In the face of market turbulence and economic uncertainty, some investors agonize over when to make investment contributions and may hesitate to add money to their annuities and other investments. In the long run, this may do more harm than good. Systematic investing may help you bypass some of the anxieties associated with investing and improve your potential to stay on track toward retirement and other financial goals.

With systematic investing, clients regularly make payments to their contract, and the fixed dollar amounts invested buy more shares when prices are falling and less when prices are rising. This generally lowers the average cost per unit. By investing a fixed amount at regular intervals, this technique may help investment fluctuations work in your favor — it may help you acquire more units (in the case of variable annuities) when prices are lower, and fewer units when prices are higher.

Example:

The chart to the right shows how regular deductions of $60 per month can purchase more units than a single larger purchase.*

*Systematic investing does not assure a profit, that more shares/units will be purchased than a lump sum purchase or protect against loss in a declining market, and involves continuous investment in securities regardless of fluctuating prices. An investor should consider his/her ability to continue investing through periods of low price levels.