(New York)

Here is a non-sensical but fully logical sentence for you: bonds just aren’t “bonds” right now. What we mean is that bonds simply aren’t fulfilling their long-understood role any longer. They yield very little and have a great deal of risk—both the opposite of their traditional role. So where can advisors turn? One increasingly interesting area is annuities, and fixed index annuities in particular. They offer the downside protection investors need, and upside participation everyone wants. Principal is never put at risk to the market, but interest from the initial purchase is used to participate in upside. In other words, you have principal protection with some upside potential—just like bonds have traditionally been used.

FINSUM: Fixed index annuities seem to be a very good alternative to bonds in the current environment.