Sell Annuity

Here we list some of the best investment ideas and tackle the challenge of finding the best safe investments for 2012. What might appear to be one of the best investment ideas to the uninformed could turn out to be one of the worst.

Looking at the big picture for investment ideas in 2012, moderation in asset allocation and a balanced investment portfolio will be the most basic key to success. There are 4 asset classes, and average investors need to spread their money across at least the first three to keep their overall portfolio risk moderate. The 4 categories in asset allocation are: safe investments, bonds, stocks and alternative investments like gold and real estate (optional). Asset allocation can be simplified, because there are mutual funds available to average investors that represent each of the 4 asset classes. Now let’s get more specific about the best investment ideas for 2012 starting with safe investments.

Safe investments earn interest and do not fluctuate in price. You will need to look outside of mutual funds in 2012 to find the best safe investments because record low interest rates have taken yields on money market securities (and hence money market funds) down to just about zero. One of the best investment ideas if you have an account with a discount broker or major mutual fund company is to shop for one-year CDs paying higher rates if you can’t get competitive rates from your local bank. Do not tie your money up for longer periods just to earn a little more interest. One of these days interest rates will go back up and you will be locked in at a lower rate and face penalty charges if you cash in early.

Finding the best safe investments will be truly challenging in 2012, but here are some more investment ideas. If you are in a retirement plan like a 401k that has a fixed or stable account option do not overlook it. You can often get a much higher interest rate there (maybe 4% to 5%) than anywhere else outside of your retirement plan. If you own an older retirement annuity or universal life insurance policy, it might have a fixed account you can add money to that is guaranteed to never pay less than 3% or 4%. Remember, truly safe investments like U.S. Treasury bills and bank money market and savings accounts are paying WAY LESS than 1%!

Over the past 30 years bonds and bond funds have become a favorite with investors because they have been consistent performers and returned on average about 10% per year… basically about equal to what stocks have returned, but with considerably less risk. Many investors have fallen in love with their bonds funds and consider them to be among the world’s best safe investments. Bond funds are NOT safe investments. They have performed well since 1981 (when interest rates and inflation were at record highs) for one primary reason. Both inflation and interest rates have been falling for 30 years, which has sent bond prices higher. Loading up on bond funds now is NOT one of the best investment ideas for 2012. In fact, it is one of the worst investment ideas.

When interest rates and/or inflation turn around and head upward bond funds, especially those that hold long-term bond issues, will be losers. That’s how bonds work. One of the very best investment ideas for 2012 is to sell your long-term bond funds if you own any, and switch to funds holding bonds with average maturities of about five years. These are called intermediate-term bond funds; and average investors should have some money invested here as part of their asset allocation strategy to add balance to their investment portfolio. These are not truly safe investments, but they are much safer than long-term funds.

My best investment ideas in the stock department focus on stock funds. Do not go heavily into the more aggressive funds that invest primarily in growth and/or small company stocks. These pay little if anything in dividend income and tend to be more risky and volatile than the average stock fund. Go with funds that invest in high quality large-company stocks with excellent dividend paying histories. Look for funds that are paying 2% or more in dividends. One of the best investment ideas for 2012 and beyond: invest in no-load funds with low yearly expenses. No-load means no sales charges, and low expenses mean higher net returns to the investor.

Alternative investments include the likes of real estate, gold and other precious metals, natural resources, commodities, foreign investments and so on. One of the best investment ideas for managing a truly balanced investment portfolio is to include this fourth asset class as well. The simplest way for the average investor to add these alternatives to their portfolio is with mutual funds that specialize in these areas or sectors. My best investment ideas here: don’t go heavily into any one area, and don’t chase after a sector (like gold) just because it’s hot. Real estate and natural resources funds would be my picks as two of the best investment ideas in the alternative investments asset class.

Moderation and diversification across the asset classes will be the key to asset allocation in 2012. I have also listed some specific best investment ideas for keeping the average investor in the game and out of serious trouble should the investment scene turn ugly. Above all else memorize this: long-term bond funds are not among the best safe investments for 2012. They are not safe investments, period.

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As we mentioned in the previous article, we know that corporations generally are started by it’s original shareholders who provide the start-up cash or assets in exchange for their shares. The corporation may eventually be owned by a large number of shareholders. In this article, we will discuss the structures of corporation shares and types of shares that corporation can issue. There are 2 types of corporation shares: common shares and preferred shares. These shareholders have certain rights:

1. Common share holders

a) Advantage

* right to share in growth of earnings and assets.

*right to sell shares.

* right to vote on Board of Directors and certain issues.

* right to attend company meetings and examine the books.

* right to annual report.

* receive a tax credit on Canadian corporate share dividends.

b) Disadvantage

* last to receive a portion of assets on wind-up of a company.

*dividends are only paid when declared and are related to amount of net earnings.

*dividends are paid after bond interest and preferred share dividends.

2. Prefer share holders

a) Advantage

* dividends are paid before common shareholders but after bond interest

* bonds holders come before preferred shares at the wind-up of the company.

b) Disadvantage

* Less indication of company ownership

* Corporation dividends are usually fixed by the share certificate and affected by the profitability of the company and the intent of the Board of Directors.

I hope this information will help you understand more of the right of corporation shareholders. If you need more information, please visit my home page at:

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Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company is a name brand within healthcare. This review of health insurance providers will highlight the changing directions in healthcare that Mutual of Omaha has taken.

Established in 1909 in Nebraska, Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company has remained one of the larger providers of healthcare. There are three associated subsidiary providers in this carrier group. Since its inception in 1970, United of Omaha has carried the main thrust of the life insurance products sold. Other business comes from Companion Life Insurance Co in New York, along with United World Life Insurance Company, formerly known as United World Insurance Co. While health and life insurance is the primarily focus, the parent company is also involved in banking, real estate development, and the sale of Mutual Funds.

Now Mutual of Omaha has sprouted into a sort of a three-headed creature, with each of these head snipping at the other’s business. Formerly there was only one many focus on where to obtain health insurance business. Having over 150 offices, the company had exclusive training facilities at its home office facility. When you think of healthcare, you tend to think of medical insurance. Disability insurance is a form of healthcare, and this is where for many years the company tried to make its mark. Agents were trained to sell disability coverage first, hospitalization and health supplement next, and then life insurance through United of Omaha last.

Their website mentions that when you have a sales career at Mutual of Omaha you have more than just a job. My analysis shows that the retention of healthcare representatives is not much higher now then when I was a unit sales manager with them. However, there are way fewer career sales offices available today. The company is licensed to sell in 50 states, with few restrictions. Their life and annuity sales have remained consistent the last few years. Meanwhile, rapid growth is show in accident and health insurance premiums being collected.

The reason for tremendous growth in this area can be pinpointed opening up the distribution of its healthcare products to independent non-company affiliated brokers. Along with this, they are known for generous commission payouts and one to the top rated Medicare Supplement policies. This has caused a problem for a lot of 100 year old companies, that Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company has handled better than almost all the rest. This is where you have in house affiliated representatives competing with outside brokers for the same product selling with different commission rates.

I am appalled however at Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company to throw its hat in the ring of trying to straightforwardly entice consumers to buy direct from the insurer. This takes business away from its agents, and from the independent brokers. They tell an online prospective client that buying insurance online has never been more affordable or easier. Nevertheless, the insurer is extremely savvy and profit orientated. There are only four policies offered direct. They are whole life, children’s life insurance, accidental death, and cancer insurance. The last three are some of the most profitable policies that they sell.

Looking at their asset to liability ratio for paying life and health claims, the current situation looks steady, with only minor variation range. There are companies that may be financially rated slightly higher. In this review, I would rate Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company, even above many of them. The reason is strong company management, along with a smooth melding of captive representative offices and brokerage operations.

They should just quit being a direct internet provider of insurance directly to consumers. Plus there is no reason for them to not put up individual websites for United of Omaha, Companion Life Insurance Company, and World Life Insurance Company. This is a cheap, beneficial way to help policyholders locate these other companies.. Hope someone in Omaha is listening.

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Are you paying too much in income taxes? Are you getting all the credits and deductions you are entitled to? Here are 7 tips to help you minimize taxes and keep more in your pocket:

1. Participate in company retirement plans. Every dollar you contribute will reduce your taxable income and thus your income taxes. Similarly, enroll in your company’s flexible spending account. You can set aside money for medical expenses and day care expenses. This money is “use it or lose it” so make sure you estimate well!

2. Make sure you pay in enough taxes to avoid penalties. Uncle Sam charges interest and penalties if you don’t pay in at least 90% of your current year taxes or 100% of last year’s tax liability.

3. Buy a house. The mortgage interest and real estate taxes are deductible, and may allow you to itemize other deductions such as property taxes and charitable donations.

4. Keep your house for at least two years. One of the best tax breaks available today is the home sale exclusion, which allows you to exclude up to $250,000 ($500,000 for joint filers) of profit on the sale of your home from your income. However, you must have owned and lived in your home for at least two years to qualify for the exclusion.

5. Time your investment sales. If your income is higher than expected, sell some of your losers to reduce taxable income. If you will be selling a mutual fund, sell before the year-end distributions to avoid taxes on the upcoming dividend or capital gain. Also, you should allocate tax efficient investments to your taxable accounts and non-efficient investments to your retirement accounts, to reduce the tax you pay on interest, dividends and capital gains.

6. If you’re retired, plan your retirement plan distributions carefully. If a retirement plan distribution will push you into a higher tax bracket, consider taking money out of taxable investments to keep you in the lower tax bracket. Also, pay attention to the 59-½ age limit. Withdrawals taken before this age can result in penalties in addition to income taxes.

7. Bunch your expenses. Certain expenses must exceed a minimum before you can deduct them (medical expenses must exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income and miscellaneous expenses such as tax preparation fees must exceed 2% of your AGI). In order to deduct these expenses, you may need to bunch these types of expenses into a single year to get above the minimum. To achieve this, you might prepay medical and miscellaneous expenses on December 31 to get above the minimum amount.

The most important thing is to be aware of the tax deductions and credits that apply to you and to plan for taxable events. And don’t be afraid to ask for help. The benefits from consulting an experienced tax professional far outweigh the cost to hire that professional.

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