Life Insurance

Life Insurance Explained

A quick look at the different types of policies.

Provided by Greg Ferguson

When it comes to life insurance, there are many choices. Whole life. Variable universal life. Term. What do these descriptions really mean?

Do you plan to buy life insurance before you turn 40? Maybe you should. You may save money in the long run by doing so.

At first thought, the idea of purchasing a life insurance policy in your thirties may seem silly. After all, young adults are now marrying and starting families later in life than past generations did, and you and your peers are likely in excellent health with a good chance of living past 80.

Remember that the major indices don’t represent the entirety of Wall Street.

The S&P 500 is up about 10% YTD, why aren’t I? If your investments are lagging the broad benchmark, you may be asking that very question. The short answer is that the S&P is not the overall market (and vice versa). Each year, there are money managers, day traders and retirement savers whose portfolios wind up underperforming it.1

Keep in mind that the S&P serves as a kind of “Wall Street shorthand.” The media watches it constantly because it does provide a good gauge of how things are going during a trading day, week or year. It is cap-weighted (larger firms account for a greater proportion of its value, smaller firms a smaller proportion) and includes companies from many sectors. Its 500-odd components represent roughly 70% of the aggregate value of the American stock markets.2

 Has unchecked optimism inflated asset values?

“Irrational exuberance.” That phrase – uttered by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan in 1996 and reputedly coined by economist Robert Shiller – has become part of the investment lexicon. Now and then, bears reference it – especially when the market turns red-hot. 

Late last year, many Wall Street investment strategists thought the S&P 500 would advance about 5.8% in 2014. They were wrong. As 2014 ends, the broad benchmark is poised for another double-digit annual gain. Asked to explain the difference, bearish market analysts might point to irrational exuberance.1