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"My grandfather always told me, ‘If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.’ That is our business model." — Stan The Annuity Man.

The difference between “Fee-Only” and “Fee-Based” financial planning is like night and day or apples and oranges. With your non-annuity assets, you need to ensure you are using “Fee-Only” because that advisor’s interests align with yours. That’s the pure definition of what a fiduciary should be.

Larry Kotlikoff is one of the most fascinating guests I’ve ever had on my Fun With Annuities podcast. Because I’m a perpetual marketer and brander, I was astonished by the value of the software products that Larry has developed and offers to both consumers and financial advisors.

There’s a lot of annuity products out there. Not all of them are great. Not all of them are perfect, but all of them are contractual. So you have to look at the contractual guarantees of the policy. I always tell people don’t buy the dream, because you’re gonna own the contractual reality.

I have always said that the annuity industry has earned a bad reputation, and it continues to create an unneeded black mark with how many current Indexed Annuity products are sold. For the record, I am a huge fan of the Indexed Annuity strategy. It was created in 1995 to offer potential "better than CD" returns while offering full principal protection. FIAs (Fixed Index Annuities) are not market return products but are pushed that way by too many agents showing overblown and misleading back-tested return scenarios to convince retirees to buy.

As you may know, my parents were college basketball coaches at one time. My sister won 3 state championships as a great player in high school, and I played Division 1 college basketball as well and set shooting accuracy records that will never be broken. Growing up, there were always discussions around game plans and how to beat the upcoming opponent or team.

Martin “Marty” Parlato is a star. He is controversial. He is smart. And he seems to be always right about the markets. As a warning, he is not politically correct or woke. This is not a soft-landing spot or a warm-fuzzy-feeling podcast guest. This is how you would like politicians and market pundits to talk. Brutal. Factual. Not mincing words. The only proof that the world is not fair is that Jim Cramer is the lead mouthpiece for CNBC, not Marty Parlato. He’s that good.

I loved having Terry Savage back on Fun With Annuities to discuss the current financial environment. In volatile and chaotic times like these, it’s time for professionals to weigh in, and Terry is definitely a pro.

Stan The Annuity Man®, a.k.a. Stan Haithcock is known as “America’s Annuity Agent®” and the top independent annuity agent in the United States. Licensed in all 50 states, he is recognized as one of the top thought leaders in the annuity industry. He is the founder of The Annuity Man® LLC, with office locations in Florida and Nevada.

Unless you have been living in a cave, there has been a little banking crisis recently that continues to concern anyone that’s not buying the media or political spin. So, of course Stan The Annuity Man has to give you the absolute facts and bring in an objective expert that would provide the brutal truth. John Lenz is just that person. The “annuity architect” himself agreed to help me hammer this important topic.

The fabulously smart Jay Zawatsky made his second appearance on my Fun With Annuities podcast to cover one of the most fascinating topics I’ve covered in a while…How Debt and Energy Connect.

Mark Iwry has been called “A UNIQUELY POWERFUL Washington wonk.” A hero of our retirement system. A pension rock star. One of the world’s 30 top financial players. A legend. An inspiration.

As nervous investors watched their account balances plummet, viewers of MoneyTrack, Pam Krueger’s weekly PBS TV series deluged her with requests asking how they could find a truly trustworthy financial advisor.

Financial royalty joined me once again on the podcast for her take on 2023. Terry is always a joy to bring on, and her energy is second to none. What a money dynamo!

If there were a czar of the retirement planning and advice world, it would be Bob Carlson. I was so happy when Bob let me know that his new book, “Retirement Watch: The Essential Guide to Retiring in the 2020s”, was unavailable to all of us, and I had to have him back on the podcast to talk about it.