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How Much Money Do People In Rockford Need To Retire?
How much do I need to retire? That is one of the most searched questions about retirement on Google just about every year! Some of the other popular retirement question searches are: How to retire early When can I retire? What is the retirement age? How much to save for retirement? But how much do people in Rockford [...]
Is A LIRP A Good Retirement Investment For Retirees In Rockford?
What the heck is a LIRP and is it a good investment? The term LIRP was coined by Best Selling Author of “The Power Of Zero” and “Look Before You LIRP”. LIRP Definition: LIRP stands for Life Insurance Retirement Plan. It is NOT your Grandparents Life Insurance. It is a Life Insurance Plan that is STUFFED full of cash up [...]
What Are The Top 10 Questions Rockford Retiree’s Need To Ask A Financial Advisor?
For some people in the Rockford area meeting with a Financial Advisor about retirement can be an intimidating experience. Others are already working with a Financial Advisor, but they are just not sure if their advisor is fully equipped to help them make the all-important transition from work life to retirement. This article will give you some good questions to [...]
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Helpful Glossary
The Four Financial Advisor Business Models And How They Charge You
The Stock Broker
The Stock Broker business model is one where the Advisor does not charge you ANY fees at all and simply gets paid a commission for selling you a particular investment.
Mutual Fund / A Shares
Product may charge a Front end load of 3.75% to 5.75% on Average* as an upfront off the top charge in addition to annual management fees of about 1.44% per year**
Variable Annuities
Typically don’t carry a front end charge but in addition to annual management fees usually around 1% they may also charge a Surrender Charge of 6% or higher decreasing over a period of years if you take all of your money out.
Mortality and Expense Fees
Most Variable annuities also charge a fee for Life Insurance that can tack on an additional 1% per year or more on top of the other mentioned fees.
The Insurance Agent
The Insurance agent business model works very similarly to the Stock Broker Model above. The Insurance agent Advisor does not charge you ANY fees at all and simply gets paid a commission for selling you a particular Insurance Product.
Fixed Annuities
Most have a back-end surrender charge that decreases over a period of years. You only pay this charge if you take all of your money out early or withdraw more than the allowed percentage in a given year. Typically you have access to 10% without a fee.
- NOTE: Unlike Variable Annuities Fixed Annuities typically don’t have ANY front end or ongoing annual management fees or life insurance costs built in.
- Life Insurance: Most life insurance plans charge Front end fees and back-end fees as well as ongoing costs to cover the charge for the death benefits.
The Fee-Only Advisor
A Fee-only Advisor business model is one where the Advisor charges a fee for advice or for managing money.
The Hybrid Advisor
A Hybrid Advisor is a business model that is a blend of two or more of the business models above.




