Advisors Said These 4 Things Might Increase Annuity Sales

Global Atlantic Financial Group recently asked 400 financial advisors who offer portfolio investment and retirement advice what might help increase sales of annuities. Echo Research, an outside firm, conducted the survey for Global Atlantic and sought a group of retirement advisors randomly chosen from an existing national panel of advisors. (Related: Global Atlantic Wants to Talk) The advisors who participated in the survey said they think multi-product menus, better emergency withdrawal provisions, and better issuer and distributor training programs would all help increase annuity sales. The advisors also said something else could increase annuity sales: something like the U.S. Department of Labor's embattled fiduciary rule. About 59% of the advisors who participated in the survey said they thought a rule like the department's rule would increase future sales of annuities. When the survey team probed further, to find out what advisors liked about the department's rule, 36% of the advisors said they thought "meeting the client's best interest" was the best part of the rule, and 26% said they thought moving toward fee-based products, and away from commission-based products, would help them sell more annuities. Other survey findings:

• Long-term care: About 59% of the advisors said the annuities they most want to offer are fixed annuities with rich long-term care benefits.
• Top obstacles to sales: About 47% of the annuity-rejecting clients think they can provide better retirement savings through investing, 38% dislike annuity fees and expenses, and 38% worry about the stability of the issuers.

Correction: The survey sample was described incorrectly in an earlier version of this article. The sample consisted of a randomly selected group of retirement advisors. — Read Investors Worried About Market Downturn: Survey on ThinkAdvisor. — Connect with ThinkAdvisor Life/Health on Facebook and Twitter.