US regulators crack down on complex annuities sales

Insurers are increasingly offering products tied to indexes developed by banks – a trend that worries regulators, who claim sales executives and consumers do not fully understand them

Fears retirees may not understand complex annuities

US insurers selling complex fixed indexed annuities (FIAs) are in regulators' crosshairs, amid concerns that some providers are aggressively pitching products tied to proprietary indexes to consumers who have little understanding of how they generate returns.

In recent years, underwriters have rushed to offer US retirees fixed indexed products – capital-guaranteed investments that generate additional returns linked to the performance of one or more underlying indexes. Most offerings provide