One of America’s leading financial services organizations, Equitable, has just announced the updating of two of its most popular registered index linked annuity (RILA) products, according to an article from InsuranceNewsNet.com. The improvements were designed to help consumers manage volatile equity markets while generating lifetime income despite rising inflation and interest rates.
Equitable’s Structured Capital Strategies® Income (SCS Income) was launched in November 2021 and is a RILA that combines some protection from volatility while giving investors an opportunity to take advantage of equity market growth. The latest update has increased certain income rates credited under the income option by 25 bps. Additionally, both commission and fee-based versions of Equitable’s Structured Capital Strategies® PLUS (SCS PLUS) RILA are now available in New York.
“Clients are experiencing the perfect storm – a volatile equity market, inflation higher than we’ve seen in four decades, rising interest rates, and fixed income markets that are not providing the investment diversification they once did,” said Steve Scanlon, Head of Individual Retirement, Equitable. “As a result, the traditional 60/40 stock and bond portfolio has rightfully come into question. We believe that an annuity used as an asset class in a portfolio can help mitigate these challenges by providing for income, growth opportunities and the ability to address some equity market risk. The result of adopting these updated annuity-based products can be a more diversified and resilient portfolio,” he added.
Equitable is responsible for the creation of Structured Capital Strategies®, the first registered index-linked, or buffered, annuity in 2010.
RILA products, such as SCS PLUS, are popular among consumers who are reaching retirement age because they offer partial protection from the sequence of return risk associated with a correction, or bear market. A 2021 CANNEX study found that 55% of investors believe protecting income is important.
The updates made to the Structured Capital Strategies® variable annuity suite are similar to those made earlier this year to Equitable’s Investment Edge® investment only variable annuity. These included the addition of 20 structured investment option segments that provide particle downside protection from equity market losses and upside potential up to a cap, and asset allocation options that give consumers access to popular investment choices in a tax-deferred format. For more information about these, or any other annuity products, contact Annuity FYI at 1-866-223-2121 to speak to a registered agent. You can also visit our website, AnnuityFYI.com, or send us an email at support@annuityfyi.com.
Written by Rachel Summit
