remain unchanged. Please see link for details: Global Atlantic Global Atlantic has increased their rates on the SecureFore 3 & 5. They have also increased the monthly cap rate, the annual cap rate and the fixed rate for the Choice Accumulation 5 & 7. Please see the attached PDF for more information.

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Great American Rates are increasing for the products below retroactively effective February 5, 2018! Please see the rate chart for more details. Fixed annuity rates effective February 5, 2018.

• SecureGain 5 • SecureGain 7

Holding account rates will increase February 7, 2018. North American

1. North American has announced a rate increase effective February 6th on their Guarantee Choice and Guarantee Choice II (CA) MYGA products. Please contact your First Annuity Advisor Consultant for the new rates.

2. Effective February 6th, North American is making the Income Pay Plus income rider available on the new VersaChoice 10 FIA. Contact your Advisor Consultant for an illustration.

Reliance Standard Reliance Standard increased their rates on the Keystone FIAs. Click here for more information.

ONGOING ANNUITY CARRIER NEWS EquiTrust

Equitrust Increased their rates for the Certainty Select and ChoiceFour fixed Annuities. Please the the following link for more information. Fidelity & Guaranty The interest rate on the Fidelity & Guaranty FG Guarantee-Platinum 5 has increased to 3.25% for 5 years. The rate is for a limited time. Please see the attached brochure for more information, Global Atlantic Global Atlantic is offering a commission bonus up to 1% through February 28, 2018 on the Choice Accumulation, Choice Income and Income 150+. Please see the attached document.

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Guggenheim Guggenheim is raising rates on the Highlander and MYGA products effective 2/1/18. Please see attached PDF for product specific rates. Pacific Life Pacific Life has a slight rate decrease for the Index Dimensions indexed annuity effective January 22, 2018. Please see the rate chart for more details. Reliance Standard Reliance Standard has increased their rates on their traditional fixed products only. Click here for the updated rates.

We are agents too!

You can get current annuity rates and other information

at: www.annuity.com/agenttools

Like all agents, we also need leads. Our approach has always been building and developing marketing systems. We strive for new and better ways to get in front of “target” marketed prospects.

Our systems are tried and true, they work.

“Time Invested Marketing”

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Disclaimer:

David Townsend and I own Annuity.com, but we have a lot of marketing friends, friends that you might be better off if you knew them. Sherilyn Orr at Retire Village and Infofuel, Chad Owen at Eagle Shadow, Anthony Owen at Annuity Agents Alliance, Carl, Darin, Tom and all the crew at First Annuity….and many more.

We take copyright seriously, articles posted on Open MIC from other sources are always credited to that source.

The information I create myself and used in Open MIC is free; I assert no copyright or literary rights.

Bill Broich