Regulation has changed these products. Let’s keep educating.
May 8, 2023 by Sheryl J. Moore
The staff at Wink, Inc. just told me about one of my old friends, calling-in to say, “hi.”
Doug Mantelli & I have worked together since his days at Jackson, but he is now elevating RIA distribution at Pacific Life.
And just as I am getting ready to shoot him a note, my morning Google alerts delivers this piece to me. Click HERE to read RIAs And Their Objections To Fee-Based Annuities
I LOVED it!
I agree with Doug that the compensation on annuities does not appear to be the root cause of fee’d advisors avoiding products that provide guaranteed lifetime income.
I mean, there ARE 142 different MYG, indexed, structured, & variable annuities, designed for RIAs, who are fee-based/fee-only.
And Doug’s right: despite the years-long focus on fee’d annuity product development, these efforts are not translating to sales.
There is credence that annuities are perceived as a “costly” product. I often have exchanges with fee’d advisors, who reveal their concerns about exorbitant surrender charges, product fees, & illiquidity. They are disbelief when I provide stats illustrating that their preconceived notions are about your GRANDMA’s annuity.
Annuities TODAY are available with much lower surrender charges; even no surrender charge at all. While some annuities DO have fees (particularly variable annuities, or indexed annuities with optional living benefit riders), there are hundreds & hundreds of deferred annuities with no fees at all. It is often a surprise to fee’d advisors that the vast majority of these annuities permit the annuitant to withdraw up to 10% of their funds annually, without penalties; that surrender charges can often be waived due to nursing home confinement or terminal illness. There is often no knowledge that these products usually pay the full value to the beneficiaries, at death. It wouldn’t occur to these professionals that annuitization & living benefits BOTH provide risk mitigation, while guaranteeing a paycheck for life.
Doug is definitely on to something with his assessment that historically selling AGAINST annuities is likely contributing to the aversion toward these products.
I’ve been told that the incompatibility with RIA technological platforms has made annuities a non-starter for this distribution. I would hope platforms like RetireOne and iCapital are able to address this concern.
I am proud of Doug for his historical awareness of these products, with his assertion that these “retirement savings vehicles have evolved over the last few years.”
YES! They have!
Surrenders charges in excess of 20 years? Try none.
Surrender penalties upwards of 25% in the first year of the contract? How about nothing at all.
Commissions as high as 17%?!? Try a fee, instead.
No wonder some think these products aren’t in anyone’s best interests?!?
Regulation has changed these products. Let’s keep educating. -sjm