But bonds don't yield a lot more in the current market, either. The alternative is to invest in equity funds. They are an oversold product that preys on tax-phobic investors. My lack of fondness for variable annuities did not develop from a deep childhood trauma involving insurance companies or their agents. It developed from years of reader letters demonstrating inappropriate sales.
High expenses kill compounding.
This is an absolute fact. Compounding is the mother of all investment growth. That's what most people would call a material amount. It is material when you put the money in. It is material when you take the money out.