The scenario below shows what would have been the actual performance of two identical sample securities investments portfolios and two identical HECM lines of credit during a specific period. In column one, the owner sold securities and took the cash on an annual basis regardless of market performance, only using home equity once the portfolio was completely liquidated. In column two, home equity was strategically used in place of liquidated securities the year following a down year in the markets, preserving investments for later use rather than locking in losses. The result was a net benefit of $672,641 to the owner/heirs.