DPL Financial Partners, an insurance network for RIAs, has partnered with Security Benefit Life Insurance Co. to launch a fixed index annuity that reflects input from DPL's RIA members.
The annuity, called ClearLine, is commission-free, like all DPL products, and offers downside protection in exchange for limited upside gains. The minimum investment is $25,000.
The annuity comes in two flavors: one linked to the S&P 500 index; another to a low-volatility S&P 500. Investors in the annuity linked to the standard S&P 500 index receive 100% of the gains up to a 7.5% annual cap (7.75% for those with investments of more than $500,000). Investors in the low-volatility index product receive the same minus a 50-basis-point spread fee (30 basis points for those with more than $500,000 invested).
An income rider is optional and can be added at any time for an additional 50 basis points. Payouts start at age 55, rising at a rate of 2% each year. There is no surrender fee after seven years.
"This is the first product we built from the ground up, based on feedback from membership," DPL Founder and CEO David Lau told ThinkAdvisor, adding that the firm has about 175 RIA firm members, about one-quarter with assets under management topping $1 billion.
"RIAs want simplicity … They aren't traditionally users of these annuities," said Lau, adding that they want fixed indexed annuities that are easy to understand.
