Raymond James to launch annuity matchmaking tool

Raymond James Financial Services Inc. has teamed up with CapitalRock LLC to release the RightBridge Annuity Wizard, a software tool intended to help advisers skim through an array of available variable annuities and benefit riders to find the best choice for a client. The broker-dealer has signed off on Annuity Wizard, but has not released it to advisers yet, said Scott Stolz, president of Raymond James Insurance Group. The program asks clients a series of questions, including their risk tolerance when considering an annuity, the age at which they expect to make withdrawals and their priorities for liquidity. Clients also are asked about the type of access to their funds they prefer and whether guarantees or cost are most important. Based on that data, the Annuity Wizard generates a ranking list of compatible annuities, along with explanations as to why one annuity or benefit might be preferable to another. There are other benefits as well, according to Mr. Stolz. "It will allow advisers from a compliance point-of-view to document why a rider was chosen," he said. CapitalRock’s RightBridge solution has been out for three years, being used as a sales tool in the insurance market with firms like New York Life Insurance Co. and J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons LLC. This time CapitalRock has spent three to four months working with Raymond James on a tool specifically for its advisers, said CapitalRock chief executive John Hyde. Financial advisers have seen a variety of annuity comparison and research services come and go; many of these programs have been lacking in different areas. “Other attempts at that have failed,” said Brian Horn, a financial adviser at Somerset Wealth Strategies Inc., which is affiliated with Raymond James. Some services were lacking in their ability to strike a balance between being concise and being comprehensive in their analyses. “How do you match up products: Are you looking at quarterly versus annual resets? Are the fund options better?” Mr. Horn asked. At first blush, the new program seems attractive and could very well widen the horizons of advisers who are wedded only to two or three carriers. “I suspect this will help a lot of advisers who aren’t educated on the products,” Mr. Horn said. “It would open a lot of brokers up to products they hadn’t considered.”