Short takes: Jackson National Offering More-Liquid Fixed Annuity

Jackson National Life has begun offering bank customers a fixed annuity designed to be more liquid than traditional annuities.

The annuity, dubbed Pathfinder, guarantees investors fixed rates for up to 10 years. The guaranteed period and the contract end simultaneously, and investors can cash out without a penalty.

In most fixed annuities, rates are guaranteed for a few years, after which investors are left to ride out the contract, or be slapped with hefty fines should they opt to cash out.

Brad Powell, president of the Lansing, Mich.-based firm's institutional marketing group, said the fact that term of the Pathfinder's contract expires when the fixed-rate period ends gives investors a greater measure of certainty.

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