Certified Annuity Specialist^® | Curriculum

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will gain annuity knowledge and an understanding of using this investment vehicle in their financial advising practice.

1. Fixed-rate, variable and equity-indexed annuity features and benefits
2. Annuitization and other methods of generating income
3. Characteristics of variable annuities and their subaccount categories
4. Contract structure and tax treatment
5. Living benefits and strategies
6. Portfolio composition, risk and optimal asset allocation

 

SUBJECT HIGHLIGHTS

CORE	ADVANCED	SPECIALTY
Annuity basics, features and benefits	Assessing risk tolerance	Balancing client goals and concerns
Suitability, illustrations and marketing	Contract structure and ramifications	Structured settlements
Performance metrics for risk and return	Suitability: annuities vs. mutual funds	Alternatives to annuitization
Subaccount asset classes and categories	Annuity guarantees and insurance features	Death prior to and after annuitization date
Tax treatment of distributions and gifts	Risk measurements and allocations	Mechanics of EIA investing
Liquidity, penalties and premium taxes	Management criteria and selection	Stepped-rate and market value annuities
Asset allocation basics	Using annuities for retirement income	Certificate and bonus rate contracts
	Variable annuity investment options	Two-tiered fixed-rate annuities
	Spousal election and joint ownership	How living benefits work
	Asset/liability matching	Modern portfolio theory (MPT)
	Fixed-rate vs. variable annuitization	Value vs. growth
	Equity-indexed annuities	Fiduciary concerns
	Floors, spreads and participation rates	Behavioral finance
		Annuity niche markets

Subject highlights above are a partial list of topics covered. For a detailed course outline request a catalog here.