Fidelity Investments recently conducted a consumer knowledge survey using a non-random sample of Americans that was designed to give annuities the edge.
Even though Fidelity did its best to put its statistical thumb on the annuity side of the scale, the company found that the survey participants knew a lot more about bank certificates of deposit, or CDs, than they did about deferred fixed annuities.
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Fidelity offers its customers both bank CDs and annuities.
The company organized the survey to find out what consumers are thinking about fixed-income products.
The survey managers intentionally designed the sample to include extra retirees, annuity owners, and investors with at least $250,000 in investments. The survey team collected responses from 1,004 U.S. adults ages 50 to 75. About 25% of the participants said they owned CDs, and 23% said they owned annuities.