Federal Life Insurance Company, an Illinois-domestic carrier with a history dating back to 1899, today announced a first of its kind private placement variable annuity (PPVA) which provides broad exposure to bitcoin and ether.
The Company has formed an Insurance Dedicated Fund (IDF) to support the PPVA which will allow investment advisers on behalf of their clients, to allocate a portion of their variable annuity contract to a portfolio made up substantially of bitcoin, ether and other crypto assets. This private placement product is available to accredited investors and will provide advisers with a one-of-a-kind resource to offer clients who are looking for alternative ways to gain exposure to the evolving digital currency space.
“In today’s environment, where the digital currency market cap has exceeded USD2 trillion, there is no denying that investors are looking to evolve and gain exposure to this dynamic asset class. We have merged the appetite for digital currency with a familiar and proven product in the tax-efficient variable annuity. With an estimated 13.6 million accredited investor households in the US, many of whom are already attentive to the digital currency space, we can aid the advisor market in delivering a unique solution to fit their clients’ needs,” says Bill Austin, CEO of Federal Life Insurance Company.
The Company has partnered with digital currency firms Gemini and Onramp to hold and trade coins, as well as WisdomTree to provide investment allocation design to the IDF.
“Our goal for Onramp was to be exactly that, an easy way for legacy institutions to onboard and experience the utility of cryptoassets. We expected that our model portfolios with Wisdom Tree would provide easy access for traditional asset managers and this accomplishment is exemplary of that. As such a young company we are humbled to play a small part in Federal Life breaking ground with this landmark annuity offering,” says Tyronne Ross, CEO Onramp Invest.
Will Peck, WisdomTree Head of Digital Assets, says: “WisdomTree has been excited to collaborate with Onramp to provide model portfolios that combine traditional assets like stocks and bonds with crypto assets like bitcoin and ether as educational building blocks for advisors and institutions. WisdomTree’s customised model portfolios for Federal Life showcases that crypto assets are finding reach beyond the original early adopters and slowly gravitating towards institutional investors and advisers. We congratulate Federal Life on being an innovator in the insurance and variable annuity channel for these crypto exposures by leveraging WisdomTree model portfolios.”
Federal Life Insurance Company intends to launch its private placement variable annuity nationwide during the 4th Quarter of 2021, partnering with a broad range of advisor firms to deliver a solution to the vast market of consumers who are looking for alternative investment and retirement solutions.
“We are excited and proud, for a company with a legacy dating back over 120 years, to be on the cutting edge of where insurance and digital currency meet and we look forward to committing long-term to our advisor partners and our clients, as we continue to evolve and deliver innovative products,” says Austin.
