You are right to be concerned about the dollar, since the only thing holding it up is public denial about its actual value (sound familiar?) and foreign central bank purchases. You are also right that owning gold is not speculative, but conservative. Unfortunately, most Americans (and I’m sure most people in many other countries) know very little about gold, but I think they are going to get a very expensive education fairly soon.
Speaking of gold, I wouldn’t try to time the gold market, but would be buying a portion of the amount I wanted to hold every so often. Of course, if there is a big drop, that would be a good time to buy an extra piece. However, I’m not sure we are going to have a big drop again before the next big rise, so you could end up paying a lot more by waiting for the perfect entry point.
But going back to the Swiss annuity question, here is a fairly good explanation of their features. It includes the contact information for the annuity broker I’ve dealt with. You don’t pay any extra for going through the broker; although they get a commission from the insurance company, it doesn’t reduce your return, but just reduces the insurance company’s profit margin.
I don’t have an opinion on Swiss variable annuities, as I haven’t studied them well enough. In my opinion, however, their fixed annuities are a good place to put some money for safekeeping and protection agains the demise of the dollar.
I don’t have any connection with the insurance companies or the broker other than being a client; they don’t pay me for suggesting them.
