Close Close
Popular Financial Topics Discover relevant content from across the suite of ALM legal publications From the Industry More content from ThinkAdvisor and select sponsors Investment Advisor Issue Gallery Read digital editions of Investment Advisor Magazine Tax Facts Get clear, current, and reliable answers to pressing tax questions
Luminaries Awards
ThinkAdvisor
The word

Life Health > Annuities

Flourish Launches Annuity Platform for Independent RIAs

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

The fintech firm Flourish announced Wednesday the launch of a new annuity distribution platform for fee-based fiduciary financial advisors.

Speaking with ThinkAdvisor about the news, the firm’s president, Ben Cruikshank, said the platform was built from scratch over the past two years to address three key pain points that have historically prevented fiduciary advisors from including annuities in client portfolios. These include a burdensome and complicated paper application process, commission structures that can conflict with a fiduciary approach, and RIA insurance license requirements.

“The traditional RIA is very good at managing whatever sits in the stock and bond portfolio and giving advice on that,” Cruikshank said. “The reality today is that things have changed and client needs have grown more complex — especially in the areas we focus on, which are banking needs and insurance needs. The modern client has different expectations.”

To help address this challenge, Cruikshank said, Flourish has developed a streamlined digital application process with the ability for advisors to pre-fill annuity applications on behalf of clients. The platform also provides RIA professionals with access to an outsourced insurance desk, eliminating the need for advisors themselves to hold insurance licenses.

Additional features include a curated marketplace of fee-based annuities from vetted carriers, complemented by direct integrations with major reporting and billing platforms, including Orion and Envestnet, which make it easier for advisors to treat annuities like any other asset class.

According to Cruikshank, the development of the new annuity platform was based in the success of the firm’s flagship advisor-supported savings account product, which launched in 2018. He said the firm, which is a wholly owned, independently operating subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., will continue to pursue integrations and partnership that can magnify the reach of both platforms.

Credit: Shutterstock


NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.