MassMutual Ascend tops $2B in RIA annuity sales

InvestmentNews reported that MassMutual Ascend, MassMutual's RIA-focused unit, has surpassed $2 billion in cumulative advisory annuity sales. The Cincinnati-based insurer announced the milestone.

According to the company, more than 1,700 investment advisor representatives from roughly 1,000 RIA firms now write annuity business through its platform. About $900 million of the total came in 2025 and 2026, reflecting faster recent adoption.

MassMutual Ascend says it introduced an annuity in 2016 that it calls the industry's first advisory fixed-indexed annuity, built for advisors who charge fees rather than commissions. It has since added fixed, fixed-indexed, and registered index-linked annuities to its advisory lineup. The company also says LIMRA has ranked it first in advisory fixed-indexed annuity sales for eight consecutive quarters.

The milestone suggests that fee-based RIAs are increasingly treating annuities as a portfolio income tool rather than a commission-heavy product. InvestmentNews notes that BlackRock and State Street have started placing annuities inside target-date funds, a sign that guaranteed income is moving into mainstream retirement products.

For RIA principals, the sales pace indicates that fiduciary practices are finding ways to offer guaranteed income within their fee model. Still, $2 billion is a small fraction of the assets custodied at major RIA platforms, so adoption remains at an early stage.

The $2 billion figure points to a slow but real thaw in the fiduciary channel. A decade ago, fee-only advisors largely avoided annuities because of their commission history. MassMutual Ascend's fee-based design helped bridge that gap, and the rising sales volume suggests a meaningful minority of RIAs are now comfortable using these products.

What is unclear is whether the momentum will hold. The sales surge in 2025 and 2026 could reflect the current rate environment rather than a permanent shift in advisor behavior. But the entry of BlackRock and State Street into target-date annuities suggests the structural forces are real, and more RIA-specific annuity products are likely on the way.

Watch for competitors to launch or expand RIA-focused annuity lines, and for more asset managers to integrate guaranteed income into retirement vehicles.