Financial Blog

by trackrecord

How to Buy Equity Indexed Universal Life Insurance

Don’t tell your stockbroker or mutual fund company, but the cash value portion of equity index linked universal life insurance (IUL) policies can be used to replicate a diversified portfolio, with lower cost and less volatility.  James Garfinkel, founder and CEO of New Amsterdam Life has been extolling the virtues of equity indexed universal life insurance for years, however it wasn’t until the recent market downturn that demand for these products really exploded.  “People are gravitating to products that can deliver above-average returns with lower risk,” observes Mr. Garfinkel.

Model stock portfolio returns are based on always being in the market, and consistently buying, even in times of market turmoil. The reality is most of us are not always in the market and we typically sell during a financial crisis rather than buy, and then we buy after the market is “safe” — sacrificing much of the upside of a post-crisis bounce.

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Is it any wonder your portfolio performance doesn’t match up to your fund company’s model?

IUL policies are linked to the performance of a specific index, like the S&P 500, so that if the index is up over a one-year period, the account will be credited a corresponding percentage up to a cap, currently in the range of 12% to 20%. If the index is down, the account will be guaranteed a certain base, or floor, usually zero to 2%. The policy does not directly participate in the market.

The combination of the cap and floor reduce volatility as opposed to owning the basket of stocks outright.  Furthermore, there are no additional management or account fees.

While the S&P 500 is the most popular index, carriers provide the possibility of exposure to the S&P MidCap 400, Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ 100, Russell 2000, Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50, Hang Seng Index, commodity price indexes and others. Fixed-income exposure can also be added to the mix.

You can choose what portion of your cash value is allocated to any particular index, and how much is maintained in fixed income.

Further, you can choose to have your allocation made in equal monthly installments, so that you have a constant market exposure, as advisors suggest.

Books like The Investment Answer underscore that the best long-term performance is found in indexed funds, consistently invested and diversified, not in higher-cast actively-managed accounts.

IUL policies can provide such performance, along with tax-free internal cash value build-up, and, of course, death benefit protection that your beneficiaries will receive tax-free.

Try getting all that with your model portfolio…

Mutual Funds articles

by Renegade98

Where can I get lower mortgage rates in Canada?

Well if you’re uncle or brother is a manager at your local bank, you don’t need to be reading this. For the rest of us, lowering our biggest financial burden is extremely important. The average person now spends .5 million in their lifetime with a huge portion of that allocated to mortgage payments. A simple change in number can save you 10s of 00s over the course of your lifetime. It’s extremely important to know what is the best way to get the best mortgage rate. So how do you get the best mortgage rates and how do you know for sure you’re getting the best option on Canada Rates?

1. Don’t let your bank push you around.

Lenders get paid to tell you that you’d be wise to take their option. They have networks of sales people designed to persuade you into taking their option. Make sure that you’re at least getting multiple quotes. Letting the bank decide for your is a big a mistake. If you get multiple quotes and they’re still your best option, proceed accordingly. Just be careful that you don’t get too many quotes as generally over 7 inquires on your credit will actually hurt your score.

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2. Know your situation.

The banks probably have a different assessment of “risk” than you do and will evaluate your mortgage rates in Canada differently than you would. The vast majority of us don’t have perfect credit and long term steady high paying job. The bank loves these types of loans because they’re as straight forward as they come. They cater to these types of loans. However, you may have errors on your credit you’re not even aware of. Studies have found that 79% of credit bureaus have errors on them! That means that if you’re less than perfect in the credit department, whether justified or not, the bank may not see it as clear as you. Think about it, they get paid to overcharge you. Furthermore, with a complicated employment situation or immigration issue, you’d be wise to steer clear from your bank. Your best bet is to seek other alternatives.

3. Use the system, don’t let the system use you.

A long time ago this country was founded on the principle of capitalism. Capitalism works because competition helps to generate the possible solutions for the consumer. This is no different for Mortgage Rates Canada. There are new revolutionary systems, like the ones at Canada Rates, which will have lenders work again to compete for your business. The system works by using on online algorithm that shops your mortgage for your without a formal inquiry. Then the system at Canada Rates, will give you offers from as many as the 5 best lenders. It’s about time they started working for you instead of the other way around.

No matter which way you go, don’t let the bank tell you what you’re going to pay. Evaluate your options fully because the savings are well worth it.

Find More Allocation Rate Articles

Mutual Funds articles

by Alii Vella

Oxford Style Bibliography

In writing academic papers, students are often required to use different writing styles. Among the many papers that scholars write are the Oxford style papers. Oxford style papers are written using the Oxford citation style. The Oxford citation style is a style of writing papers and referencing that is provided by Oxford university press. Students write different Oxford style academic papers including the Oxford referencing style term paper, Oxford referencing style essay, Oxford style research papers, Oxford style dissertation and Oxford style thesis.

An Oxford style paper consists of the title page which includes the title or the research, the name of the author, the name of the person the work is to be submitted to, the title of the discipline of study and its code, the name of the institution and the date of submission. It also consists of the table of contents which is written after the title page and it shows all the sections and subsections in the paper and their page numbers. In writing an Oxford style paper, one has to write an introduction which presents the main points of the text. It summarizes the main points and ideas in the paper thereby giving the reader a brief know-how of what is contained in the paper. Just like any other style paper, the Oxford style paper has the body which is the main part of the paper and has different sections each describing one main idea. This section contains all detailed explanations.

It is essential when writing an Oxford style paper to give a concluding statement and recommendations. In Oxford style referencing, the basic format to cite a book in a bibliography and footnote is as follows: The Author’s surname and initials, the full title which is given in italics, the edition, if other than the first, the name of the publisher, the place of publication, and the year of publication. To cite journals in an Oxford style reference, the format is: the author, the title of the article, the title of journal, the volume number, the copy number, the year of publication and page numbers. To cite electronic sources, the format is: author, title of article, name of website, volume, number, date, date retrieved, and the URL.

Due to all the standards that should be followed when writing an Oxford style paper, students find it difficult to write these papers. They can therefore get writing help from custom writing companies. We are a company that provides students with Oxford style paper writing help. We offer quality services and our custom written papers will earn you the best grades. Come to us with any request on writing Oxford style papers whether they are Oxford style essays, Oxford style research papers, Oxford style term papers, or Oxford style dissertation.

In addition, we provide you with Oxford referencing guide that will help you if you need to write your Oxford style paper. We have professional writers who are well trained in writing papers in the Oxford style and other writing styles as well. We offer our writing services to students on any level of study and on any subject. Once you buy custom written Oxford style papers from us, you will never go anywhere else. This is due to the quality of the papers that we write. Order now and enjoy our quality services.

Mutual Funds articles

by mikebaird

Estate Planning Part 16 – the 3 Phases of Estate Planning

Estate planning is the process of accumulating and disposing wealth before death of an individual or estate owner. The most important goal of estate planning is to make sure that the greatest amount of the estate passes to the estate owner’s intended beneficiaries while paying the least amount of taxes. In this article, we will discuss 3 phases of estate planning.

I. Creation
Most people misunderstand that wealth creation is only for people already have financial stability or are married. In fact wealth creation is for anyone who is over the age of 18 and has a permanent job. If you work, no matter what income levels you are, you can start to save some money through financial planning. Some people who I know created their wealth by investing only 0 per month at first. Remember the rule that you have to pay yourself 10% from your income first then spend only for what you need and limit spending on what you want.

II. Preservation
After You have created your wealth through years of following your financial plan, you now have reached the age or time that you would like to preserve your wealth. Here are some things that you can do:

1. Buy universal life insurance
Universal life insurance policies give you the privilege to defer your income accumulated up to maximum amount allowed every year. If you die, the investment amount together with the life insurance will be paid to your designated beneficiaries tax-free. This is helpful to preserve your wealth.

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2. Invest prudently
Through careful financial planning without any emotional buying or selling caused by fluctuation of stock market(such as stock crash, stock down turn), and if you monitor your plan annually, you should be able to build a sizable wealth for your estate.

3. Maximize your IRA or RRSP contribution
IRA and RRSP contribution allows you to defer you income tax until they are withdrawn. The more IRA and RRSP contribution up to maximum amount, the more taxes are deferred that give you more income to plan for your wealth accumulation.

III. Wealth transferring
By writing your will, your wealth will be distributed according to your wish to the beneficiaries.
It is the time to choose a knowledgeable and trustful person as your executor who will help to distribute your asset after you dies. You may want to form a testamentary trust if you have a disable beneficiary.
* By forming testamentary trust you can provide period of income for your disable beneficiaries. Since testamentary trust has it’s own tax status, it pays less tax if there is income retained every year.
* Use universal life insurance to pay for all deferred tax investment such as capital gain, so you can leave more wealth to your beneficiaries.
* Transfer some assets to join tenancy with the right of survivor, so your estate will not need to pay tax after you die.
The 3 phrases of state planning only provides you with a general idea of the subject, please consult with your financial planner for your specific needs.

I hope this information will help. If you need more information or insurance advice, please follow my article series of the above subject at my home page at:
http://medicaladvisorjournals.blogspot.com
http://lifeanddisabitityinsuranceunderwriter.blogspot.com/

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by gnuckx

The Alter Ego Theory

So you own your own business. Welcome to the top! Whether you’re a newcomer to calling the shots or, you have done this before, you dreamed big and have taken the first step to exceeding your own expectations.

You are watching your costs and, although you intended to “do it right” from the start, things have fallen behind a bit and honestly, there is a new priority list – it’s as simple as that! Mind you, you fully intend to maintain your corporate legal formalities – whatever those are – but right now, you’re busy and; not only are you busy but, if business fails to be profitable enough, those legal formalities will become immaterial . . . just as will the business itself. Besides, your corporation provides you with a shelter known as limited liability. So, you’re fine. Right?

Generally speaking, California corporate law encourages business ventures, risk-taking and entrepreneurial activity by limiting the director’s, officer’s and shareholder’s liability for corporate actions. In that respect, the law actually views the corporation as a separate legal “person” so its debts, for example, are personal to it, just as yours are to you.

However, this protection is not absolute and so things can begin to get tricky!

Under certain circumstances, courts will disregard the corporate entity (including LLC’s) and ‘pierce the corporate veil’. The result – individual shareholders, directors, officers or members can be held liable for corporate actions. Suddenly, personal financial resources and, assets such as your home, can be in jeopardy.

So, under what circumstances may a court pierce your corporate veil or, as it is also known, find that you have utilized the corporation as an ‘alter ego’? Good question!

First, you should know that the Alter Ego theory is one of the most commonly alleged equity-based principals around and that the common law doctrine of ‘piercing the corporate veil’ is recognized in all 50 states.

To successfully prosecute such a claim, the plaintiff must prove that (i) there is a unity of interest between the corporation and the potential debtor, such that they have no practical separate existence, and (ii) an inequitable result will occur if the corporation alone is held responsible.

In California, courts often consider a list of factors to determine whether Alter Ego liability is appropriate. No one factor is controlling or must be present. These factors are generally laid out in Associated Vendors, Inc. v. Oakland Meat Packing Co. (20 Cal.App.2nd 825 and 26 Cal.Rptr. 806 (1962)). When summarizing prior cases, the Associated Vendors’ Court identified a number of possible factors, the most notable of which are:

1. Commingling of funds and other assets, failure to segregate funds of the separate entities, and the unauthorized diversion of corporate funds or assets to uses other than corporate uses;

2. Treatment by an individual of the assets of the corporation as his own; Diversion of assets from a corporation by or to a stockholder or other person or entity;

3. Diregard of legal formalities, including the failure to maintain adequate corportae/accounting records and/or minutes;

4. Domination and control of the corporation by its equitable owners;

5. Use of the same office or business location, the employment of the same employees and/or attorney;

6. Failure to adequately capitalize a corporation;

7. Use of a corporation as a mere shell, instrumentality or conduit for another person or entity, use of the corporate entity to procure labor, services or merchandise for another person or entity; and/or

8. Failure to maintain arm’s length relationships among related entities.

The factors listed above involve factual allegations which are subject to enormous potential dispute. Because of this, ‘corporate veil’ cases can come with significant costs!

Therefore, if you own a corporate entity or are considering establishing one, help protect yourself, and your future, by maintaining your corporate legal requirements!

An ounce of prevention could be worth a pound of cure!

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