[Gbd12]

Does anyone have experience with the Amer. Equity product sold by Integrifirst on Spanish Springs. I'm considering investing in it. Does anyone have anything good or bad to say about it?

[KayakerNC]

Originally Posted by Gbd12

Does anyone have experience with the Amer. Equity product sold by Integrifirst on Spanish Springs. I'm considering investing in it. Does anyone have anything good or bad to say about it?

American Equity has a Comdex ranking of 61, which is LOW! I'd avoid it.

[Easyrider]

Originally Posted by Gbd12

Does anyone have experience with the Amer. Equity product sold by Integrifirst on Spanish Springs. I'm considering investing in it. Does anyone have anything good or bad to say about it?

This can be a little confusing and does not necessarily indicate there is a problem. Some are separated by very minute differences and not all companies can be the best but what is an acceptable level for you to feel comfortable is the question.

http://www.american-equity.com/

VitalSigns Comdex Ranking


Comdex Ranking

The Comdex is Not a Rating
The Comdex is not a rating itself, but a composite of all the ratings that a company has received. The Comdex ranks the companies, on a scale of 1 to 100, in relation to other companies that have been rated by the services. The Comdex is an effort to reduce the confusion over ratings, which is caused by each ratings service using a different scale.
How is the Comdex Calculated?
To calculate the Comdex, we first determine the percentiles for each rating service. We start by counting the total number of companies rated by the service. Next we count the number of companies in each rating category. From that data, we calculate the percentile for each rating category. For Example, let us take a sample rating service and calculate the percentiles. The Super Rating Service assigns ratings in five categories, A, B, C, D and E. It has rated a total of 50 companies as shown below. The percentiles would be calculated as follows:

Ratings Companies Percentile
A 5 100
B 10 90
C 15 70
D 10 40
E 10 20
50
We repeat this process and construct a table of percentiles for each of the rating services. Using these tables, we can now calculate the Comdex for a given company. We take each rating that the company has received, and look up the percentile in the table for that rating service. Then we average the percentiles and factor in the number of ratings received to give the Comdex.

NOTE: A company needs to be rated by at least two rating services to receive a Comdex. The Comdex is based on the ratings issued by the following rating services: A.M. Best, Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch.

A free copy of the 1-2-2014 Comdex Report can be downloaded from here: http://www.stantheannuityman.com/comdex-rankings/

[Boston Buckeye]

Please put "equity indexed annuities" in Google to see some pros and cons of these annuities. Also search the FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) website for their Investor Alert on Equity Indexed Annuities.

[Easyrider]

Originally Posted by Boston Buckeye

Please put "equity indexed annuities" in Google to see some pros and cons of these annuities. Also search the FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) website for their Investor Alert on Equity Indexed Annuities.

Didn't see where he ask about indexed annuities only the product by American Equity Company.

Asking about the company or a product?

The FINRA alert and link below just says they are a complex choice and be sure you understand them???

http://www.finra.org/Investors/Prote...urance/P010614

Why an Alert on Equity-Indexed Annuities?

Sales of equity-indexed annuities (EIAs)—also known as "fixed-indexed insurance products" and "indexed annuities"—have grown considerably in recent years. Although one insurance company at one time included the word "simple" in the name of its product, EIAs are anything but easy to understand. One of the most confusing features of an EIA is the method used to calculate the gain in the index to which the annuity is linked. To make matters worse, there is not one, but several different indexing methods. Because of the variety and complexity of the methods used to credit interest, investors will find it difficult to compare one EIA to another.

Before you buy an EIA, you should understand the various features of this investment and be prepared to ask your insurance agent, broker, financial planner or other financial professional lots of questions about whether an EIA is right for you.

[tommy steam]

There are a lot of strings on this product. Make sure you know exactly what you are getting into. You can take the information to a fee only investment advisor and ask him to explain it to you if you are not too sure about it. You can find one by googling FEE only investment advisor.