Equity Index Annuities: Good for the Broker; Not so Good for the Client
Investors love equity indexed annuities. At least, until they purchase one. The promise of a "guaranteed minimum return" that is linked to a stock market index without the risk of loss is just too good to pass up. Unfortunately, many investors do not realize that this "promises" is a sales pitch, not a reality, until it is too late.
The truth is, EIAs are rarely ever bought; they are sold. Seniors are the most typical target of these investments.
The average commission for an EIA is in excess of 10 percent; nearly twice as much as the commissions paid on fixed annuities. While financial advisers are entitled to make a living off of a fair commission, the exorbitantly high commissions associated with equity indexed annuities (or fixed indexed annuities, as they are sometimes called) result in abusive sales tactics that aggressively push an inherently complex product to investors, particularly seniors.
When it comes to EIAs, the devil is in the details. The insurance companies that create the products spend millions of dollars on glossy marketing materials that promote the upside potential but neglect to adequately explain the surrender costs, asset fees, caps, commissions, lack of dividends, and, most importantly, the sheer complexities of these products. The reality denied by the marketing is that the costs of an EIA (which are high), the limited upside (caps) and the complexities of the product (of which there are many) make these policies some of the most complicated investments sold today.
To understand how complicated these products can be, consider an EIA with the common "guaranteed minimum return" of 87.5 percent of the premium paid plus 1 to 3 percent interest. The EIA also comes with a participation rate of 80 percent, fees of 3.5 percent, and no cap rate. These details all mean that if the EIA is linked to an index that gains 10 percent, the EIA will only gain 4.5 percent. If the insurance company later institutes a cap rate of, for example, 4 percent, the EIA's gain would become even lower. And, if the index doesn't gain anything, the investor will receive no interest and will lose 12.5 percent of the premiums paid. This reality is not what investors think they are buying.
As if that is not complex enough, the matter is further complicated by the many, intricate differences between EIAs that can render comparisons between them virtually impossible. These differences may include:
• The index on which the EIA is based;
• The length of the contract term;
• The participation rate, and the insurance company's ability to change it;
• The spread/margin/asset fees, and the insurance company's ability to change them;
• The interest rate cap, and the insurance company's ability to change it;
• The indexing method, which determines the change in the index over the period of the annuity and impacts the calculation of the interest credited to the EIA; and
• How the interest is calculated and whether simple or compound interest is paid on the account.
Some of these differences can drastically affect an investor's return. For example, one EIA may pay simple interest while another pays compound interest. The investor would be better off choosing the compound interest EIA, but that difference may be exceptionally hard to detect from the disclosures and documentation provided by the sellers. Or, one EIA might average the linked index's value monthly while another uses the actual value of the index on a specified date. The EIA that averages the index's value will likely produce lower returns for the investor. But again, it is unlikely that an investor will be able to determine these differences from the materials provided by the insurance companies.
An additional problem with EIAs lies in the potential for loss. Contrary to the marketing materials, an investor can lose a significant amount of money in an EIA. First, an EIA is a relatively illiquid, long-term investment, and an early surrender can mean substantial surrender charges (not to mention a 10 percent tax penalty, if an investor withdraws funds from a tax-deferred annuity before he or she reaches the age of 59 ½). Second, an EIA's worth is associated with the credit worthiness of the insurance company that sells the EIA. As FINRA warns, "Your guaranteed return is only as good as the insurance company that gives it." If the insurance company fails, as many have since the financial crash, the EIA could become worthless.
Despite these complexities and problems, EIAs are marketed to investors as if they are purely beneficial products. Investments that require such a high degree of explanation and disclaimers, however, are rarely appropriate for most people.
In our experience, the investors who have purchased these products have no idea of the effects of the small print, the costs, or the illiquidity of EIAs. In my opinion, they are simply too complex for most investors.
Get Your Copy Of This Investment Fraud Report - FREE!
Five Signs of Investment Fraud…And What to Do if it's Happened to You is intended to to expose the ugly truth behind investor fraud and its devastating consequences
Learn how to recognize the key signs of investor fraud and what to do if it's happened to you... BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE. David P. Meyer is a renowned securities and investment fraud attorney. If you entrusted your investments to a financial professional and are worried that fraud or illegal conduct has occurred, you simply CANNOT take any chances, you NEED to get yourself a copy of this report today.
Click here to get your complimentary copy.
Investment Fraud Attorney | Securities Arbitration Attorney | Securities Fraud Attorney | Stockbroker Arbitration Attorney | Stockbroker Misconduct