| Originally intended to package the growth potential of equities with a safety net that only an insurance product can provide, many variable annuities have lost their focus. Additional features have increased the cost of some variable annuities to the point where savvy rollover clients are shopping around for lower expenses to increase their earning potential.
The new Symetra Focus Variable Annuity mitigates these issues with a distinctive new design that is among the most cost-effective of such products on the market. The product’s low-cost structure and premier investment options are designed to help clients keep more of the returns generated from investments linked to the annuity.
Among variable annuities, costs such as excessive mortality and expense (M&E) fees, administration charges, fund expenses and distribution charges can dramatically reduce financial growth. By contrast, lower charges leave more of the client’s money in investment accounts to compound and grow. According to VARDS, a leading source of variable annuities data, average total contract expenses for variable annuities were 2.51 percent of assets in 2006.1
With Symetra Focus, the average total cost including all available investment options is 1.59 percent — 36.6 percent less than the industry average.2
Compared with average total expenses among the five most popular variable annuities, Symetra Focus would result in average annual expense savings of 71 basis points for a typical purchase.3 Those savings could result in significant additional earnings for the client over the long term.
The simple, straightforward investment options within Symetra Focus remove much of the guesswork in choosing a variable annuity. With options from leading investment companies such as Vanguard and Fidelity Investments, Symetra Focus enables clients to easily select an investment strategy tailored to their individual risk preference. The annuity also features a full spectrum of Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) from Ibbotson for those clients looking for an ETF portfolio managed by asset allocation experts.
“We took a hard look at the variable annuity marketplace and decided it is time clients had a simpler, lower-cost solution,” said Richard Lindsay, senior vice president of life insurance and annuities at Symetra Financial. “As a variable annuity, we believe Symetra Focus gives the client everything they need to succeed and nothing they don’t. This is a simple, effective product that gets people closer to reaching their retirement savings goals.”
What’s In It For You?
- Easy to explain and sell.
- Competitive pricing, growth and revenues.
- Exclusive investment options to attract new clients.
- Value pricing to retain existing clients.
If you’re interested in learning more, please visit the Symetra Focus Web site at www.symetra.com/focus, or contact the Symetra Sales Center at invest@symetra.com or 1-800-706-0700.
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