Making the Case for Annuities

Pacific Life’s Orian Williams

RIA have historically stayed away from annuities because of the perception of risk associated with these highly regulated products, according to the presentation by Orion Williams, managing director at Pacific Life, during the Strategic Investing Summit at Wealth Management EDGE. 

But research shows they present the biggest opportunity for RIAs to gather new assets organically, he noted, and client complaints related to these products are minimal compared to the size of the industry.

“The perceived risk and the actual risk are misaligned,” Williams said. In fact, annuities have characteristics similar to other products already in RIA portfolios, such as bonds and private…