MetLife targets IFAs with new super products

The MetLife Max product suite will be distributed nationally through independent financial advisers and has been designed to provide investors with a retirement investment plan from age 45.

Three of the MetLife Max products combine growth-oriented investments with a MetLife guarantee tailored to each product type and low ongoing fees when compared to similar products.

“With MetLife Max, if investors choose a product with a guarantee, they can transfer some market risk to MetLife and retain access to growth, while also benefiting from low ongoing fees,” MetLife head of retirement solutions Ashvin Arora said.

“In developing MetLife Max, our priority was to deliver affordable products that meet the needs of Australian investors,” Mr Arora said.

“For MetLife, that meant shaping an investment strategy that would provide growth and protection from negative market trajectories, guarantees that provided certainty, and ongoing fees, including guarantee fees, below 2 per cent,” he said.

“We expect MetLife Max will receive a positive response from the market.”

The products were developed in response to investor concern following losses suffered on retirement savings during the GFC, and continued market volatility and poor returns since then, Mr Arora said, adding that the products address a growing aversion to steep fees.

MetLife Max includes an account-based annuity product - the Lifetime Growth Annuity - offering investors a lifetime income guaranteed not to reduce below the minimum monthly income payments calculated at commencement (in the absence of a lump sum withdrawal).

“Strong investment performance can mean Lifetime Growth Annuity income payments increase, potentially giving investors a buffer against inflation,” Mr Arora said.