Annuity Sales ‘On An Upswing’; Second Quarter Data Confirms – InsuranceNewsNet

InsuranceNewsNet — Your Industry. One Source.™

Sign in
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Home Now reading Top Stories
Topics
    • Life Insurance News
    • Annuity News
    • Health/Employee Benefits
    • Property and Casualty
    • Advisor News
    • Washington Wire
    • Regulation News
    • Sponsored Articles
    • Monthly Focus
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Webinars
  • Free Newsletters
Sign in or register to be an INNsider.
  • Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Webinars
  • Free Newsletters
  • Insider Pro
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Staff
  • Contact
  • Newsletters

Get Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Annuity News
Top Stories RSS Get our newsletter
Order Prints
September 19, 2019 Top Stories No comments
Share
Share
Tweet
Email

Annuity Sales ‘On An Upswing’; Second Quarter Data Confirms

By Staff Reports

Overall annuity sales rose 5.2 percent in the second quarter of 2019, according to the Insured Retirement Institute.

The combined sales of fixed and variable annuities totaled $60.7 billion, compared to sales of $57.7 billion in the first quarter of 2019, according to data reported by Beacon Research and Morningstar.

Sales were also higher than year ago levels, up 6.7 percent from total annuity sales of $56.9 billion in the second quarter of 2018.

Related stories

  • Winning $754.6M Powerball ticket sold in Washington
  • $747 million Powerball jackpot still up for grabs

The following graphs were created using data reported by IRI and compiled by Beacon and Morningstar.

“Annuity sales appear to be on an upswing, driven by consumer need and a growing awareness of the importance of allocating a portion of savings to annuity products, which can guarantee lifetime income and protect against market downturns," said IRI President and CEO Wayne Chopus.

According to Beacon Research, fixed annuity sales continue their long-term upward trend, albeit with some product types showing lower sales versus the fourth quarter of 2018.

For the entire fixed annuity market, there were approximately $20.7 billion in qualified sales and $15 billion in non-qualified sales during the second quarter of 2019.

“Fixed indexed annuity sales reached a new record high in the second quarter,” said Beacon Research CEO Jeremy Alexander. “As Americans increasingly seek higher potential yields, safety of principal, and the ability to create an income stream they cannot outlive, we expect fixed indexed sales to continue to grow and product issuers to innovate in order to deliver the protection, growth and income consumers demand.”

According to Morningstar, variable annuity net assets rose in the second quarter on continued positive returns in equity markets and a modest improvement in net cash flow. Additional highlights:

  • Variable annuity assets rose 1.5 percent from $1.93 trillion to $1.96 trillion in the first quarter of 2019.
  • Allocation funds held $806.5 billion in VA assets, or 41.1 percent of the total, surpassing the $800 billion mark for the first time.
  • Equity funds held $607.9 billion, or 31 percent of total VA assets.
  • Fixed accounts held $347.5 billion, or 17.7 percent.

Net asset flows in variable annuities were -$20.4 billion in the second, an improvement over outflows of $24.8 billion in the first quarter and $21.1 billion in the second quarter of 2018.

Within the variable annuity market, there were $16.6 billion in qualified sales and $8.4 billion in non-qualified sales during the second quarter of 2019.

“Variable annuities saw a significant sales increase in the second quarter relative to Q1, with structured annuities experiencing rapid growth,” said Michael Manetta, Senior Quantitative Analyst at Morningstar. “Structured annuities, with returns based on index option strategies and a measure of downside protection, share some of the characteristics of fixed indexed annuities and appear to be resonating with investors. In fact, of the 13 VA products with sales of $500 million or more in the second quarter, the two fastest growing were structured products.”

Both Morningstar and Beacon report sales for certain structured annuities filed with the SEC. In order to avoid confusion between fixed and variable and eliminate overstatement, sales data for these products is consolidated within the VA universe, resulting in sales totals that are slightly higher than sales reported by Morningstar, Inc. and slightly lower than sales reported by Beacon.

Older

Fed Cuts Interest Rates, Trump Blasts Powell Anyway: ‘No Guts!’

Newer

NAIFA/ACLI Focusing Advocacy Efforts On The State Level

Advisor News

  • 'Sandwich generation' survey says Americans caring for children and aging parents are financially stressed
  • Jury finds Lexington investment advisor, guilty of charges related to fraud
  • Chicago investment advisor indicted for allegedly swindling clients out of $683,000
  • Will the family maximum limit my Social Security benefits?
  • South Florida resort sold for $835M, biggest deal for a U.S. hotel since pandemic started
More Advisor News

Annuity News

  • Winning $754.6M Powerball ticket sold in Washington
  • $747 million Powerball jackpot still up for grabs
  • Study: Does pessimism really suppress annuity sales?
  • Sweet streams of income: ChatGPT, the bard of annuities
  • F&G Annuities & Life announces equity investment in life IMO SYNCIS
Sponsor
More Annuity News

Health/Employee Benefits News

  • Wyoming Medicaid expansion set to die in the House
  • Bitter with the sweet on Medicaid expansion
  • Texans brace for the end of nearly three years of pandemic Medicaid coverage
  • Survey: Annual 2022 health premiums steady, but may be ‘calm before the storm’
  • Florida looks to double amount of medical-marijuana licenses
More Health/Employee Benefits News

Life Insurance News

  • Jury hears about financial crimes in Murdaugh murder trial
  • In Murdaugh murder trial, the path to conviction remains unclear
  • Libby Murdaugh's caretaker saw Alex night of murders for '20 minutes', but he said '30 to 40'
  • SC judge in Murdaugh murder trial allows jury to hear alleged financial crime motive
  • How the cases in Alex Murdaugh's murder trial are shaping up
More Life Insurance News

- Presented By -

Top Read Stories

  • Allstate reports $1.4B loss for 2022; increases rates, policy restrictions
  • Fed slows interest rate increases; more hikes expected
  • American Equity readies 2022 earnings report amid ongoing conflicts
  • Research on Oral Health Detailed by Researchers at University of Washington (Health insurance is associated with dental care use among university students in Washington State): Health and Medicine – Oral Health
  • Doctor convicted of using adulterated equipment
More Top Read Stories >

FEATURED OFFERS

Meet Encova Life
We know agents matter. You can count on our life team to be high tech, high touch and responsive.

How to Write For InsuranceNewsNet

Find out how you can submit content for publishing on our website.
View Guidelines

Topics

  • Life Insurance News
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits
  • Property and Casualty
  • Advisor News
  • Washington Wire
  • Regulation News
  • Sponsored Articles
  • Monthly Focus

Top Sections

  • Life Insurance News
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits News
  • Property and Casualty News
  • AdvisorNews
  • Washington Wire
  • Insurance Webinars

Our Company

  • About
  • Editorial Staff
  • Magazine
  • Write for INN
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Sign up for our FREE e-Newsletter!

Get breaking news, exclusive stories, and money- making insights straight into your inbox.

select Newsletter Options
Facebook Linkedin Twitter
© 2023 InsuranceNewsNet.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • AdvisorNews

Sign in with your Insider Pro Account

Not registered? Become an Insider Pro.