November 13, 2008

Subject: File No. S7-14-08

In my experience I have never come across a product that has been so widely distributed that is so inappropriate for the majority of those who bought the product, is so little understood by those who put their money into the contract, and where once purchasers either understand or have experience with the investment wish they had not put their money into the investment.

Thus I would like to add my voice to those who SUPPORT the rule calling for SEC oversight of indexed annuity sales. It seems clear that this product has a security component that should require a greater understanding and fuller explanation than is currently being provided by insurance agents pushing this product. I have come across several seniors (some who have placed their entire retirement rollovers into these investments) who were sold this product, having very little understanding of what they have bought, and once explained the limitations and the true returns they can expect, would terminate the investment immediately if they could do so without significant penalty. I have yet to find a purchaser who fully understood the crediting they would receive—and believe that agents either don’t fully understand the crediting themselves or intentionally mislead prospective buyers to cause them to expect far greater returns than are likely under the crediting method.

It seems unfortunate that these seniors are often talked into a contract that does not perform well and that they cannot terminate without significant penalty. Both my understanding of the security- type investments within the products and my experience with people who have an index annuity that they do not understand leads me to the conclusion that abuse (intentional or unintentional) is common in the marketing of these products and that for the protection of the public oversight by the SEC is critical.

In short, there are simply too many seniors who were sold this investment who are unhappy with the product, didn’t understand the investment when they bought it, and who say that they would never have put their money into the product if they had fully understood the contract going in.

Thank you,

Phil Vick, CFP