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PAGE B18 - JUNE 19, 2014 - RANCHO SANTA FE REVIEW
Horizon Prep marks 8th-graders’ graduations with ceremony
Horizon Prep Head of Schools, Dr. Ken Kush with John Schreckengaust. Top: Brooks, Sophia, Victoria and Brenda Hoven.
Horizon Prep in Rancho Santa Fe marked the graduation of its eighth-grade class. Photos by Alicia Ferreira Above: Jack Straza, Camden Gianni, Thomas Kane Berman, Chase Whitton, Jake Gianni.
(Right) Camille Lundstead, Shelby Sutton, Audrey Thesing and Molly Dypvik. Horizon Prep Head of Schools, Dr. Ken Kush with Molly Dypvik.
Big band jazz to be featured at July concert The Coastal Cities Jazz Band performs a concert of big band jazz at 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 16, at Carlsbad Community Church, Carlsbad. Music popular during the World War II era will be on tap, with trumpeter Willie Murillo and vocalist Becky Martin joining the band for this performance. Tickets are $15 general admission or $12 for seniors and students. For advance tickets, call Gary Adcock at 858-775-1113. The Coastal Cities Jazz Band has become quite popular with very entertaining programs that feature guest artists from the Los Angeles scene. Both Murillo and Martin are in demand around the world, having just returned from a tour in Japan and Australia. We are fortunate to have them with us for this concert. For information, call 858-775-1113.
Expert to speak at UC San Diego Economics Roundtable Ken Kroner, senior managing director, global head of Multi-Asset Strategies, head and chief investment officer of Scientific Active Equity at BlackRock, will discuss “Investing in a Post-QE World” at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 10 at the UC San Diego Faculty Club. The $50 per person cost to attend the UC San Diego Economics Roundtable includes breakfast and parking. Significant discounts are available for UC San Diego faculty, staff, students, and alumni. For additional information and registration, visit www.economics.ucsd.edu/roundtable, email econroundtable@ucsd.edu, or call 858-534-9710.
SPONSORED COLUMNS CHRIS L. MEACHAM, CPA Wealty Management 858.676.1000
Annuities: Only Under the Right Circumstances Preparing for retirement is a priority when making decisions about how to invest your money. Annuities are one of the financial products sold with the aim of giving a person a steady cash flow during their retirement years. An annuity is a product sold by
insurance companies designed to grow funds from an individual and then convert that investment into a series of periodic income payments. There are different kinds of annuities with varying kinds of risks, such as fixed, variable and deferred. Although annuities can be the right product under the right circumstances, in general, because of their cost, risk, and complexity, we usually recommend staying away from them. Today, annuities are expensive. Compared to the 50 basis points they cost 10 years ago when the insurance industry was trying to attract annuity investors, today annuities generally cost investors 200 basis points to receive the guaranteed pay out. Also, attractive contractual additions—such as
upfront bonuses and appealing income rider percentages— often come with additional annual fees for the life of the policy. Annuities are also risky. Many insurance companies, for example, only guarantee 87.5 percent of the premiums you pay plus 1 to 3 percent interest, which means if you don’t receive any index-linked interest you will lose money. Even if an agent plugs in some numbers and comes up with an annual projected growth number for the accumulation value, it’s important to realize that this projection is not guaranteed. These numbers are based purely on a theoretical estimation of the stock market’s growth. In fact, even if you have a fixed annuity that promises that you’ll get your money back after
10 years in the stock market, due to inflation, that money will probably be worth less. Because annuities are so complex, consumers buy them without fully understanding them. For example, people are drawn to annuities because they offer certain safeguards for their principle and regular payments, but because they don’t fully understand how they work, people find themselves with their money tied up and are unable to access it without incurring big penalties. Despite their pitfalls, some annuities do have their place in certain retirement portfolios, but this decision should not be made without a full understanding of how annuities work.
Look to these local authorities for professional guidance on daily living at ranchosantafereview.com/columns OTTO BENSON
JANET LAWLESS-CHRIST
STEVE JACOBS
MICHAEL PINES
Modern Home Systems 858.554.0404 ModernHomeSystems.com
RSF Real Estate 858.759.6567 janetlawlesschrist.com
Nature Designs 760.945.4321 naturedesigns.net
Accident & Injury Legal Advice 858.551.2090 SeriousAccidents.com