Exploring The Benefits Of Swiss Annuities (NAPSA)—When it comes to planning for retirement, many find the real challenge is to build wealth that is not likely to be eroded by inflation or market losses. To accomplish this, a growing e There are no investment restrictions. One can invest the world over. THE e With private placement CONSUMER BUREAU™ The Consumer's Guide to Swiss Annuities ™ Jean-Frangois Meillard number of American investors have started to look to foreign markets and investment vehicles, such as the annuities issued by Swiss insurers. These investors are attracted by the Swiss franc’s Annuity Consumer Bureau. As a 30-yearrise relative to most of the world’s other currencies. Once investors look into Swiss annuities, they also find that they are virtually creditor-proof and immune from even bankruptcy judgments. In fact, many professionals fearing frivolous lawsuits find these creditor protections the mostattractive features. By and large, Swiss annuities are just like their American counterparts. The main difference is that the annuity contracts are in Swiss francs. Two basic types of annuities are available from Swiss insurers. These are the classic annuities and the private placement annuities. Classic annuities come in two forms. Immediate classic annuities begin paying out a life income immediately upon taking out the contract. Deferred classic annuities are accumulation accounts with a Swiss insurer. You can accumulate your funds and take them out at a later date in a lump sum or as a life income. Many retirement-age Americans see having a portion of their retirement income paid in Swiss francs as an important diversification. Actually, the insur- ers convert the Swiss francs into dollars and send theretiree a dollar check. Those with Swiss franc annuities have seen the dollar value of their life income steadily increase over the years. Some Swiss insurersoffer clas- annuities, all taxable gains are deferred until actual distribution. In an effort to acquaint the world with Swiss annuities and provide an objective clearinghouse for information about them, the Swiss Chartered Accountant, Mr. Jean-Francois Meillard, formed the Swiss Some say that annuities based on foreign assets may offer certain risk-management advantages and protection ofinflation. sic annuities that may be denomi- nated in any major Western currency. These insurers allow their policyholders to change the cur- rency denomination anytime they wish, giving one the ultimate in currency flexibility. The private placement annu- ities are for investors who wish to create a personal holding structure in Switzerland. With a pri- vate placement annuity, the policy- holder determines the investment makeup of the annuity. Thus, one can have in a private placement annuity just about any asset that can be valued. Examples are cash, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, hedge fund shares, limited partnership interests, companies, real estate, precious metals and just about Chartered Accountant, Mr. Meillard is not affiliated with any insurance company. The Consumer Bureau’s first publication is “The Consumer’s Guide To Swiss Annuities.” “The Consumer’s Guide” is a 42-page book that offers an expla- nation of the different kinds of annuities available and how they work. Mr. Meillard includes in his book a retirement-planning guide that helps one determine if a Swiss annuity makes sense for his or her situation. The book showsthe reader: How to create a guaranteed life income in Swissfrancs. How to create a multi-currency annuity, where your life income is based on the “currency basket” of your choice. How a Swiss franc annuity can inflation-proof your retirement. How Swiss franc investments have performed over the past 34 years. How to make your investments accumulate tax free. Why Swiss insurance compa- They are available to all the world’s citizens and are perfectly nies are the world’s safest. “The Consumer’s Guide To Swiss Annuities” is available from The Consumer Bureau’s Website (swissannuityconsumer bureau.ch) as both a download- Switzerland. able from Amazon.com. The book’s price is $15. anythingelse. Swiss annuities also have other advantages: legal for Americans to own. No Swiss taxes apply as long as you are not a resident of able book and in print form. The printed edition only is also avail-
