We would love to hear from you. Click on the ‘Contact Us’ link to the right and choose your favorite way to reach-out!

wscdsdc

media/speaking contact

Jamie Johnson

business contact

Victoria Peterson

Contact Us

855.ask.wink

Close [x]
pattern

Industry News

Categories

  • Industry Articles (21,155)
  • Industry Conferences (2)
  • Industry Job Openings (35)
  • Moore on the Market (414)
  • Negative Media (144)
  • Positive Media (73)
  • Sheryl's Articles (800)
  • Wink's Articles (353)
  • Wink's Inside Story (274)
  • Wink's Press Releases (123)
  • Blog Archives

  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • August 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • November 2008
  • September 2008
  • May 2008
  • February 2008
  • August 2006
  • The Hits Keep Coming To Annuity Database

    July 16, 2014 by Linda Koco

    The search for income annuity data showed no signs of letting up in second quarter 2014.

    During the three-month period, annuity advisors and sales desks made over 261,000 hits to an online database of income annuity products, according to a new report. That’s up by nearly 9 percent from first quarter’s nearly 240,000 hits.

    Although that growth will interest annuity professionals, some trends lurking in the data may be of even greater interest. These are trends about the shape of the income annuity market currently in the making — that is, what advisors are looking for in terms of type of money, size of policies and age of prospective buyers in this market.

    The data comes from the online database of Cannex Financial Exchange. The company is the Springfield, Mass., affiliate of CANNEX, a single premium immediate annuity (SPIA) data resource in Toronto, Canada.

    The report tallies surveys, or “hits” to the database, made by advisors and sales desks in search of pricing information and product comparisons related to potential income annuity sales in the U.S. The searches are limited to single premium immediate annuities (SPIAs) and deferred income annuities (DIAs).

    Defining the market

    Cannex’s second quarter numbers show some small but noticeable shifts in what advisors are looking for. These include:

    Non-qualified money. Sixty percent of the hits recorded in second quarter involved quotes for nonqualified funds. That’s up from 56.5 percent just three months prior.

    The source of these funds is not recorded, but given other factors (such as average age and policy amount), it’s easy to picture this money coming from the client’s personal savings, sale of the family home, inheritance or other such sources.

    In second quarter last year, 76 percent of the hits involved non-qualified funds. That’s much bigger than today’s number. However, the 2013 result occurred before two major carriers expanded their use of the Cannex database, making year-over-year comparisons on non-qualified funds not exactly apples-to-apples. The second to first quarter comparisons are more nearly apples-to-apples.

    Smaller policies. More advisors seem to be exploring sales of somewhat smaller-sized income policies than previously.

    For example, the second quarter report shows a slight but noticeable increase in hits involving premiums in the $75,000 to $100,000 premium category. Among surveys where advisors plugged in the premium, these hits represented 25.5 percent (64,000 hits) of the total in second quarter, up from 22.3 percent in first quarter. This was the biggest premium category, by share of hits, in the report.

    By comparison, the next biggest premium category ($100,000 to $200,000) saw no change in share of searches between second and first quarters. In each quarter, this category garnered just 17.4 percent of hits to the system.

    The shift to smaller policies appears to be ongoing. In the early days of Cannex’s U.S. income annuity tracking (in 2011), advisors showed more interest in bigger income policies. For instance, in the year-end 2011 Cannex report, the top premium category searched was in the range of $100,000 to $500,000. This category garnered 30.8 percent of the hits.

    There was no breakout back then for the $100,000 to $200,000 category, so this comparison cannot be further refined.

    The growth in researching smaller policies suggests that advisors 1) may be offering products to more mid-market clients than previously; and/or 2) may be zeroing in on the policy size most comfortable to clients, regardless of net worth.

    Slightly younger clients. Today’s advisors appear to be researching policies for slightly younger clients than previously. In second quarter, for instance, the average age (men and women combined) was 65.9. That is down from 67 in the previous quarter, and from 68.8 in second quarter 2013.

    In the 2011 year-end report, the combined average age was 69.8, four years above today’s average age.

    Not a sales prediction

    Cannex executives repeatedly emphasized that the report data show advisor-requested surveys that could potentially result in a sale. The advisors use this information in developing offers for customers. However, the data do not reflect sales that actually result from those offers, the firm said.

    Still, annuity watchers will not miss the coincidence or correlation that seems to exist between advisor research activity and actual sales. That is, the growth in searches has occurred at the same time that income annuity sales have increased. In first quarter 2014 alone, SPIA sales of $2.5 billion represented a gain of 47 percent over first quarter 2013, according to estimates from LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute.

     

    Originally Posted at AnnuityNews on July 16, 2014 by Linda Koco.

    Categories: Industry Articles
    currency