WealthAdvisor

How Annuity Hatred Melted For These Advisors

"I was an annuity hater," said Dan Rohlfing, a senior financial advisor with Lantz Financial Team in Naperville, Ill.

The main reason is pretty simple, he said during a webcast sponsored by DPL Financial Partners Thursday: annuities of the early 2000s were expensive and offered little more than tax deferral.

But times have changed and so has Rohlfing.

"This product that really had just been extra tax deferral now is offering something dynamic that that really could make a difference, now or in the near future for someone who is retiring," he said.

The webcast -- "Annuities in the Age of COVID (& Zero Interest Rates)" -- drilled down on annuities as a fit for clients today. In particular, three advisors from across the country discussed how they are using the products.

Rohlfing was not the only one with a confession.

"Up until a few years ago, I was pretty negative on annuities," said Shannon Stone, financial planner, advisor and operations manager at DHR Investment Council in the San Francisco area.

"As a registered investment advisor, they're difficult to access when they are purchased through that commissioned marketplace," she explained. "Trying to gain the information that we need to break it down for our clients to understand what they own and how it works is very challenging."

Read more at The Wealth Advisor