July 15, 2008
I, as well as most in financial servics, applaud all steps by regulatory bodies to ensure that all buyers of finacial products (especially seniors) are protected from unscrupulous sales practices or unsuitable recommendations. I feel however that regulating fixed index annuities as securities products is not appropriate. This is an insurance product. Although it is linked to an index, this is not without precedent.
Even a whole life product can be said to be lnked to an index by virtue of crediting based on bonds and mortgages through its fixed account. Therefore, it is my opinion that the FIA should be left under the control of the state's Department of Banking Insurance.