Reader Comments of the Week

(2) The four most dangerous words are, according to the legendary investor John Templeton, "It's different this time." It has been my belief for nearly four decades that the ultimate portfolio contains only two investment vehicles:

- Three or four general equity mutual funds, i.e. a no-load S&P 500 index fund for dollar cost averaging (75%), and

- Participating whole life policies (25%).

Upon retirement, if the market 'goes south' for several years, borrow against the whole life policies' cash value (if need be, for current cash flow), and don't touch the equity mutual funds. While the cash values of whole life may not have gone up much in the recent past because of low interest (dividend) rates, the principal has never gone down."

In response to The NAIC on Implementation of MLR

sickofitall wrote:

"As a small agency, our health commissions have been slashed by each company we are licensed with, and our small sales staff are struggling to write any new business. If things continue the way they are, I see layoffs in our future, consolidation of our three offices to one, and an exit from the health insurance business. We cannot spend the amount of time we have been spending with our health clients for the pittance in commissions we receive. Hopefully, people will be able to navigate their way through the maze of health insurance options available, without the confusion that I see in the Medicare supplement market….but I doubt it. This is what Clint Eastwood would refer to as a 'Cluster F@#*!'"