Nationwide adds four volatility funds to VA line-up

Nationwide Financial added four new managed volatility funds to its core VA line-up. Additionally, the company will add three fund options for its guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit, The Nationwide Lifetime Income Rider.

New funds for Nationwide’s core VA line-up include:

• American Funds Insurance Series Protected Asset Allocation Fund
• TOPS Protected Balanced ETF Portfolio
• TOPS Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio
• TOPS Protected Growth ETF Portfolio

The American Funds Insurance Series Protected Asset Allocation Fund will also be available as a Nationwide L.inc investment option. When selected with Nationwide L.inc, the Protected Asset Allocation Fund can offer additional protection from market risk and increases equity exposure to a 60/40 target (ranging from 40 to 80 percent). Additionally, a Nationwide VA with Nationwide L.inc offers a 7 percent simple interest roll-up on the original income benefit base and a 5 percent payout if withdrawals begin at age 65. Nationwide Financial will also add two non-managed volatility funds back to the Nationwide L.inc investment option line-up. Both offer 60/40 equity exposure:

• NVIT Cardinal Moderate Fund
• NVIT Investor Destination Moderate Fund

In other news:

Zenith Marketing Group, an independent wholesale distributor, has come up with a new tool for calculating out-of-pocket health care expenses in retirement. The Health care Out-of-Pocket Expense (HOPE) analysis is an instrument that showcases to clients how their health care expenses will escalate in retirement and at what rate they will do so. The tool allows advisors to show prospective clients, through the HOPE analysis questionnaire, an expense summary and expense breakdown of what their annual out-of-pocket expenses of health care will be per annual or five-year period. Through the series of questions and scenarios, Zenith is then able to prepare a personal HOPE analysis and recommend specific and tailored products to mitigate out-of-pocket health care expenses in retirement.

Aflac expanded its group accident insurance plan to employers in the state of New York. The new voluntary group plan follows the introduction of Aflac’s group Hospital Indemnity plan in New York.

The Aflac group accident voluntary insurance plan provides employers in New York with a guaranteed-issue benefits solution to help employees offset health care expenses that aren’t covered by major medical insurance.

Employers can choose from four coverage options of the group accident insurance plan, which includes an accidental-death and -dismemberment benefit feature. The benefits include the following:

• Hospital admission
• Hospital confinement
• Hospital intensive care
• Ambulance
• Family lodging

Cerulli Associates recognized Jefferson National as the industry’s “gold-standard in tackling fee-based structures” for creating the industry’s first flat-fee variable annuity (VA).

In its quantitative update, Cerulli said of Jefferson National: “best-in-class strategies of eliminating fees, appreciating how Registered Investment Advisors operate their business, and delivering an impressive technology platform that can be integrated into existing systems.” The update also noted Jefferson National’s transformation of the variable annuity back to a tax-deferral product, coupled with an award-winning, “distinctive distribution strategy.”

Jefferson National provides tax-deferred investing solutions for RIAs and fee-based advisors.