Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company has expanded a variable annuity investment menu to provide comfort for the moderately nervous.
The Springfield, Massachusetts-based company is adding the Cboe Vest U.S. Large Cap 10% Buffer Strategies VI Fund to the list of funds available through its MassMutual Envision Variable Annuity contract.
The fund is the first buffer fund on Envision fund list. It can protect a client who chooses the fund option against up to 10% in market losses. In exchange, the client must accept a cap on market gains. The cap is tied to S&P 500 levels and changes every month.
Phil Michalowski, MassMutual's head of annuity product, said the fund can help retirement savers who have concerns about all of the market volatility they have seen in recent years. Many "want to make sure their retirement assets grow and are protected at the same time," he said.
What It Means
Clients are happy the market has bounced back in recent weeks but are not counting on it to stay up.
The Mood
MassMutual mapped out consumers' financial uncertainty last month when it released the results of an online poll of about 1,000 U.S. residents ages 18 and older in May.
