September 2, 2008
I am a fully licensed Insurance Agent, selling all insurance products, including annuities, since December 1984.
Since the advent of INDEXED ANNUITIES people willing to invest their savings have found a vehicle that allow for a better return than fixed interest annuities, with risk factor and costs much lower that variable annuities.
Now the SEC wants them to loose that vehicle, by making INDEXED ANNUITIES a SEC regulated product, and consequentially more costly and loaded with restrictions.
I oppose that regulation, because it is the wrong approach for protecting the investing public, what it is needed is better regulation and proffesional restriction of the licensed Insurance Agents, if any, not restricting and regulating the product (Indexed Annuities in this case).
The Security and Exchange Commission should work their rules better in those highly expeculative areas that hurts people and national economy instead, like gas, oil, hedge funds, abusive and expeculative commodity options, etc.