Yes, stocks lost 50% in 2008. But have since recovered by 180%. By maintaining a correct asset allocation between stocks and bonds, in 2008 my portfolio went down 24%, not 50%. And over the past 30 years I have had 8.3% average return with significantly lower risk then any annuity. And you only lost money in 2008 if you sold your stocks. If you didn't sell, you lost zero.

I agree with the many people who point out the real benefit of annuities to the large sales commission the salesperson receives. We do have two annuities that we purchased in December 2004 form a company that was bought out by Athene. My personal experience and opinion is that it was a bad investment and that we still have not totally escaped it since the early termination fees, which go on for 15 years (tapering off). Although the annuity did not loses money in 2008, I would have been much better of with it invested in my mutual funds.

I do have on friend who has annuities who claims they have a guaranteed return of 7% a year, but I have not seen same.

My best advice before investing any serious money to any investment is to go to paulmerriman.com and read his 3 free ebooks.

Dave Ramsey says...NO!

Agree with post............the key is having cash (not invested, but can use CD's) equal to a couple years of living expenses. This way you don't have to dip into your investments during a down market.

At this point it's piling on, But I agree with the majority of posters that annuities are a poor investment for MOST .. As referenced by the one dissenter on this thread, some people (very few) are happy with them.
Regarding this specific company, IF I was considering an annuity (which I'm NOT), I would discard it from consideration. Take a look at Better Business Bureau complaints .. BBB Business Profile | Athene USA | Reviews and Complaints .. reviews on usinsuranceagents web site ★ Athene Annuity Insurance Reviews - ★ Athene Annuity Insurance Company Ratings

Then there's the 2018 Bloomberg article indicating regulators in NY and Texas are investigating Athene .. Insurers Linked to Wall Street Face Scrutiny Over Irate Clients - Bloomberg

The real question, which probably isn't for public consumption, comment or blog scrutiny, is WHY you are considering an annuity .. That is, what problem are you trying to solve.. Are you looking for some sort of consistent income stream that will last for the rest of your life (lives) ? Are you investment savvy and capable of managing either a dividend paying individual stock portfolio or a balanced portfolio of mutual funds ? Are you concerned about being able to manage this as you get on in years ? Want to leave money to your heirs ? These are the elements of developing an estate plan that should lead to some alternatives that will give you steady income, perhaps some growth, and capital preservation / management ..

Generally, if you can be discipline and trust yourself you don't need to pay for annuity, take your 4% or whatever out your self each year. If you still have a need to purchase annuity investigate Vanguard. They don't have the huge expenses others do.

Personally, I would never buy an annuity of any kind, but that's just me. Paying fees to a salesman goes against my grain (and I don't pay mutual fund loads either). But, if you have lost money in the stock market in the past and holding stocks keeps you awake at night, you probably should consider a safe annuity, but if you can, do it with assistance from a fiduciary, not a sales person, and look carefully at costs and commissions.

I second that, not the 7%, we never got that high, but we lost nothing when the markets crashed.

Please go to http://paulmerriman.com/ and read his FREE eBooks. I have a different Athene Annuity that I purchased in 2004/5 before I educated myself. The good news it was a small annuity, the bad news, it was a BAD decision on my part. I am in the process of dumping it, little at a time so as to avoid the harsh early withdrawal penalties.

As already stated, the commissions typically run 10% of the initial investment which makes me question it right up front.

I do believe the same money, placed in a few indexed mutual funds, will yield more return PLUS give you access to the principal if you want/need it.

Your choices could be as simple as:

Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund, holding approximately 3600 stocks,
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund, holding approximately 6200 stocks,
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund, holding approximately 8400 bonds,
Vanguard Total International Bond Index Fund

You determine the mix based on your risk tolerance.

Hope that helps a little.

In the past, I have had several friends ask me about a specific annuity that they were considering based on the advice of a financial advisor. In each case, the first thing I did was to call the annuity company and ask them to send me a copy of the annuity contract so I could read it and advise my friend. In every case (four different companies), they have refused to provide the contract. The Ty Young guy actually got mad at me and said "this call is over" and hung up. The lady I spoke with at Athene was polite, but said to me that the contract is over 100 pages and you have to complete a signed application, pay for the annuity, and then you will receive the contract. After that, you have 20 days to cancel the annuity and apply for a refund of your money. I cannot recommend that anyone enter into a contractual relationship on that basis.