RIAs may have stopped holding up garlic when they hear the word "annuity," but registered representatives at the big regional broker-dealers and national wirehouses were the people who helped more U.S. retirement savers buy individual annuities in the first quarter.
Thanks to the registered reps at the full-service national broker-dealers, sales of traditional individual variable annuities climbed to $16 billion in the first quarter, up 21% from the total for the first quarter of 2024, according to new issuer survey data from Wink.
Variable annuity sales reached the highest level in three years.
Career agents' share of traditional variable annuity sales crept up to 30.9%, from 29.7%. But the full-service national reps' share increased to 18.3%, from 14.5%. RIAs' share fell to 3.3%, from 4.6%, and banks, independent broker-dealers and direct response programs also lost share.
The average premium for a traditional variable annuity contract sold fell 6.5%, to $226,000, but the number of traditional VA contracts sold climbed 44%, to 71,282.
What it means: Some retirement savers were open to taking more investment risk. But, because of the turmoil that hit in March and continued into April, "we anticipate that variable annuity sales will be down for the year," Sheryl Moore, the head of Wink, said.
The big picture: Total sales of individual annuities fell 5.7%, year over year, to $98 billion.
Multi-year guaranteed annuity sales fell 20%, to $35 billion.
Registered index-linked annuities increased 18%, to $16 billion.
RIAs' share of individual annuity sales held steady at 0.9%. Career agents' share rose to 13%, from 12%.
Credit: Adobe Stock
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.