They are not clearly highlighting the problem, which is why you think your skepticism is warranted. You have to look at it like this: we are talking about an in

They are not clearly highlighting the problem, which is why you think your skepticism is warranted. You have to look at it like this: we are talking about an investment that was initially worth $2.7 million and that now yields monthly payments of 36$140. That investment has obviously lost a lot of value: real* value, because it will never yield larger monthly payments than it does now and will probably lose more value.