Jefferson National’s Low Cost Variable Annuity Big Part of Why Nationwide Bought Company

Nationwide Financial is planning to greatly expand their variable annuity business through the purchase of Jefferson National, a strong player in the variable annuity game. Investment News' Christine Idzelis wrote about the acquisition in the article "Nationwide to buy Jefferson National." This deal gives Nationwide access to Jefferson National's 4,000 registered investment advisors and fee-based advisors. It's a move that Nationwide sees fitting because of the new fiduciary standards that... Read More

No-Load Annuity Products Are A Winner After the DOL Rule

There are certainly winners and losers when it comes to the DOL Fiduciary Rule. Although it won't take effect until the beginning of 2018, companies and advisors are working hard so that they comply with the BICE guidelines before the legalities take place. In an article for Forbes Magazine, John Wasik listed his "Four Biggest Winners Under (the) New DOL Rule." With the new guidelines in place, retirement advisors will have to put their clients' best interest at the forefront of any financial... Read More

The Future of Variable Annuities Looks Simpler, Lower Cost

The original use for a variable annuity was to provide tax-deferred growth of your savings. Variable annuities were simple and were easy for consumers to understand. They were similar to mutual funds with their subaccounts, but within the bounds of an insurance product. The mortality credit was important to protect you and your beneficiaries from downturns in the market. Many of these things still hold true when it comes to variable annuities, but they have changed significantly as... Read More

5 Annuity Issues to Follow This Year

At the end of 2013, we touched upon some of the things that we expect to happen with annuities this year. But Life Health Pro's Maria Wood goes into much more detail in the article, "Annuities: 5 things to expect in 2014." As an expert in the annuity industry, Maria Wood has a lot of insight into the current issues. She discusses the five issues regarding annuities that will likely be at the top of people's minds in 2014. Fixed indexed annuities had a great run in 2013. Sales... Read More

Variable & Indexed Annuities Likely to See Sales & Development Increases in 2014

Investment News' Darla Mercado predicts that the "New year could bring a boon for annuities." She mentions variable and indexed annuities in particular. Increasing taxes and interest rates are likely to spark not only sales of variable and indexed annuities, but also development of new products. Rising interest rates typically bring about increases in product development. We saw the biggest increases in May and June of this year, although the Fed says that they will keep the benchmark... Read More

Lincoln National’s Variable Annuity Sales Increase 48%

Lincoln National Corp. has seen strong variable annuity sales this year. After the first three quarters of the year, they had more than $10 billion in variable annuity sales. That is the highest volume they have seen in the past six years. This information comes from Bloomberg's Zachary Tracer in his article, "Lincoln Annuity Sales Top $10 Billion as Insurers Back Away." It's possible that one of the reasons for Lincoln National's surging variable annuity sales is that some insurance... Read More

More No-Load Annuities to Come

A big concern for annuity naysayers is the lack of liquidity with some annuity products. While the money put into an annuity is actually good left there as insurance that you will have lifetime income, I appreciate the fact that some people just want access to their money no matter what. In Stan Haithcock's Marketwatch article, "Fee-killing no-load annuities are pro consumer," he talks about the consumer benefits of no-load annuities and the new trend pointing towards more of these... Read More

Weigh Tax Benefits of Annuities & Life Insurance

The basic purposes for annuities and life insurance are straightforward; the first offers a steady stream of income in retirement and the second pays death benefits to your heirs to help them survive after you are no longer around. But according to Paul Sullivan of The New York Times, insurance companies are now touting the tax benefits of these two products. In "Getting the Full Picture on Annuities," Sullivan says there is more to it than just the simple tax benefits offered and wants to... Read More

Changes Ahead for Variable Annuity Market

The title of this article, "Variable Annuity Outlook 2013: Tough Road Ahead," seems to say it all. But there is more than meets the eye for variable annuities next year and you need to delve into the industry to really see what is ahead. Advisor One's John Sullivan says that two of the changes to expect are a move to RIA compensation models and a change in the focus of the benefits. The variable annuity market is definitely in a transition phase, causing former top players Sun Life... Read More

Variable Annuities Pay Off for Inviva

The management at Inviva Inc. left the life insurance business five years ago because they thought the annuity business at subsidiary Jefferson National Financial Corp. would be more lucrative. They were right. According to Business First's Kevin Eigelbach, sales of variable annuities at Jefferson National have been increasing every year. His article "Annuity product boosts sales, employment at Jefferson National" says that the ability to hire more workers has been another positive side... Read More

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