Question

Joe came into a sizeable inheritance about 5 years ago. His investment advisor representative recommended putting the majority if the inheritance into a variable annuity, once Joe had maxed out other tax-deferred products. Joe has seen the funds in the variable annuity grow over the past 5 years, but he wants to know more about how the variable annuity works and where the increases in value originate. Which of the following is a good statement from the IAR related to how variable annuities grow?A) "Variable annuities appreciate in value as the stock of the issuer of the variable annuity goes up."B) "Variable annuities have a fixed pay-out rate which is determined at the time of investment. Investors can look back at their original documents related to the variable annuity to see what this pre-determined rate of growth is."C) "Variable annuities include investments in various products, normally mutual funds, so the value of the variable annuity will fluctuate with increases or decreases in the values of the products held within the variable annuity."D) "You should contact the issuer of the variable annuity to find out more information on how it works. I am simply your investment advisor."

Answer 1

Answer:

C) "Variable annuities include investments in various products, normally mutual funds, so the value of the variable annuity will fluctuate with increases or decreases in the values of the products held within the variable annuity."

Explanation:

Joe's investment adviser should have discussed what type of investment he was recommending and why he was recommending them. If Joe wants to know more about his investments, his IAR has a fiduciary obligation to explain how a variable annuity works.

Variable annuities are a type of investment vehicle, which allows tax deferral on investment growth. Variable annuities are called variable because the investor decides which investment he will take and the value of the investments vary in time.

Usually variable annuities include different mutual funds, and if the price of the shares of the mutual funds vary, so will the value of the annuity.