(New York)

The annuities world is generally not what most advisors would describe as “exciting”. Annuities are crucial products which fill a valuable void for millions of clients, but there is nothing in the space akin to a sizzling thematic ETF. However, New York Life recently launched a very interesting product that brings a degree of flexibility to the space that has never been available before. Their new Index Flex offering combines the benefits of variable annuities with those of index and fixed annuities, and very excitingly, allows holders to move between the two. Index Flex is essentially a hybrid product that combines the predictability of an index-linked annuity with the upside potential of a variable annuity. Taken as a whole, this is a combination of benefits that is only available at NYL.

FINSUM: As our advisor readers will know, we cover annuities to a significant extent and this new product launch is pretty rousing to see as the ability to shift between strategies is a highly unusual and beneficial feature for clients.