Members of the Insured Retirement Institute's Advisor Council see television shows giving some clients unrealistic expectations about financial returns.
The Washington-based annuity industry group talks about that challenge in the latest IRI State of the Industry Report.
Market Snapshot
The heart of the report is a compendium of annuity market data.
IRI says, for example, that individual fixed annuities accounted for about $104 billion in U.S. sales in 2020, or 50% of the total U.S. annuity market, but that fixed annuities' share of the market was down from 52% in 2019.
Individual variable annuities' share of the market increased to 41%, from 38%.
Advisors' View
IRI has also included a summary of IRI Advisor Council members' comments about market trends. The council includes 25 financial advisors.
The COVID-19 pandemic and pandemic-related turmoil have increased clients' interest in safe income, but at the same time, television shows have given some clients' unrealistic ideas about how investing works, according to the IRI summary of the council members' remarks.
"Clients stuck at home would watch shows discussing how to triple one's money overnight," according to IRI.
Similarly, many clients are asking advisors about what cryptocurrency means for them. Clients want to know "what it is, should they invest in it, what does it mean for the U.S. dollar and markets," IRI reports.
