RIR Poll Archive

If your 65-year-old mother needed to draw income from $500,000 in savings, what strategy would you consider first:

A variable annuity with a 5% guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit.	26%
An immediate annuity for half the money, and balanced index funds for the rest.	35%
A ladder of five-year immediate and deferred fixed annuities, coupled with equity investments.	26%
Systematic withdrawals from a balanced mutual fund portfolio.	13%

From a financial industry perspective, who do you think would make the best president of the United States?

John McCain	55%
Hillary Clinton	20%
Barack Obama	24%

By how much should the Federal Open Market Committee lower the Fed Funds Target Rate, now at 3%, on March 18?

By a quarter-point.	29%
By a half-point.	29%
By three-quarters of a point.	14%
Not at all.	29%

Consolidation in the annuity industry is likely to continue; what do you think is the most significant effect of consolidation on consumers, good or bad?

Limit consumer choices	14%
Increase cost to consumer	57%
Decrease cost to consumer	14%
Facilitate greater focus on comprehensive financial planning	14%
Hinder shift to a comprehensive financial planning distribution model	0%

Would the financial services industry be better off today if the Glass-Steagall Act hadn't been repealed in 1999?

Yes	25%
No	25%
Hindsight is always 20/20	50%

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