FundQuest adds Fidelity VA to platform

FundQuest has added Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Co.’s Personal Retirement Annuity to its platform, marking the first time that the Fidelity variable annuity will be available to fee-based advisers through a managed-account provider. FundQuest has two other annuity offerings on its platform, but Fidelity’s annuity costs the least of the three, said Andrew Stavaridis, vice president of national accounts at FundQuest. The 0.35% fee for total expenses compares with an industry average of 1.37%, said Joan Bloom, executive vice president at Fidelity Investments Life. “Also there is no commission structure on it, so it really fits very well on the turnkey platforms and with fee-based advisers who don’t do commission-based business,” she said. Fidelity, however, recognizes that fee-based advisers traditionally have an aversion to variable annuities, and to that end the company will be publishing several white papers discussing the benefits of VAs in general, including their greater tax efficiency in a managed-account setting. Fidelity hopes to get the annuity on more managed-account platforms in the coming months, but doesn’t have anything in the works right now, Ms. Bloom said.