Even Commissioned Advisors Think Annuity Sales Need Fiduciary Standard
October 29, 2024 by Tracey Longo
As Americans scramble to fund 30 years of retirement, their quest for guaranteed income has led them to annuities, doubling sales in the industry over the past four years to $1.3 trillion.
That’s likely to accelerate as some 13,000 Americans turn age 65 each day. But what most consumers don’t know is the insurance brokers who sell them annuities are not fiduciaries and are not required to put customers’ best interests first. In fact, insurance brokers will likely never discuss their retirement plan or needs with them again, despite charging them upfront commissions of 10% to 15%.
Click HERE to read the full story via Financial Advisor
Wink’s Moore on the Market: This one really got my attention with the headline.
That said, I am all kinds of disappointed in this article.
First- I think they meant that annuity sales have reached $400 billion, not $40 billion.
Secondly- annuities do not offer “upfront commissions of 10% to 15%.”
The commissions paid on annuities vary from [no commission at all, but fees] or 0.60% – 9.00%.
And I would hardly consider a survey performed by DPL Financial Partners, a company that specializes in fee-based annuities, to offer unbiased results about the commissions paid on annuities.
Plus, the survey base is about “230 fee-only advisors, hybrid RIAs, and broker-dealer registered representatives?”
I’m not sure that is representative of the industry.
More about “high commissions and numerous fees.” *yawn*
The reference to fee “iPods” in the closing left me laughing though. Does anyone still use an iPod?!? -sjm
