Complex Annuities for a Complex Era
Indexed variable annuities (IVAs) offer a potential solution for paralyzed clients—perhaps for those who feel baffled by a market where both bond and stock prices are at all-time highs....
Annuities
AIG offers fixed-rate annuity with an income rider
The product offers a 1.5% annual return for seven years and, for 95 basis points a year, a living benefit with a 7.5% simple-interest annual deferral bonus during the...
FIA sales on pace to exceed $60 billion
'While most other annuity products have faltered because of falling interest rates and anticipation of the Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rule, FIAs continue to thrive,' said Todd Giesing,...
Which Annuity Is Better? This New Tool Tells You
Cannex, the Toronto-based annuity product data, just announced a new tool, based on research by annuity guru Moshe Milvesky, that enables advisors to do side-by-side comparisons of annuity contracts....
A.M. Best report defines VA issuers’ dilemma
Qualified VA’s will be affected by the DOL fiduciary rule, which includes more fee disclosures and level compensation structures, said a new report from the ratings agency. About 58%...
Lincoln Financial enhances VA income rider
'The 5% rollup starts at purchase and runs for 10 years. It applies only in years when there’s no withdrawal and there’s a hard stop at 10 years from...
AIG Tops Annuity Sales Chart Again
Eight years after collapsing under the weight of CDS losses and four years after emerging from federal ownership, AIG is again atop the annuity sales charts, with $9.78 billion...
Great American Offers No-Commission Indexed Annuity
'The DOL gave it some impetus, but the real issue is that the markets are pretty much topping out,' said Great American senior vice president Malott Nyhart.
Great Hopes Ride on Great-West’s New Annuity
Great-West Financial's new Smart Track II variable annuity contract has four different income riders. Will it help Bob Reynolds achieve his goal of making Great-West a top-five retirement company...
Surrender to Lapse Risk? Not These Insurers
Over-estimates of variable annuity lapse rates have cost life insurers billions. A group of VA issuers is now working with actuaries at Ruark Consulting to predict those rates more...
A Quiet Winter for Variable Annuities: Morningstar
'A quiet quarter is not a bad thing,' writes Morningstar's Senior Product Manager in his quarterly report on VA product updates. 'It gives advisors a chance to focus their...
The Cinderella Annuity
Has the time finally arrived for the variable income annuity? At TIAA, where the VIA was invented, they say it never left. New research from the TIAA Institute compares...
Voya Launches Quest Indexed Annuities
The new contracts are aimed primarily at the independent broker-dealer channel and offer a lifetime income option, said Chad Tope, Voya Financial's president of Annuity and Asset Sales.
Indexed annuity industry sets sales record in 1Q2016: Wink
Allianz Life was the dominant carrier, with an 18.4% share of the indexed market. Its Allianz 222 Annuity was the top-selling indexed annuity for the fifth consecutive quarter.
Expect Sharp Drop in VA Sales: LIMRA
'We are seeing a significant shift in the annuity market,” said Todd Giesing, assistant research director at LIMRA's Secure Retirement Institute. 'We have to go back 20 years—to 1995—to...
First quarter annuity sales: Better for fixed than variable
Jackson National was again the top seller of variable annuities, Allianz Life the leader in indexed annuities and New York Life led fixed-annuity sales. But AIG issued the most...
First Sign of Blood from DOL Fiduciary Rule
'The unexpected change regarding FIAs in the final DOL rule and the related Best Interest Contract Exemption has cast a cloud over our future growth rate,' said John Matovina,...
Integrity Life enhances popular Indextra indexed annuity
Launched Sept. 29, 2014, Indextra has garnered sales to date of more than $800 million, making it the most successful first-year product debut in W&S Financial Group Distributors history....
