BUSINESS
By Humberto Cruz and Humberto Cruz,Tribune Media Services | December 31, 2006
Most American investors favor what I've long considered a smart long-term strategy, investing in the stocks of companies that consistently increase their dividends. But they do it without much understanding of the benefits, including superior compounded returns over time and a preferential tax rate. That is one finding among many that emerged from a comprehensive survey by Eaton Vance Corp., a Boston-based investment management firm, underscoring a continued and major need for investor education.
BUSINESS
By Humberto Cruz and Humberto Cruz,Tribune Media Services | December 17, 2006
I am being two-faced about annuities, readers tell me. One day, I am in favor of them, and the next day I am against. Where do I really stand? My unequivocal response: It depends because different types of annuities have different characteristics. While I strive to distinguish between the many types, it is obvious the distinctions need to be made clearer. "Any statement that fails to distinguish between the different types of annuities is nonsense," said John Olsen, a financial consultant and estate planner in St. Louis County, Mo. Here is one such statement a reader found in another publication: "Have you ever heard of an annuity?
BUSINESS
By HUMBERTO CRUZ and HUMBERTO CRUZ,TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES | October 30, 2005
The rap against variable annuities is that steep surrender charges can lock you into a bad contract and high annual expenses erode your return. For the most part, I find this criticism valid. But little-known low-cost annuities offer a viable alternative, particularly for do-it-yourself investors. These low-cost annuities are available mostly through major no-load mutual fund firms, including Fidelity, Vanguard and T. Rowe Price, as well as through lower-cost brokers such as TD Waterhouse and Charles Schwab.
BUSINESS
By Humberto Cruz | July 24, 2005
Q. Your article about variable annuities with a lifetime income guarantee was interesting. Could you explain in more detail the differences between this benefit and annuitization? A. I wrote about a relatively new lifetime income benefit rider offered by several insurance companies that issue variable annuities. With this optional benefit, which comes at an extra cost, the annuity purchaser can choose to receive a minimum lifetime income regardless of how the annuity investments perform and without having to "annuitize," or give up access to principal.
BUSINESS
By JANET KIDD STEWART | March 27, 2005
Trying to fashion a road map for retirement? Good luck with that. Just about every aspect of retirement planning is full of unknowns: Social Security insolvency estimates and reform proposals change constantly, corporate pensions are under stress, and the exact amount of money retirees will need is a moving target. Adding volatility to all three, there is even growing debate on how many retirees will live long enough to have the problem of outliving their assets. Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine's March 17 issue, researchers led by a University of Illinois professor called into question the Social Security Administration's recent life expectancy increase - to the mid-80s - later this century.
BUSINESS
By JAY HANCOCK | October 10, 2004
THE ELIOT Spitzer prosecution train seems to have hit the law of diminishing returns. It has been more than a month since the New York lawman rocked Wall Street with a major settlement for financial chicanery. Lately he has bullied Maryland's Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. for the way it sells $400 suits and issued press releases with these headlines: "Investigation Reveals Deplorable Plight of Restaurant Bathroom Attendants," "Wedding Photographer to Reimburse Jilted Clients" and "Poacher Pleads Guilty to Timber Theft."