A pioneer in online annuity sales founded 25 years ago, AnnuityAdvantage is growing 25% - 30% yearly as America's seniors look for guaranteed income and safety.
MEDFORD, OR / ACCESSWIRE / March 20, 2024 / When Ken Nuss started offering annuities through a website in 1999, his friends in financial services said customers wouldn't buy from an agent that they had never met in person.
Even he wasn't sure. Today, having placed more than $1.3 billion in annuity premiums over the years, AnnuityAdvantage has 18 employees and serves thousands of clients nationwide. Over the last three years sales and revenues have grown 25%-30% annually, and Nuss aims to sustain that pace despite more competition.
Humble start in early days of e-commerce
E-commerce was in its infancy when Nuss, working at home in Medford at night and on weekends, built the first version of the website himself. He believes there were then only two or three other annuity-comparison websites selling annuities nationally.
"Back then it was much more difficult to build enough trust with potential clients to bring them to a buying decision than it is now," he says. Since then, people have become more comfortable dealing with a remote agent.
In 2002, he made his firm his full-time job. He hired his first employee agent in 2003 and has been expanding the staff ever since.
Clients choose among annuities from many insurance companies
At the AnnuityAdvantage site https://www.annuityadvantage.com, people can view hundreds of annuity rates offered by dozens of insurers-and usually find a better deal than from a local agency that typically represents a few companies at most. If they see something they like, they can take the next step and talk to an AnnuityAdvantage agent without any sales pressure.
The comparison service is free and open to everyone. When someone buys an annuity through the firm, 100% of their money goes to work because there are no fees. The issuing insurer pays AnnuityAdvantage a commission directly.
Treating clients and employees right means both stick around
"We always try to do the right thing by both our clients and our employees," Nuss says. "We want to make the annuity buying process easy. We want to ensure that our clients have a complete understanding of how their annuity works. Operating in our client's best interest is at the forefront of every conversation we have, every decision we make. I think people can sense our sincerity. We want to develop long-term trusted relationships."
AnnuityAdvantage has nearly 1200 reviews on Trustpilot, and 98% are 5-star.
"The expertise that Ken passes along to staff is second to none," says Jake Murphy, senior annuity specialist. "The resulting confidence makes working with clients enjoyable. He is unusually generous when it comes to profit sharing. And Ken doesn't micro-manage, so we get to work in a way that best suits our own style and client needs."
Prominence as national expert helps spur growth
Over the last several years, Nuss has written dozens of articles on annuities and retirement income for financial websites such as Kiplinger, Newsmax, Medical Economics, and Retirement Daily. He's also been quoted as an expert in top media outlets such asThe Wall Street Journal, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Fox Business, Kiplinger, U.S. News and World Report, The Street, Barron's, Money and BusinessWeek.
His prominence has helped boost AnnuityAdvantage's web presence and spur its growth.
Sells only guaranteed products
AnnuityAdvantage does not offer variable annuities, which carry investment risk. All of its products-fixed-rate annuities, fixed index annuities and income annuities-offer solid guarantees that appeal mostly to people in their mid-50s or older.
"We've been able to help thousands of people secure their retirements with principal-protected, guaranteed fixed annuity products. We've helped take them from a "risk on" to a "risk off" position with guaranteed interest rates and/or guaranteed lifetime income."
Nuss has lived in southern Oregon since he was six. He has two adult children and two grandchildren. "My wife and I enjoy traveling both domestically and internationally and exploring new areas. We love history and enjoy learning about the areas that we visit."
Ken Nuss, founder and CEO of AnnuityAdvantage
Media contact: Henry Stimpson
[email protected]
SOURCE: AnnuityAdvantage