Annuities are changing the game for advisors

investmentnews.com:

A recent webinar brought together advisors and experts to talk about fee-based annuities.

As it turns out, annuities have grown and are helping RIAs to meet demands.

“Annuities have proven to be a more efficient means of generated income,” said Sam Dittberner, vice president and RIA relationship manager at Allianz. “When you utilize them correctly, they can be a powerful tool for RIAs to address those key retirement risks that other investment solutions simply cannot.”

Recent research on annuities suggests that advisors aren’t familiar with annuities or how to use them — and as a result, are less likely to recommend them to their clients.

David Lau, founder and CEO of DPL Financial Partners, said that resources are stronger today than they have been in the past.

“It’s super interesting because not a lot of advisors are aware,” Lau said. “I would tell you the commission-free annuity marketplace has evolved so fast because of carriers like Allianz who’ve really dedicated a lot of resources to product development and support of the RIA channel. It’s night and day between what it is today and what it was seven years ago.”

The InvestmentNews RIA LABS webinar, Fee-based Insurance & Annuities, included Lau and Dittberner, moderator Chuck Failla, founder and CEO of Sovereign Financial Group, and Wade Pfau, founder of RISA and director of retirement research at McLean Asset Management.

Lau went on to highlight all the different products that are available to advisors, including those in the RIA world.

“If you’re an RIA, the impetus for you as a fiduciary is to learn about the products so that you can use them within your practice. It’s not just [investment-only variable annuities] anymore, it’s not just commissioned products.