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8 Signs the Time Is Now for Annuities in Wealth Management

John Manganaro By John Manganaro

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Kelli Hueler, CEO and founder of Hueler Cos., has been working on the challenges of retirement income planning for more than three decades. She says the current moment is among the most exciting of her career.

As Hueler discussed on a recent episode of The Long View Podcast, hosted by Morningstar’s Christine Benz and Jeff Ptak, it finally feels like the wealth management industry is coming to embrace the fact that longevity risk is real — and that annuities have a key role to play in helping Americans secure a dignified life in retirement.

Hueler Cos., recognized as an innovative technology and research provider, offers resources for the analysis, selection and implementation of stable value and lifetime income annuity products. As Hueler observed, the environment is rife with opportunity largely because of big changes that have unfolded with respect to annuities.

Simply put, she said, the annuity marketplace available to retail wealth advisors is more robust and higher in quality compared with previous decades, and there is good reason to expect the market will continue to evolve.

According to Hueler, who founded her firm in 1987, advisors and their clients alike are beginning to shed some long-standing biases with respect to annuities and their potential use in retirement portfolios. This is a positive development, she argued, because of the pressing challenge of longevity risk and the ongoing decline of defined-benefit pensions in the workplace.

Ultimately, Hueler sees the United States as still being in the “early innings of retirement income,” and she is more encouraged than ever about the spirit of innovation and collaboration shared by annuity product manufacturers, financial advisors and retirement plan providers.

See the accompanying slideshow for eight key ways the annuity discussion is evolving for wealth managers and their clients. By bringing these annuity insights into the wealth management process, Hueler said, advisors can deliver superior outcomes and greater peace of mind to their clients.