ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Paying To Get It; Paying To Toss It: Surrender Charges Whole Life Insurance Whole life insurance policy holders usually walk away from buying their policy thinking they have set themselves up well for the future. But the question remains: have they? There are certainly competing views about whole […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Are Indexed Annuities Just Over-Our-Heads Difficult? Indexed Annuities Annuities are complex financial instruments. So-called indexed annuities are even more complicated. Yet, these investments are made quite often, which means people could be investing in a product they simply do not understand. And the stakes are incredibly high; often […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Annuities Gone Wrong Annuities Are A Problem Are you someone who has bought an annuity? Have you tried to take out your money and been charged a steep surrender penalty fee? Has your annuity investment lost you money? Sadly, you are not alone; annuity companies and their agents […]

Marin County Annuity Fraud Attorney: Fiduciary Rule ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Annuity Sales and the Fiduciary Rule The State of the Annuity Market Annuities have a history of being rock-solid investments. A life insurance company, with sizeable government-mandated cash reserves, would take your funds savings, invest them in treasury bonds, and pay […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Brokers Move from Variable to Indexed Annuities Why the Variable Annuity is in Decline 2016 has been a rough year for many people, not least for sellers of variable annuities. Regulatory oversight, the new Department of Labor fiduciary rule, and market factors have led to a year that […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER How Whole Life Insurance is Sold Term vs. Whole Life Insurance When you or I think of life insurance, what we’re most likely imagining is term life insurance. You pay your premium every month, and if you die while the contract is active, your beneficiary receives a sum […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER FINRA cracks down on Variable Annuities Understanding Annuities In the wake of another round of FINRA crackdowns on variable annuity sales, it’s becoming increasingly clear that nobody knows how annuities work: not consumers, who have been tricked into buying products that lock their money into risky investments, and […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Misleading Annuity Illustrations When seniors go to a financial advisor, they often aren’t specifically looking for an annuity. They want to protect their savings, and ensure that they can find a way to make their savings last through their retirement. A financial advisor often sees this as an […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Brokers Avoiding Arbitration Awards Our Santa Clara FINRA arbitration attorneys make no secret about being opposed to binding arbitration clauses. Our attorneys, like many in the state of California, believes that requiring consumers to forego their right to a public trial and instead compelling them to air their […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Retirement, 401(k) Accounts, and Annuities Although many consumers and seniors have heard of annuities, it’s not always obvious how prevalent they are in other financial products. Many “senior financial advisors,” claiming to offer specialized products and services for the elder population, try to sell bespoke blends of various […]