Investors prefer to read summary prospectuses when determining whether to add variable annuities to their portfolios, according to a survey released today.
The survey, commissioned by the Insured Retirement Institute, Washington, D.C., found that investor demand for a variable annuity summary prospectus remains strong, with 95% of investors demonstrating a preference for a shorter paper summary prospectus.
In addition, 59% of investors state that having a short summary prospectus written in easy-to-understand language would positively their decision to consider a variable annuity as part of their investment portfolio, the survey found.
Conducted for IRI by Cogent Research, Cambridge, Mass., the study was released at IRI's annual government, legal and regulatory conference, now underway in Washington, D.C.
"IRI research consistently shows that investor demand for brief and easy-to-read variable annuity investment detail remains high," says IRI President and CEO Cathy Weatherford. "This new research strongly underscores this desire."
She adds that IRI members are seeing a decline in the number of investors who state they actually read the full prospectus.
