Yahoo Finance AIG's Unit Joins SIMON's Platform, Boosts Annuity Portfolio
American International Group, Inc.’s AIG unit, AIG Life & Retirement, recently joined the centralized Marketplace and premier platform of SIMON. Intended to benefit U.S. financial professionals and annuity wholesalers, the digital insurtech platform of SIMON will exhibit a diverse range of AIG’s annuities.
Hence, several financial professionals working with AIG Life & Retirement will have access to the much-needed tools and resources for selecting, evaluating and managing Marketplace products through SIMON’s platform.
The recent move is expected to broaden the reach of AIG’s annuities portfolio. This will aid financial professionals in selecting products considering client-specific risk profiles and investment horizons. Advanced allocation analytics offered through SIMON will also guide the decision-making of professionals.
Initiatives similar to the latest one are likely to provide a boost to the annuity business of AIG, particularly the Life and Retirement segment. This unit has been making every effort to offer comprehensive financial planning to its customers amid the COVID-19 induced volatile environment. It was able to capitalize on the prevailing scenario, which aggravated financial insecurities of Americans and increased the need for enhanced retirement solutions. Also, a rise in the number of people reaching the age of retirement across the United States has necessitated the need to articulate income strategies best suited for consumers to attain their planned retirement goals.
With the rapid rise in demand for solutions ensuring a stable retirement income, AIG Life & Retirement continued to innovate and roll out products with increased choice and flexibility features. This year, AIG Life & Retirement introduced Lifetime Income Choice benefit in a bid to offer income growth opportunities and a steady source of income for consumers.
The latest move to join SIMON comes at an opportune time since digitization seems to be the new way of life. With digital methods being adopted across every sphere of life, insurers have been making every effort to digitize the insurance processes. Transitioning to a virtual sales environment enabled customers to purchase policies from the comfort of their homes and counter the disruption caused by the pandemic.
To streamline operations and intensify focus on high growth areas, AIG inked a deal with Blackstone as a result of which the latter is entitled to purchase 9.9% equity stake in SAFG Retirement Services (SAFG) — the holding company for the Life and Retirement Unit. Sale proceeds received from the divestiture are likely to be utilized for undertaking growth-related initiatives.
Zacks Rank & Price Performance
Shares of AIG, which carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), have soared 82.9% in a year compared with the industry’s rally of 41.5%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Other Stocks to Consider
Some other top-ranked stocks in the same space are CNO Financial Group, Inc. CNO, MetLife, Inc. MET and Horace Mann Educators Corporation HMN, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
CNO Financial, MetLife and Horace Mann have a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 26.12%, 33.35% and 21.12%, respectively, on average.
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American International Group, Inc. (AIG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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MetLife, Inc. (MET) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Horace Mann Educators Corporation (HMN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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