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Welcome to our research center! We've put together a library of information on important financial topics that we believe you'll find helpful.
Simply click on one of the general financial topics below and you'll find a selection of easy-to-understand information sheets about related financial concepts and strategies. This information is updated regularly to reflect the latest facts, figures, legislation, and economic trends.
Why Purchase Life Insurance?
Do I Need a Business Owner Policy?
What Is Life Insurance for Business Owners?
What Is Split-Dollar Life Insurance?
What Is Last-Survivor Life Insurance?
What Is Disability Income Insurance for Business Owners?
What Is Property and Casualty Insurance?
Why Are Annuities Considered an Insurance Product?
What Is Term Life Insurance?
What Is Whole Life Insurance?
What Is Universal Life Insurance?
What Is Variable Life Insurance?
What Are the Main Types of Auto Insurance?
How Do I Make a Property Insurance Claim?
How Can I Maximize My Insurance Benefits?
How Can I Insure My Future?
How Can I Protect My Home?
Do I Need Disability Income Insurance?
What Types of Health Coverage Are Available?
How Can I Extend My Liability Coverage?
What Is the Difference Between an HMO and a PPO?
How Can I Determine the Financial Strength of My Insurance Company?
Am I Prepared for Long-Term Care Expenses?
What Does Medicare Cover?
What Are the Basic Types of Life Insurance?
How Likely Am I to Need Long-Term Care?
What Key Estate Planning Tools Should I Know About?
How Can a Living Trust Help Me Control My Estate?
What Are the Pitfalls of Probate?
How Can My Gift Benefit Me and the Charity?
How Can I Build and Preserve My Estate?
How Can I Control the Distribution of My Estate?
How Will I Pay Estate Taxes?
Can I Benefit from an A-B Trust?
What Gifting Strategies Are Available to Me?
How Can I Benefit from a Charitable Lead Trust?
How Can I Benefit from a Charitable Remainder Trust?
How Can I Benefit from a Wealth Replacement Trust?
Could My Family Benefit from a Family Limited Partnership?
What Is the Best Form of Property Ownership for Me?
What Is the History of the Federal Estate Tax?
When Must Taxes Be Paid on IRA and Employer-Sponsored Retirement Funds?
What Happens If I Withdraw Money from My Tax-Deferred Investments Before Age 59½
What Is a Required Minimum Distribution?
What Are the Tax Benefits of Charitable Trusts?
How Much Money Can I Put Into My IRA or Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan?
What Is the Capital Gain Tax?
What Is the Estate Tax?
What Is the Gift Tax?
What Is the Tax History of the United States?
What Is Tax Deferral?
How Can I Benefit from Tax-Advantaged Investments?
What Tax Deductions Are Still Available to Me?
What Tax-Advantaged Alternatives Are Available?
What Is the Most Tax-Efficient Way to Take a Distribution From a Retirement Plan
Is There Such a Thing as a Tax-Free Investment?
How Can I Keep More of My Mutual Fund Profits?
How Can I Upgrade My Insurance — Tax-Free?
What Is an Exchange-Traded Fund?
How Are Common and Preferred Stocks Different?
How Are Growth and Value Stocks Different?
What Are Zero-Coupon Bonds?
What Are Dividends?
How Are Annuities Taxed?
What Is a Bond Ladder?
How Are Mutual Funds Taxed?
What Is Stock?
529 Lesson Plan: High Scores for 529 Plans
What Is Diversification?
What Types of Bonds Are Available?
What Is a Bond?
What Do Bond Ratings Mean?
What Is a Stock Index?
How Do Mutual Funds and Stocks Differ?
What Is a Mutual Fund?
What Is a Closed-End Fund?
What Is a Mutual Fund Load?
What Is an Annuity?
What Is the Difference Between a Fixed Annuity and a Variable Annuity?
What Investment Risks Should I Know About?
What Are the Different Classes of Assets?
What Is Asset Allocation?
How Can I Save for My Child’s College Education?
What College Investment Options Do I Have?
What Stock and Bond Investing Alternatives Do I Have?
What Is Dollar-Cost Averaging?
What Are Some Tips for Managing My Money?
How Long Will It Take to Double My Money?
What Cash Management Tools Are Available?
How Do Money Market Mutual Funds Work?
How Can I Better Manage My Short-Term Cash?
What Advantages Does a Biweekly Mortgage Offer?
What Is a Reverse Mortgage?
What Are Some Smart Ways to Refinance?
What About Financial Aid for College?
What Savings Alternatives Are Available?
How Does Inflation Affect Me?
Is a Home Equity Loan or Line of Credit Right for Me?
What Is an IRA Rollover?
What Is a Roth 401(k)?
What Is a Profit-Sharing Plan?
What Is a Money Purchase Pension Plan?
What Is a SEP IRA?
What Is a SIMPLE?
What Is a 403(b) Plan?
Why Do People Buy Annuities?
What Is a Split-Annuity Strategy?
What Are Annuity Living Benefits?
What Is an Indexed Annuity?
What Are My Retirement Plan Distribution Options?
What Is a Traditional IRA?
What Is a 401(k) Plan?
How Should I Manage My Retirement Plan?
Save Now or Save Later?
What Is a Roth IRA?
How Much Do I Need to Save?
What Does the Changing Pension Landscape Mean for Retirement?
What Is a 1035 Exchange?
Unforgettable Birthdays
Should You Bank Your Retirement on Your Business?
What Are My Retirement Planning Options?
Will Social Security Retire Before You Do?
How Can I Estimate My Future Social Security Benefits?
What Is a Self-Employed Retirement Plan?