Annuities ranked sixth in 2011, but interest in the product has increased over the last year, marked by a 15% increase in the number of times clients request annuities from their advisors, according to the report, Annuities and Insurance 2012: Evaluating Growth Capacity, Flows and Product Trends.
“We've seen a tremendous year-over-year increase in the number of times financial advisors receive requests from their clients for annuities,” Donnie Ethier, senior analyst at Cerulli, said in a statement.
Of the advisors surveyed, 60.8% of advisors had clients who requested annuities, just above Roth IRAs, which 58.8% of advisors were asked about.
And though more and more investors know about annuities, one-third of households are still unaware of them, the report said.
"Both the positive and the negative attention annuities have received in the media over the past four years has led to an overall growing awareness. This presents a unique opportunity for insurers and advisors," Ethier said in a statement.
