09/19/2026
Diversification isn’t just about owning different stocks & bonds inside a portfolio. It can also mean using different types of financial products.
Mutual funds, indexed annuities, fixed annuities, bank CDs, stocks/bonds, and even crypto can all play different roles. As with anything, each comes with its own pros, cons, and potential risk/reward.
Some people are comfortable having all of their retirement money exposed to the market. Others prefer more downside protection.
There’s nothing wrong with having BOTH. And many people forget they can have more than one retirement account.
One account can be more aggressive.
One can be more conservative.
One can focus on growth.
One can focus more on protection.
The goal isn’t always to find one “perfect” product. I’d argue there’s no such thing! I believe the better approach is building a retirement strategy where different pieces work together.