With-profits: the alternatives

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What's the history behind with-profits? The reason with-profits investments were popular for so lon...

What's the history behind with-profits? The reason with-profits investments were popular for so long is that they met a need among investors for a long-term investment that offered significant upside potential and/or a regular income without being tied directly to the fortunes of the stockmarket. How did they do that? They paid bonuses every year, which could not be taken away if the policy were kept until maturity. By employing a process known as "smoothing", they would keep back some of the money made in good years to cover any shortfall in the bad years. If done prudently enough, thi...