Top 20 YouTube Annuity Videos of 2018

(Related: The Top 10 Life Insurance YouTube Videos of the Year) YouTube.com can give you a peek into what other people are thinking about annuities. Here's a look at the 20 most-watched YouTube annuity videos of 2018. To see screenshots from the five most-watched YouTube annuity videos of 2018, look at the slideshow above.

Methods

We came up with this list by searching YouTube for videos with the word "annuity" or annuities" in the title, then sorting the results by the number of views. We went through the results manually to find the top-performing videos that were posted in 2018. The YouTube search tool can be unpredictable. Searching for annuity or annuities videos posted in the past 12 months, and then sorting those by views, produces slightly different results. We included videos posted outside the United States, but we excluded videos aimed primarily at students studying math, actuarial science and annuity-related computer programming. If we had not applied that rule, most of the top videos listed here would be instructional videos aimed at students in India who are preparing for annuity-related exams. Our list may have left out some widely viewed annuity videos posted by big organizations that choose to post their videos solely on their own servers, or on video server systems other than YouTube, and not on YouTube. We used the official YouTube posting date now on the YouTube video landing page. It's possible that, in some cases, videos on this list were created before 2018 and simply posted, re-posted or modified in 2018.

The Results

Sixteen of the videos here are aimed at mainly at consumers; four of those provide straightforward definitions of annuity terms. Video makers did not have to spend big bucks on production values to get on this list: Heritage Wealth Planning of Alpharetta, Georgia, one of the entities with the most videos on this list — four — features static shots of Josh Scandlen, a Certified Financial Planner, talking in front of backdrops such as whiteboards or bookshelves. At press time, Scandlen had posted 249 videos on his firm's YouTube website, including 11 about annuities. Market America, another entity with four videos on this list, has created some videos using live event video and others using slideshows of still images, or lightly animated graphics. Market America has posted its videos to promote the idea of having shoppers get their "cash back" in the form of contributions to an account used to pay for an annuity. ITM, the firm with the most-viewed video on this list, with about 24,000 views, has provided consumers with a presentation on Lynette Zang's ideas about why annuities and other fiat money assets are likely to do poorly in a crash.

2018 Annuity Video Philosophy

Scandlen said in his "Types of 'Good' Annuities" video (which is ranked 14th here) that he receives questions about whether annuities are good, or whether annuities are bad. "They're inanimate objects," Scandlen said. "Just like firearms, just like food. Anything that has no life or soul can neither be good nor bad. It just is."

The Full Top 20 List

1. [FAQ] CRASH PLANNING: 401k, Annuities, ETF's, IRA, Stocks & Bonds (Sept. 28, 2018): 24,000 views. (ITM)
2. SHOP.COM Market America & The Shopping Annuity: FUTURE OF DISTRIBUTION (Feb. 6, 2018): 12,000 views. (Market America)
3. Are Annuities Confusing? - Understanding Annuities - Annuities Explained (Jan. 10, 2018): 8,000 views. (Wise Money Tools)
4. Annuities (Oct. 16, 2018): 6,600 views. (LICIndiaForever)
5. Annuity Insights | Fisher Investments (Aug. 10, 2018): 5,300 views (Fisher Investments)
6. What is an income annuity? (April 10, 2018): 3,000 views. (Vanguard)
7. How can an income annuity fit in your retirement plan? (April 10, 2018): 2,600 views. (Vanguard)
8. Should I Buy an Annuity? (April 2, 2018): 2,600 views. (Money Talk News)
9. UP CM Yogi Adityanath Announces Annuity For Sadhus (Jan. 21, 2019): 2,400 views. (ABP News)
10. Are Fixed Index Annuities A Good Investment? (Feb. 28, 2018): 2,100 views. (Wes Moss Money Matters)
11. How To Use Income Annuities In Your Retirement Plan - Part 2 (Sept. 22, 2018): 2,000 views. (Heritage Wealth Planning)
12. The Shopping Annuity Brand (Aug. 11, 2018): 1,800 views. (Market America)
13. Why You Should Take Pension Income Instead of Income Annuity (Jan. 21, 2019): 1,700 views. (Heritage Wealth Planning)
14. Types of "Good" Annuities (Oct. 27, 2018): 1,500. (Heritage Wealth Planning)
15. Shopping Annuity | JR Ridinger (Aug. 12, 2018): 1,400 views. (Market America)
16. Should I Buy an Income Annuity? (Nov. 13, 2018): 1,100 views. (Heritage Wealth Planning)
17. Fixed Index Annuities vs Variable Annuities (Jan. 10, 2018): 1,110 views. (Annuity Guys)
18. Annuity Income and Growth to Maintain Principal (Jan. 23, 2018): 1,000 views. (Annuity Guys)
19. Understanding Annuity Retirement Pros & Cons (Jan. 29, 2018): 840 views. (Pure Financial Advisors Inc.)
20. How I Earn $400,000 a Month Selling Annuities: Mentoring Sales Professionals to Six Figure Sales (July 18, 2018): 755 views. (RetireSharp.com)

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