Fintech Flourish has rolled out a platform that will make it easier for registered investment advisors to provide fee-based annuities for their clients.
Interest in annuities has been increasing. Limra estimated last month that annuity sales hit a record high of $350 billion in 2023, up from the record $313 billion seen in 2022.
But providing annuities to clients can be tricky for RIAs, in part because the methods of compensation for annuity sales may not fit with a fiduciary approach.
Flourish says its platform, Flourish Annuities, will address not only compensation, but other issues RIAs face with annuities, such as lengthy applications and requirements related to insurance licenses.
It cites its digital application process, along with a marketplace of fee-based annuities from various carriers and an insurance desk that eliminates the need for advisors to have insurance licenses.
“Until now, the user experience for both advisors and clients has made annuities more trouble than they’re worth for independent RIAs,” Max Lane, CEO of Flourish, said in a statement. “We’ve confronted these challenges head-on to deliver easy-to-use, compliant access to the world of annuities for advisors looking for better, more differentiated portfolio options.”
Most firms place a limit on advisors’ sales of alternative investments to clients in the neighborhood of 10% a customer’s net worth.
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The agent, Todd Bernstein, 67, has been charged with four counts of insurance fraud linked to allegedly switching clients from one set of annuities to another.
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Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today's choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.
