Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. has launched Ladenburg Thalmann Annuity Insurance Services (LTAIS), a new wholly-owned subsidiary that will provide marketing strategies, product expertise, and back-office processing for fixed and equity-indexed annuities.
"Our new, comprehensive platform gives advisors access to annuities from a range of sources, ensuring that fixed and equity-index annuities are delivered in a way that serves the best interest of the client," said Richard Lampen, CEO, president and director at Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services. "In an age when the requirements for offering products and services to clients is under intensive regulatory scrutiny, it is critical that our advisors be confident in the way those products and services are delivered."
The launch of LTAIS expands Ladenburg Thalmann's retirement product offerings to its network of firms supporting over 4,000 financial advisors in the US market. According to Jim Gelder (pictured), chief executive at LTAIS annuities have become an important part of the financial planning process, and that the new service will enable the integration of annuities into the planning process and allow access to leading carriers and products.
"We are committed to building an annuity platform in close coordination with advisors to provide clients with best-in-class access to tools and resources," said Gelder.
Ladenburg Thalmann's launch follows Pacific Life's expansion of its fixed index annuity range with a new fee-based fixed indexed annuity - Pacific Index Advisory - which enhances its suite of products designed for lifetime retirement income amid changes brought about by the new Department of Labor (DOL) Fiduciary Rule.
Pacific Index Advisory offers a Fixed Account Option that earns a guaranteed interest rate of no less than 1% for a specified period, as well as Index-Linked Options offering exposure to the S&P 500 Index and the MSCI EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, and the Far East).
Pacific Index Advisory is the company's second fee-based annuity and complements the firm's fee-based variable annuity offering, Pacific Odyssey.
"Even in the midst of uncertainty about the DOL Fiduciary Rule, keeping in mind the best interests of our clients is paramount," said Christine Tucker, vice president of marketing for Pacific Life's Retirement Solutions Division. "Offering solutions that give advisors and clients a choice of a fee-based or a commission-based structure helps us achieve that goal while helping clients achieve their retirement income goals."
Pacific Life's range of indexed annuities is comprised of Pacific Index Choice which offers potential growth linked to the S&P 500 Index and the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) which consists of 45 country indexes comprising 24 developed and 21 emerging-market country indexes; and Pacific Expedition which also offers exposure the S&P 500 and the BlackRock Endura Index which is composed of US equities that seek to have lower volatility compared to the broader US equity market, and uses short-term US Treasury bonds to help lessen downside risk.
There are now 84 index-linked annuities listed on SRP US database linked to eight different indices with the S&P 500 appearing in 82 of the products. According to SRP data, there over 191,600 structured products globally linked to the S&P 500 index of which 57,491 products are still live. The S&P 500 index is also the most ubiquitous underlying in the US market with over 21,200 structured products linked to the domestic benchmark of which 9,000 are still live products.
SRP data also shows 2,650 structured products featuring the MSCI EAFE index of which 659 are still live, and 30 linked to the MSCI ACWI index of which nine are still live.
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