552 Variable Annuity - expense ratios - CSI CON - Ioniq 9

It's time for The Phil Ferguson Show.

[upbeat music]

This is Phil Ferguson, and you are listening to the cleverly titled The Phil Ferguson Show.

I mentioned a few episodes back that I lost an earbud f- when on a, on a plane flight, and then that sends me into a spiral of research and mathematical calculations that sometimes is on the edge of debilitating.

I probably watched 50 hours of videos about headphones, noise-canceling headphones, in-ear headphones, over-the-ear headphones, on-the-ear headphones, Sony, Sennheiser, Bose, and 50 other companies, trying to figure out which one is the best.

And, you know, I probably got what's...

I'm probably ordered, 'cause they haven't arrived yet, but I've probably ordered what is the best, at least best for me.

But would I have been perfectly happy with another reasonably good choice if I spent a whole lot less time doing the research? [laughs] Maybe.

I, I, I don't know.

So it, it's one of those things that because my mind is always trying to figure out the combinations, the calculations, the performance, the numbers, it can be problematic in something, in that regard.

Uh, but that's also, I think, part of what has helped me do so very well in investing.

So I, I, I guess there's trade-offs.

And on, on the whole, it's worked out pretty well.

Uh, but, uh, in case you cared, uh, it's Bose.

I ended up with the Bose.

Um, and right after I ordered them, uh, I saw that there's a, a new Sen- Sennheiser.

Sennheiser? Oh, my God.

I wish I knew how to say it wr- correctly.

That could be better.

Watched a video about it, and I'm like, "No, did I buy the wrong headphones?" And the, this guy who's an expert at headphones, yes, there are people who are expert at, at headphones, said that these other headphones, not the Bose ones, were the absolute best in the last year, with one exception, if you really value noise cancellation.

And there you have it.

That, so, and if you said that that's what you value, then the Bose are the better ones.

It's the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2, or second generation.

Because for me, I'm not walking around or jogging with them on, so I don't need jogging headphones.

I'm primarily using them, almost exclusively using them, on an airplane.

And so I want something that's relatively light, something that fits really well, and has to have a big enough of a cushion to take into account the little stems, the, the temples for my, uh, glasses, and have the best noise cancellation.

And the Sonys were also a choice, but the ones that I wanted to get, uh, Sony has brand-new ones, but they're several hundred dollars more than the Bose ones.

Anyhow, more than you ever wanted to know.

So I'm anxiously in my office doing this recording, watching the window, waiting for probably UPS to deliver my new headphones.

In this episode, I've got a lot of stuff.

And it just so worked out, a lot of little ideas, a couple of emails, um, client questions, things that came up.

So in this show, in no particular order, 'cause I don't even know how I'm gonna mix the show yet, just making this intro segment, I have a very s- short, uh, piece, segment, I guess, I don't wanna use the same word twice, on CSI Conference.

That's the Center for Skeptical Inquiry, coming up in just a week or two.

So if you're looking for something to do in the near future, check out that part.

I'm also gonna talk about, uh, uh, leasing a new EV.

In this case, the IONIQ 9.

I also recently went and saw, in concert, Laura Pausini.

Laura Pausini in, uh, Orlando.

Talk about that concert.

Had a question about municipal bonds, or munis.

A real short response to that.

Not really a thorough, thought-out segment, but just some thoughts on that.

And then a nice segment on, uh, how much extra in expense ratio would I be willing to pay if the fund could give me higher returns.

So I think you'll like that.

That's, that's kinda in my wheelhouse.

And then a proverbial favorite.

Proverbial? Is that the right thing to say? A, a fan favorite topic, a variable annuity.

Yes, again, someone has sent me some information, and so I have a segment on variable annuities and how they work, or don't work, in this case, which is almost all cases.

So there's a lot.

A lot, a lot, a lot.

I'm getting riddled, ready to do some traveling.

Oh, for the car, I did get a plug-in refrigerator.

Um, the only thing, of course, is it, it won't run even though there's a ginormous freaking battery in the car.

It won't run when the car is off.

I, I can put the car in utility mode, like if you're camping, and then have the cooler runWhile we're in the car but if I leave the car while it's in utility mode, I can't lock the car 'cause I guess the code from the designers is they don't want you to put it in utility mode and lock it and walk away because utility mode does drain the battery, like 1% every couple of hours.

So if you left it for a week, you could have a problem.

But if you wanna go camp somewhere, and the IONIQ 9 is big enough that we might buy an air mattress or something and throw it in the back just as an experiment, and if it totally sucks, we won't do it again.

But it would be kind of nice to sit by a campfire, call it a night, climb in the IONIQ 9, which is genuinely the closest thing I could find to a minivan, uh, in an EV without getting crazy expensive.

Because if money was not an issue, and it always is, um, the Lucid Gravity, I would buy one of those 'cause the space inside is just phenomenal.

The range is phenomenal.

The charging speed is just unparalleled.

But that would be like 100 to 110 to 120,000 once you get some, uh, features added to it.

So I, I'm just not ready for that, so that's, that's why I got this car, the IONIQ 9.

Big, big car.

Big EV.

Great range, great charging speed, and maybe I'll do some road trip videos with that.

But anywho, a lot of stuff coming up.

Let's take a quick break and get on with the show.

It's time for The Phil Ferguson Show.

[upbeat music]

This is Phil Ferguson, and you are listening to the cleverly titled The Phil Ferguson Show.

I mentioned a few episodes back that I lost an earbud f- when on a, on a plane flight, and then that sends me into a spiral of research and mathematical calculations that sometimes is on the edge of debilitating.

I probably watched 50 hours of videos about headphones, noise-canceling headphones, in-ear headphones, over-the-ear headphones, on-the-ear headphones, Sony, Sennheiser, Bose, and 50 other companies, trying to figure out which one is the best.

And, you know, I probably got what's...

I'm probably ordered, 'cause they haven't arrived yet, but I've probably ordered what is the best, at least best for me.

But would I have been perfectly happy with another reasonably good choice if I spent a whole lot less time doing the research? [laughs] Maybe.

I, I, I don't know.

So it, it's one of those things that because my mind is always trying to figure out the combinations, the calculations, the performance, the numbers, it can be problematic in something, in that regard.

Uh, but that's also, I think, part of what has helped me do so very well in investing.

So I, I, I guess there's trade-offs.

And on, on the whole, it's worked out pretty well.

Uh, but, uh, in case you cared, uh, it's Bose.

I ended up with the Bose.

Um, and right after I ordered them, uh, I saw that there's a, a new Sen- Sennheiser.

Sennheiser? Oh, my God.

I wish I knew how to say it wr- correctly.

That could be better.

Watched a video about it, and I'm like, "No, did I buy the wrong headphones?" And the, this guy who's an expert at headphones, yes, there are people who are expert at, at headphones, said that these other headphones, not the Bose ones, were the absolute best in the last year, with one exception, if you really value noise cancellation.

And there you have it.

That, so, and if you said that that's what you value, then the Bose are the better ones.

It's the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2, or second generation.

Because for me, I'm not walking around or jogging with them on, so I don't need jogging headphones.

I'm primarily using them, almost exclusively using them, on an airplane.

And so I want something that's relatively light, something that fits really well, and has to have a big enough of a cushion to take into account the little stems, the, the temples for my, uh, glasses, and have the best noise cancellation.

And the Sonys were also a choice, but the ones that I wanted to get, uh, Sony has brand-new ones, but they're several hundred dollars more than the Bose ones.

Anyhow, more than you ever wanted to know.

So I'm anxiously in my office doing this recording, watching the window, waiting for probably UPS to deliver my new headphones.

In this episode, I've got a lot of stuff.

And it just so worked out, a lot of little ideas, a couple of emails, um, client questions, things that came up.

So in this show, in no particular order, 'cause I don't even know how I'm gonna mix the show yet, just making this intro segment, I have a very s- short, uh, piece, segment, I guess, I don't wanna use the same word twice, on CSI Conference.

That's the Center for Skeptical Inquiry, coming up in just a week or two.

So if you're looking for something to do in the near future, check out that part.

I'm also gonna talk about, uh, uh, leasing a new EV.

In this case, the IONIQ 9.

I also recently went and saw, in concert, Laura Pausini.

Laura Pausini in, uh, Orlando.

Talk about that concert.

Had a question about municipal bonds, or munis.

A real short response to that.

Not really a thorough, thought-out segment, but just some thoughts on that.

And then a nice segment on, uh, how much extra in expense ratio would I be willing to pay if the fund could give me higher returns.

So I think you'll like that.

That's, that's kinda in my wheelhouse.

And then a proverbial favorite.

Proverbial? Is that the right thing to say? A, a fan favorite topic, a variable annuity.

Yes, again, someone has sent me some information, and so I have a segment on variable annuities and how they work, or don't work, in this case, which is almost all cases.

So there's a lot.

A lot, a lot, a lot.

I'm getting riddled, ready to do some traveling.

Oh, for the car, I did get a plug-in refrigerator.

Um, the only thing, of course, is it, it won't run even though there's a ginormous freaking battery in the car.

It won't run when the car is off.

I, I can put the car in utility mode, like if you're camping, and then have the cooler runWhile we're in the car but if I leave the car while it's in utility mode, I can't lock the car 'cause I guess the code from the designers is they don't want you to put it in utility mode and lock it and walk away because utility mode does drain the battery, like 1% every couple of hours.

So if you left it for a week, you could have a problem.

But if you wanna go camp somewhere, and the IONIQ 9 is big enough that we might buy an air mattress or something and throw it in the back just as an experiment, and if it totally sucks, we won't do it again.

But it would be kind of nice to sit by a campfire, call it a night, climb in the IONIQ 9, which is genuinely the closest thing I could find to a minivan, uh, in an EV without getting crazy expensive.

Because if money was not an issue, and it always is, um, the Lucid Gravity, I would buy one of those 'cause the space inside is just phenomenal.

The range is phenomenal.

The charging speed is just unparalleled.

But that would be like 100 to 110 to 120,000 once you get some, uh, features added to it.

So I, I'm just not ready for that, so that's, that's why I got this car, the IONIQ 9.

Big, big car.

Big EV.

Great range, great charging speed, and maybe I'll do some road trip videos with that.

But anywho, a lot of stuff coming up.

Let's take a quick break and get on with the show.