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Investor demand for reliable income has never been higher.
According to LIMRA, U.S. annuity sales set a record in the first half of this year.
The $223 billion total was up a modest but notable 3% over the total for the comparable period last year. LIMRA expects strong annuity sales through 2027 as the population ages and concerns grow about Social Security's solvency.
This is the new normal.
Financial advisors must meet client expectations for effective solutions that provide guaranteed income and protective investments.
Yet, in the annuity marketplace, there's a problem that gets little attention but creates real headaches for advisors: inconsistent and incomplete data from insurance carriers.
The Annuity Data Time Machine
RIA clients don't see it, but advisors are often bogged down by missing information necessary for fundamental annuity performance analysis and risk assessment.
Full transparency is a prerequisite for fiduciary financial planning. To fix this systemic issue, a complete understanding of the stumbling block is required.
For years, annuity data has relied on bulky data dumps via DTCC positions and valuation (POV) and financial activity report (FAR) files. If you're an advisor who has dealt with these reports, you know it can feel like stepping back in time 20 or 30 years.
A modern approach is needed, one that's comprehensive and integrates easily with aggregation tools such as Orion, Black Diamond, or Addepar.
The goal should be twofold: 1. Relieve advisors' burden, and 2. Create a better client experience.
Information Moth Holes
The root issue is consistency. Outdated files and faulty transmission mechanisms commonly exclude critical data points. What good are reports without insights into current income-benefit values, rider statuses, or RMD amounts, among other retirement planning figures? Data that is easy to parse and interpret should be table stakes today.
In reality, however, advisors are left piecing together missing items. They are forced to log into multiple carrier websites, wasting valuable time and increasing the risk of error.
This isn't just an efficiency gap, but also a manual process that could result in suboptimal financial advice. That's a lot of finger-pointing.
What's the solution? The onus is on insurers to deliver clean, complete, and standardized data.
Consistency is the endgame.
Caring About the Moth Holes
It's clear that annuity demand is rising and likely to set new records in the years ahead.
There's a robust business case for fixing the data-quality problem.
Carriers that provide accurate, accessible, and consistent data remove barriers to entry for the fast-growing RIA channel.
Insurance companies that step up to the plate put themselves in a prime position to gain market share. Companies that fail to step up risk damaging relationships and falling behind in this mega-trend.
We are encouraged to see some carriers moving in the right direction by offering API connectivity, which ensures real-time, direct data integration.
Still, the majority of annuity writers fall short of what today's busy financial advisors (and their clients) deserve.
Here's the point: Carriers must take ownership, prioritize the channel driving their growth, and see the bigger picture.
With modern technology and consistent data, advisors can deliver stronger planning to clients, the very people who rely on guaranteed income solutions.
This isn't just a tech upgrade. It requires partnership and commitment to make reliable annuity data the standard.
Joe Gerard is head of insurance services at Halo Investing, an investment platform.
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