Elite-access carrier
The best-performing annuities and IUL in America — reserved for a small group of advisors.
There are more than 400,000 financial professionals licensed in the United States. Only a small fraction of them are approved to offer Annexus-designed products. I'm one of them. Here's why that should matter to anyone planning a real retirement.
Independent advisor · Approved Annexus distribution · No fee for guidance
The headline
Only a small percentage of advisors can offer what I can show you.
400,000+
U.S. financial professionals
A few %
Approved to sell Annexus
Why distribution is restricted
Annexus only partners with the top Independent Distribution Companies and financial professionals in the industry. The products are too sophisticated to hand to every agent with a license.
Who is Annexus?
The most innovative product designer in retirement — that most consumers have never heard of.
Founded in 2006, Annexus is the leading independent product design and distribution company in America. They don't sell insurance directly. They design the absolute best-performing fixed indexed annuities and indexed universal life policies on the market — and then partner with top-rated carriers like Nationwide, Athene, and John Hancock to issue them.
Their actuarial team has more patents and patents pending than the rest of the industry combined.
Named Annuity Innovator of the Year — 3 times
EQDerivatives recognized Annexus as Annuity Innovator of the Year in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Add 2x FIA of the Year (2022 & 2023) and 2x Index of the Year. No other product designer touches that track record.
Built by Nobel-class economists
Annexus partners with Yale's Robert Shiller (Nobel laureate), Wharton's Jeremy Siegel, Yale's Roger Ibbotson, Duke's Campbell Harvey, and Rob Arnott (pioneer of smart beta) to design the indices inside their products.
Backed by the biggest names on Wall Street
Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, Barclays, UBS, Citi, S&P, NYSE, NASDAQ, and MSCI all build proprietary indices and structures exclusively for Annexus products. Blackstone made a strategic investment in 2019.
Restricted distribution
Why your last advisor probably never mentioned Annexus.
Annexus made a deliberate choice years ago: they would not let their products be sold by just anyone. Their distribution model is "elite-access only." Out of the more than 400,000 financial professionals in America, only a small percentage of top advisors qualify to offer Annexus-designed products.
That means if you've ever bought an annuity from a bank, a wirehouse, or a captive agent — you were not shown the Annexus version. Not because it wasn't right for you. But because the person across the table from you wasn't approved to sell it.
I'm credentialed in the Annexus distribution network.
That gives my clients access to products and crediting strategies most people in your zip code have never been shown.
A picture of the access gap
All U.S. financial professionals
400,000+
Advisors approved for Annexus
A small percentage
Source: Annexus.com — "Out of the more than 400,000 financial professionals, only a small percentage of the top advisors across the United States have access to Annexus-designed products." Illustration approximate.
What this means for you
Six concrete reasons Annexus products outperform.
These aren't marketing claims — they're structural advantages baked into how the products are built. They show up in every illustration, side-by-side.
Principal protection — never a negative year
Annexus-designed fixed indexed annuities and IUL contracts have a 0% floor. When the market drops 20%, 30%, 40%, your account value drops 0%. Your gains lock in and become the new floor.
Uncapped & enhanced index strategies
While most carriers cap your upside at 5-7%, Annexus indices use volatility-controlled designs and participation rates that can exceed 100% — meaning you can capture MORE than the index's actual return in good years.
Proprietary indices built for accumulation
The Shiller Barclays CAPE® Index, J.P. Morgan Mozaic IISM, NYSE Zebra Edge®, and Goldman Sachs / High Par 5 are engineered specifically to perform inside an annuity or IUL chassis — not retrofitted from a stock-market benchmark.
Lifetime income riders with bigger paychecks
Annexus pioneered the modern Guaranteed Lifetime Income Benefit. Their income riders often produce 10-25% larger guaranteed monthly checks than the cookie-cutter products available to general agents.
Tax-deferred (annuities) or tax-free (IUL)
Annuity growth defers taxes until withdrawal. IUL growth and properly-structured policy loans come out tax-free. Either way, you keep more of every dollar you earn.
Bonus & enhanced credits at issue
Several Annexus products credit a 10-20% premium bonus on day one and add multipliers to your index credits. Money you'd never get from a 'plain vanilla' annuity sold across the street.
Annexus vs. a standard annuity
The product is the same category. The performance isn't.
An "annuity" or "IUL" is just a chassis. What goes inside — the index design, the participation rates, the income rider — decides what your retirement actually looks like.
Feature
Annexus-designed product
Standard / off-the-shelf product
Index design
Proprietary, volatility-controlled indices co-designed with Goldman, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, S&P, and NYSE.
Off-the-shelf S&P 500 with a low cap (typically 4-6%) or basic point-to-point structures.
Participation rates
Often 100-200%+ on uncapped strategies — you can earn MORE than the underlying index returns.
Hard caps that strip away most of the upside in strong market years.
Innovation track record
3x Annuity Innovator of the Year. More patents than the rest of the industry combined.
Most carriers re-skin the same products their competitors offer.
Lifetime income payout
Industry-leading guaranteed lifetime income riders engineered for maximum monthly paycheck.
Standard payout factors that often produce noticeably smaller checks.
Advisor distribution
Invitation-only — a small percentage of the top 400,000 U.S. financial professionals qualify to offer them.
Available to any licensed agent who can fog a mirror and pay $30 for a carrier appointment.
Academic & institutional backing
Co-designed with Nobel laureate Robert Shiller, Wharton's Jeremy Siegel, and Yale's Roger Ibbotson.
Designed by a product committee inside one insurance company.
General comparison based on commonly available fixed indexed annuity and IUL products as of 2024. Specific product features vary by carrier, state, issue age, and contract terms. We'll always run real, side-by-side carrier illustrations for your exact situation.
The brains behind the indices
World-class economists designing the indices inside your contract.
Most insurance products use generic, off-the-shelf indices. Annexus collaborates with the most respected academic and quantitative minds in finance to engineer indices designed to perform inside an annuity or IUL.
Robert Shiller
Yale Professor, Nobel Laureate in Economics
Co-creator of the Shiller Barclays CAPE® US Index
Jeremy Siegel
Wharton Professor, author of Stocks for the Long Run
Co-creator of the WisdomTree Siegel Strategic Value Index™
Roger Ibbotson
Yale Professor, founder of Ibbotson Associates
Co-creator of the NYSE® Zebra Edge® Index
Rob Arnott
Pioneer of Smart Beta, founder of Research Affiliates
RAFI™ index design philosophy
Campbell Harvey
Duke Professor of Finance
Co-creator of the RAFI™ Harvey GS Index
Ronnie Sadka
Boston College Professor
Co-creator of the MSCI MKT MediaStats Multi-Asset Index
Carrier partners
Top-rated insurance carriers issue every Annexus product.
Annexus designs the product. A top-tier insurance company stands behind every guarantee on the contract.
Index & institutional partners
Wall Street's biggest names build the indices.
The world's largest investment banks, asset managers, and index providers all design proprietary strategies exclusively for Annexus products.
Innovation recognized
The most-awarded product designer in the industry.
2017, 2018, 2019
Annuity Innovator of the Year — EQDerivatives
2022 & 2023
FIA of the Year — SRP / SPi
2022 & 2023
Index of the Year — SPi USA
2024
Deal of the Year — SRP Americas
2019
Shiller Barclays CAPE® US Index — Proprietary Index of the Year (SRP)
2025
Top Retirement Planning Service Providers — Financial Business Outlook
Common questions
What people ask about Annexus products.
Next step
See an Annexus illustration side-by-side with whatever you're being shown.
Bring me the annuity or IUL you're considering. I'll run a real Annexus illustration next to it — same premium, same time horizon, same income goal. You'll see the difference on paper, in writing, from the carrier itself. No pressure, no fee.
Michael Fox · Independent advisor · (856) 676-9358
Important — educational illustration only
The figures shown are hypothetical and produced by a simplified model for education and discussion only. They are not a quote, projection, recommendation, or guarantee of future results. Actual outcomes vary based on your individual circumstances — including age, health, income, tax filing status, state of residence, time horizon, market performance, product design, carrier underwriting, and changes in tax law. Tax-advantaged strategies referenced (e.g., Roth conversions, cash value loans, qualified plan withdrawals) carry rules and consequences that depend on your specific situation; cash value life insurance assumes the contract is properly structured (non-MEC) and remains in force. Nothing on this page constitutes tax, legal, accounting, or individualized investment advice. Please consult your own licensed tax professional, attorney, and financial advisor before acting on any concept presented here.
Keep exploring
Related resources worth your time
More on the products and strategies inside an Annexus-powered retirement plan.
Lifetime Paychecks
How fixed indexed annuities turn savings into income you can't outlive.
Read moreUnderstanding Retirement Income
The retirement-income framework Annexus products are built to power.
Read moreReposition an Unused IRA into Life Insurance
Why an old IRA or annuity often becomes a more powerful Annexus IUL.
Read moreNationwide Living Benefits
Living benefits built into one of Annexus's top carrier partners.
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