November 13, 2008
I am a member of the Financial Planning Association. I support adoption of the subject rule.
Financial Planning is my second career (age 39-73). During this time I have seen too many instances of dissatisfaction with the results of an annuity investment. I quickly became convinced that annuities are more a commission generator than they are a benefit to investors. In good markets, they consistently underperformed the market because of ongoing fees. In bad markets they went down as much or more than market indices.
Regulation, fair and uniform, is needed to help restore confidence of the public in honest and ethical financial professionals.
sincerely yours,
Jack L. Beckner