Could an earthquake in Japan ruin your retirement?

Could an earthquake in Japan ruin your retirement?

There is a great book called "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman. In his book the Author talks about how closely linked the world has become and how much we affect each other. We like to think that Greece going bankrupt won't have any effect on the United States of America or that the Euro struggling to hold value won't inversely effect the US dollar. The truth is that we are closely linked and our actions can and do affect the rest of the world.

"Before you finish eating breakfast, you've depended on more than half the world."

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

I can't imagine having all my retirement funds in the market when it crashed in 2001 or in 2008. For many of the clients I work with, it cost them 30-50% of their retirement account. Many say it was a bubble that people could see if they chose to have their eyes open. While that may be true, there are cases when you could lose your shorts because of something completely unexpected.

Back in 2011 the news came on with an emergency update that Japan and been hit by a tsunami and then had subsequent earthquakes. This was a devastating time. I remember our company trying to help raise funds and make people aware of the true amount of damage these natural disasters had created. No one wanted to see another Katrina size devastation. What none of us expected is the drop that occurred in the different stock markets around the world. The US alone had losses of more than $300 Billion.

Read USA Today article here! 

"Right now, investors are justifiably worried," says economist Ethan Harris of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "The really big risk aversion (to stocks) started in the Middle East. With what's happening in Japan, the two have created dread and uncertainty. Nobody's done scenario planning for this type of disaster. It's terrifying."

It seems like these types of events are becoming more and more common and as they do, they seem to send out a disruptive wake that sends the world markets reeling. So as someone that wants to see their money grow, but also doesn't want to see it erode away every time something in the news happens, what do you do to protect your money?

As a recruiter for a private investment firm, I can tell you that there are a few places left that aren't affected by the stock market or world events. They are private contracts that have returned 10-14% for over 100 years. They performed during the Japanese earthquake, the 2008 real estate bubble, the 2001 tech company bubble, the 80's with high inflation, and even the great depression. They are insulated against stock market risk and they are spread over the strongest companies in the world.

Sometimes our investments end up far from where they should be and in a precarious situation.

These investments were primarily only available to investors with $50-$100 Million dollars. Since 2001 they have been available to collective groups with individuals able to finally participate. The largest investment institutions in the world have been investing in this Stable Value Asset, but haven't allowed their investors to partake in the winnings. To this day they still don't offer this asset class to their clients. Reminds me of a hypocritical parents telling their child to do as they are told and not as I do. Or in other words, invest where I tell you, but not where we invest.

To learn more about these incredible, market risk-free, principle protected investments, contact me and we can go over the information to show you how to realistically get a 10-14% return on your money.

Cheers,

Stephen Gardner
888-638-0080