February 22, 2023
Lincoln Financial Group is now the most widely recognized annuity provider among all financial professionals as well as all annuity producers according to a new Cogent Syndicated report from top human behavior and analytics advisory firm, Escalent. Lincoln Financial Group also earns the highest marks for exemplifying financial stability, fostering perceptions of trust and inspiring confidence.
These and other findings are from the Annuity Brandscape™ syndicated report which tracks the attitudes and behaviors of financial professionals who manage annuities for retail clients. The report reveals that when it comes to considering an annuity provider, advisors seek simple products that are easy to sell and explain to clients. Yet this year, advisors are more focused on value for the money and trustworthiness of annuity providers, placing less emphasis on product innovation.
“Lincoln garners the strongest favorable impression ratings for the second year running, and is widely viewed as the firm that most exemplifies financial stability by financial professionals,” says Linda York, senior vice president at Escalent and co-author of the report. “But the firm made notable inroads in strengthening its competitive position on trust and value, propelling the firm into the lead for consideration for new annuity business.”
Cogent Syndicated published the Annuity Brandscape report in October of 2021 and again in November, 2022, assessing the competitive positions of over 40 leading annuity providers. The report finds that, with the uncertainty of the current economic environment, fixed and fixed indexed annuities are notably more popular right as advisors and their clients seek “safer” investment vehicles as insurance for protecting a portion of their assets.
“Lincoln Financial is honored to be named the most trusted and preferred annuity provider among financial professionals and annuity producers,” said Tim Seifert, SVP, Head of Retirement Solutions Distribution. “For more than 115 years, Lincoln has been committed to providing annuity solutions that help Americans retire with confidence and building partnerships with financial professionals and industry partners. These recognitions validate that commitment and reinforce our excitement for a bright future.”
About Annuity Brandscape
Cogent Syndicated, a division of Escalent, conducted an online survey of a representative cross section of 556 financial advisors and 3,473 affluent investors from August 8 through August 23, 2022. Financial advisors participating in the survey were required to have an active book of business of at least $5 million and be providing financial advice to individual clients on a fee or commission basis. Affluent investors participating in the survey were required to be 18 years or older, have at least $100,000 in investable assets and be an active participant in financial decisions for their household. Strict quotas were set during the data collection period, and post-fielding statistical weighting (where necessary) was applied. The financial advisor data have a margin of error of ±4.16% at the 95% confidence level. The affluent investor data have a margin of error of ±1.66% at the 95% confidence level. Escalent will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.
Click below for more information about the full report.
