Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz) recently announced the launch of the Allianz Index AdvantageSM (Index Advantage).
The indexed variable annuity allows investors who are embattled in the low interest rate environment an opportunity for growth as well the comfort of protection.
Indexed Advantage seeks to balance growth while maintaining some element of downside protection all while offering unique product benefits.
Unlike variable annuities with Guaranteed Minimum Accumulation Benefits and waiting periods up to 10 years, the Index Advantage contains the opportunity for benefits to be protected every year. The product differs from fixed indexed annuities (FIAs) by increasing the amount of return potential by having higher cap limits on the interest credit coming from the growth of an equity index in exchange for less protection.
Another difference between the Indexed Advantage and FIAs is that protection is offered from the first 10 percent of losses per year compared to guarantees of no losses with traditional FIAs .
The product is currently approved in 43 states and contains two strategies: The Index Performance Strategy and the Index Protection Strategy.
Available indexes for the product are the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Index Russell 2000.
