LIMRA: Investment products account for larger share of advisor sales

A new LIMRA survey has found that investment products and advisory solutions account for a growing portion of revenues for career and independent insurance agents (30 percent in 2012 versus 23 percent in 2004) as well as a larger percentage of gross revenues for investment-focused advisors (80 percent in 2012 compared to 75 percent in 2004).

Conducted in the spring and summer, the survey, compiled by LIMRA and McKinsey & Co., sampled some 2,000 experienced advisors (those with three or more years of tenure) across multiple distribution channels, including insurance companies, broker-dealers, banks and RIAs.

As for why investment products now represent a larger share of sales, the study theorizes that advisors now focus more on providing holistic solutions for clients.

An increasing percentage of advisors are teaming and partnering with their counterparts in an effort to boost productivity by more than 30 percent. Forty-three percent specialize in a client segment, typically by affluence or occupation, and see that as way to increase productivity.

The LIMRA/McKinsey study also found that while most advisors have not provided their clients with formal retirement plans, those who have say they are 15 percent more productive. Knowledge of life events also correlates with higher productivity, but according to the survey, many advisors fail to leverage this information.