Total first quarter indexed annuity sales hit $7.8 billion, down 8.2 percent from the previous quarter and 2.7 percent from the same quarter last year.
The results, found in Wink’s Sales & Market Report (formerly AnnuitySpecs.com’s Indexed Sales & Market Report) were released on June 7 and should not be cause for too much despair as the first quarter is always slower than the fourth quarter.
“There was a sizable decline in indexed annuity sales this quarter,” said Sheryl J. Moore, President and CEO of both Moore Market Intelligence and Wink Inc., the rebranded AnnuitySpecs.com, a third party research firm specializing in indexed annuity and indexed life tools said. “However, I am going to restate what I always state of first quarter sales — they are always going to be down as compared to the previous quarter. The fourth quarter is always the big record-breaking quarter of the year, with agents trying to qualify for trips and incentives.”