Response from NAFA: Watch Your Back in the Annuity Game at MarketSurge.com
September 29, 2014 by NAFA CEO
September 23, 2014 RE: Watch Your Back in the Annuity Game at MarketSurge.com
Dear: MarketSurge.comNAFA is writing to request that you update your website because the information contained in this article (which is dated September 2014 by the URL) is no longer accurate or relevant. Since it repeatedly references the “NASD” which changed its name in November of 2007 to FINRA, it appears as if MarketSurge.com is merely re-posting old, misleading and incorrect content.
As all who live in today’s annuity marketplace know:
Also, the NASD (FINRA) Annuity Alert referenced in your article was first issued years ago and has not been updated or changed in all these years (it appears re-posting of outdated information is not limited to MarketSurge.com). Since then, complaints have plummeted to such an extent that neither insurance nor annuity products are mentioned as a concern in the 2014 FINRA Regulatory and Examination Priorities. Instead, FINRA warns investors to be wary of advisors pushing interest-rate-sensitive securities, such as mortgage backed securities and long duration bonds, bond funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs). New research by Dr. Jack Marrion, NAFA’s Director of Research, indicates that of the roughly 6.2 million fixed indexed annuity buyers since 1995 more than 99.976% have not complained. Surely this suggests an extremely high level of customer satisfaction that is unique compared to other financial products. While NAFA applauds the resource information provided at the end of the article, where you make it clear where consumers can go to determine regulatory oversight and licensing status as well as where and how to file a complaint, this clarity, in fact, directly contradicts the statements made throughout the article. Accordingly, an update is warranted. NAFA recommends that you reach out to the NAIC and ask for a free copy of the NAIC Fixed Deferred Annuity Buyer’s Guide. The Guide was updated in 2013, has been approved for state adoption, and is currently being adopted on a state-by-state basis. The information contained in the Guide will help inform you, and therefore your readers, about the questions to ask, the resources available, and how variable and fixed annuities are alike and how they are different. The Guide provides very good and UP-TO-DATE information for Americans preparing for and managing their retirement. Sincerely, Kim O’Brien President & CEO 1 – American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company v. Securities and Exchange Commission (No. 09-1021, Decided July 21, 2009, reissued July 12, 2010 and consolidated with No. 09-1056), vacating the SEC’s Rule 151A, which would have expanded the SEC’s oversight to include fixed indexed annuities. |
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