November 10, 2009 

Bill Galvin
Vice President
CNN Headline News
One CNN Center
Atlanta, GA  30348-5366

Dear Mr. Galvin,

Clark Howard’s Headline News segment criticizing variable annuity costs is utterly misleading, comparing two products—index funds and variable annuities—that are entirely different.

Variable annuities offer features not available in index funds. For example, variable annuities offer guaranteed minimum benefits, a feature that many variable annuity owners found invaluable during the economic downturn. Moreover, variable annuities offers lifetime income, another highly desirable feature that no index fund can match.

Naturally, these extra benefits have costs, and countless consumers have concluded that the benefits of variable annuities justify those costs.

Mr. Howard’s report comparing variable annuities with index funds from a cost standpoint failed to mention the extra benefits enjoyed by variable annuity owners. His report was thus misleading and a disservice to your viewers.

Sincerely, 

Frank Keating

Frank Keating is President of the American Council of Life Insurers. He is also a former two-term Oklahoma governor.