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From FPA: Despite their tarnished reputation due to questionable sales tactics, high expenses and weaker investment performance compared with mutual funds, popular variable annuities (VA) with "living benefit" riders may still be a sound choice for some retirees, concludes an article in the May 2008 issue of the Journal of Financial Planning, published monthly by the Financial Planning Association. In his article, "A Context for Considering Variable Annuities with Living Benefit Riders," John H. Robinson examines how the investment performance of a particular type of VA rider stacks up against an index mutual fund as each tries to weather two bear markets....
From FiPA: The "It" equity -- the exchange-traded mutual fund -- is no spring chicken. It's been around since the early 1990s. But ETFs are still turning heads. It's no wonder: The combination of index investing with the handiness --- and lower costs -- of individual stock ownership is irresistible. Are ETFs a good match for your portfolio? "Exchange-traded" refers to shares that trade all day long on the major stock market exchanges (just like regular stocks, although ETFs are found mainly on the American Stock Exchange). "Funds" are investing vehicles that hold dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of companies under one umbrella unified by a particular investing theme (such as companies that comprise the Dow or ones whose main business is in the biotech industry). For more, see this story from The Motley Fool ...
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