With interest rates at their highest level in decades and an increasingly cloudy economic outlook, it makes sense that interest in annuities has increased. Used properly, annuities can create a steady income and reduce overall portfolio volatility.

However, Allan Roth in a Barron’s article shares some risks that investors need to consider before investing in an annuity. In terms of simple annuities, there are two main kinds -  single premium immediate annuities and multi year guaranteed annuities. 

He says that a single premium immediate annuity is similar to a pension. Typically, these are bought through an insurance company, and it pays a defined amount every year. The benefits are that it provides cash for the rest of a clients’ life. But, the risk is that the value of this income can be diluted by inflation. This becomes more germane the longer the annuity is relied upon.

The other option is a multiyear guaranteed annuity which provides income for a certain period of time, typically between 5 to 10 years. This functions similarly to a certificate of deposit. Yields  are slightly higher than a CD especially with longer durations. However, the higher yield does come with higher risk as CDs are backed by the FDIC while these annuities are backed by insurance companies which come with higher levels of risk. 

Finsum: Annuities are seeing higher levels of demand due to increasing recession risk and high rates. Yet, there are some risk factors that investors need to consider.

While model portfolios are gaining in popularity, there are some notable detractors such as Lifeworks Advisors CEO Ron Bullis who criticized model portfolios for not providing enough customization for clients. His comments at the WealthStack Conference were covered by Patrick Donachie for WealthManagement. 

Specifically, he believes that the risk scores used by model portfolios are not effective indicators of the actual risk faced by clients which can vary by large amounts. He believes that the industry is falling short on meeting the needs of clients especially in a world of increasingly personalized services that are immediately available. 

Due to the ubiquitousness of smartphones and finance apps, the cost and inconvenience of switching advisors has dramatically declined. This is a major change from the previous decade. And, we saw a taste of this during the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank with $42 billion in customer deposits exiting the bank in days as rumors of a collapse spread. 

Advisors need to start thinking about this new reality as competition for clients could also increase. They need to clarify and understand what is unique about the services they are providing to their clients and need to proactively take steps to grow the relationship with clients. 

Finsum: With technology comes inevitable change, financial advisors need to prepare for a world where clients are much more proactive in switching firms due to digitalization.

Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) was passed by the SEC in 2019 and implemented in 2020. It essentially requires brokers to only recommend products to customers that are in their best interest. It also requires that brokers must inform clients of any potential conflicts of interest and financial benefits they may accrue. 

Until recently, enforcement of Reg BI has been lacking, but this is clearly now changing as authorities are stepping up. The most recent incident is FINRA fining five broker-dealers for failing to comply with regulations including Reg BI and Form CRS. 

These firms were cited for a lack of guardrails and protocols that would lead their registered brokers to adhere to Reg BI. Relatedly, these firms were also penalized for missing deadlines related to Form CRS and/or providing incomplete information. Form CRS is an overview of a broker’s services, fees, conflicts of interest, prior disciplinary action, and other information to increase transparency and minimize fraud risk. 

The five firms did not admit or contest FINRA’s decision. Like previous Reg BI enforcement, the penalties and citations were minor. In contrast, the SEC has only filed one major Reg BI case, but it pursued much harsher penalties. 

Finsum: Reg BI is a new regulation which mandates that broker-dealers must inform clients of any conflicts of interest and recommend products that are in their best interest. Recently, regulatory authorities are stepping up enforcement. 

In an article for Benzinga, Piero Cingari discussed the bear market in office REIT stocks as the vast majority are now trading at their all-time lows. It’s not entirely surprising given that workers are not returning to the office, following the pandemic, despite the best efforts of many employers. 

As a result, many companies are giving up office space and/or choosing to move to a hybrid model. Of course, this has spillover effects on other areas such as the businesses that sell products and services to these workers. 

In the first week of May, office occupancy in the 10 largest US cities was at half the levels that were seen prior to the pandemic. Many analysts had predicted that office occupancy would gradually ‘normalize’ just like so many other parts of the economy have done so. Yet, this isn’t the case and occupancy hasn’t risen over the last 6 months which is an indication that the changes may be permanent. 

Adding to the sectors’ woes is higher rates leading to higher borrowing costs, heavy levels of short interest, and rising crime rates in many urban areas. 

Finsum: Office REITs have been crushed amid high rates and corporations reducing office space with occupancy at 50% of pre-pandemic levels.

All asset managers are adapting to this macro environment in their own ways. In terms of private real estate, funds are taking more time to make investment decisions, exploring new sources of financing, and structuring creative methods to deploy capital. Jenn Elliot covered the cautious behavior among private real estate funds for WealthManagement.

It’s a sharp turn from the last couple of years when funds were much more aggressive in terms of investing and raising capital. Now, raising capital has become much more difficult given that the risk-free rate of return is above 5%. Additionally, rising recession risk, stumbles in the banking system, and stress in commercial real estate have also muddied the picture. 

One silver lining is that many investors have been sidelined which means there is less competition for deals. Thus, private real estate funds have more time to evaluate ideas and can be more selective.

However, the most significant headwind is that a deflationary mindset has become pervasive. Essentially, most investors expect that prices will decline over the next year. In some ways, this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. So far, damage has been contained to commercial real estate where there have been a few high-profile defaults and redemption requests. 

Finsum: Private real estate funds are behaving much more cautiously due to higher rates and increasing economic uncertainty.