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The investment world is filled with alternative approaches designed to mitigate risk or speculate future performance. I typically avoid each of these and might not be the right advisor for you, if you want to pursue these types of investments:

I've shared some of my thoughts related to these products below.

Risk vs Reward

Annuities and insurance reduce investment risk, providing peace of mind and regular payments or a single payout. In return, the provider can invest your money. Their business relies on your fear of risk so they can be profitable. They understand that, over time, they are more likely to make more money by investing in stocks, bonds, real estate and mortgages than they have to pay you. They are comfortable with the risk of potential value fluctuations in these investments because they have historically outperformed the rates of returns provided to their customers. If we hope to achieve long-term investment growth, we are more likely to succeed if we just invest our money directly into similar investments made by the annuity and insurance companies. *Exception: Term life insurance is often a reasonable defensive play and something we could discuss and consider as a piece of a comprehensive plan.

complexity & Fees

Annuities and structured products often involve high complexity, lower liquidity (tough to take your money out), and can come with high fees and commissions. Each of these is a reason I would be cautious before pursuing them.

speculation

Margin investing, options and short-selling share a variety of risks associated with a belief that we can predict future market movements. When you invest on margin, you borrow money to make your investments. This amplifies both losses and gains. Options are a bet that an investment will either increase or decrease in value, often used independently or to hedge in combination with more traditional investing. For an option to pay off for the purchaser, you'd need to correctly guess the future movement of the stock at a future date - kind of like flipping a coin. Short-selling is a bet the stock price will drop, but you can have unlimited losses if the stock price continues to grow. Since we can't predict the future and the risk of loss is high, I avoid these investment options in favor of pursuing long-term growth through diversified holdings.

tax loss harvesting

Tax loss harvesting describes when an investor (or AI) regularly monitors investments to identify assets that have declined in value, so you can sell them to achieve tax benefits. But if we are investing for long-term gains, believe in the investments we've made, are avoiding attempts to time the market and avoiding active trading (my recommendation), tax loss harvesting doesn't have an active place in the strategy. *Exception: If we need money from our investments and decide to sell some, we should consider the tax implications as a part of the ongoing investment strategy.

While I don't recommend these types of investments, each has it's own merits, some of which I've shared below. I share this so you have a balanced perspective and can make a more informed decision. This is not comprehensive, and I invite you to also conduct your own research.

Annuities can provide reliable income or offer a guaranteed rate of return, which can provide peace of mind and a feeling of security.

Insurance products can provide peace of mind knowing your beneficiaries will be supported financially in your absence.

Structured products can limit investment losses and provide access to non-traditional investment options.

Margin trades have the ability to amplify investment gains, if successful.

Options allow you to limit your risk to the initial premium paid for the option, with the potential for profit if the investment moves in the right direction.

Short selling a stock can allow you to take a profit if a stock's value declines.

Tax loss harvesting can reduce your tax burden.