2. Many people are familiar with annuities and
their place in the modern investment portfolio.
Simply put, an annuity is a one-time payment to
an insurance company. In exchange, the
insurance company agrees to make payments
of specific values on a specific schedule, or
until a specific event occurs (such as the death
of the policy holder).
3. Although annuities have only been a popular
investment opportunity for the last few decades,
their roots reach back 2,000 years to ancient
Rome. The Romans called them “annua,”
meaning annual stipend or annual payout.
Financial speculators received payment from
their investors in return for a specified annual
payout.
4. Although the Roman Empire eventually fell, the
idea of the annuity had spread to Europe.
Beginning in the Middle Ages and ending during
the colonial period, many European
governments used annuities to fund their wars
and finance colonization efforts. Again, the idea
behind these annuities was very similar to
today’s annuity: governments asked investors
to pay a specific amount into the annuity in
exchange for specified payouts at a later date.
5. In fact, annuities were popular among Europe’s
high society, as well. Much like today’s
annuities, which are used primarily for
retirement planning, many European nobility
saw the value in paying into an annuity in
exchange for future repayments as a way to
protect against losing their family fortunes.
6. Despite its popularity in Europe, however,
annuities did not catch on in the United States
until after the stock market crash of 1929.
During the following Great Depression, many
Americans seeking safe, reliable investment
platforms turned to annuities as a way to
safeguard their financial futures.
7. Annuities as Americans know them today
first appeared in 1952 with the creation of the
variable annuity. Since then, annuities have
become much more complex than their Roman
and European roots. Nevertheless, annuities
remain a popular financial investment tool
around the world, especially in terms of
planning for retirement.
8. Backed by decades of experience in the
investment sector, the Swiss Alliance Group
specializes in deferred annuities for vacation
owners. For more information on their tax-
deferred vacation owner annuity, visit their
website at www.SwissAllianceGroup.com