If you buy a zero that retires when you do, you know exactly how much you'll make. No other investment offers that sort of certainty. So yeah, if you want to be absolutely sure that you'll have a certain sum at retirement, zeros can be a great addition to a stock portfolio. But because of the tax complexities, hold your zeros in a retirement account. And be warned, while you know exactly how much you'll get at maturity from your zeros, the ride will be rough.
Zeros are very sensitive to interest-rate swings.
Basically, it's a piece of worthless nonsense. The insurance guarantees that, should the variable annuity's account value be less than your cost basis when you die, your heirs will be made whole by the insurance company. But let's get serious. Variable annuities are long-term investments. David, let's do two more questions.