DPL, Offering Commission-Free Annuities, Gets $23M in Funding

DPL Financial Partners LLC, which offers advisers access to commission-free annuities, has gotten a $23 million nod of approval from insurance investors.

DPL announced Tuesday a Series C funding round led by Eos Venture Partners Ltd. and TIAA Ventures, the venture capital arm of retirement income and investment management provider TIAA.

The funding round is the first that includes insurers, DPL noted, which CEO and Founder David Lau touted as backing for its unique model for registered investment advisers to sell annuities through a fee-based model, rather than on commission.

“Having the support of leading insurers validates our business thesis, and we are aligned in our commitment to bring disruptive products and technology to market that empower advisors as fiduciaries and put investors first,” Lau said in a statement.

TIAA Chief Investment Officer Wayne Baker expressed the investment arm’s backing of the “disruptive and innovative platform for lifetime income.”

DPL did not break out the amount provided by each investor for the funding round, which was oversubscribed.

Earlier this year, the Department of Labor embarked on an effort to bring the sale of annuities, as retirement income vehicles, under national fiduciary guidelines via its Retirement Security Rule to ensure clients were getting fiduciary-level advice and avoid conflicts of interest from commission-based sales.

The effort saw major pushback from insurers, many of whom argued that regulations for annuity sales are already in place at the state level and that advisers are already regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation Best Interest. Some of those insurers were part of lawsuits filed in federal district courts in Texas, where the new fiduciary rule was ultimately stayed, with the DOL’s appeal still pending.

Retail annuity sales, meanwhile, have reached new heights due in part to higher interest rates, which allows buyers to lock in relatively strong returns. Even with lower rates in the second half of 2024, insurance association LIMRA reported last week that total annuity sales increased 30% year over year to $114.7 billion in 2024’s third quarter. Fixed-indexed and registered index-linked annuities, often used for guaranteed retirement income, hit new records in the quarter.

“While interest rates have declined, heightened market uncertainty will likely continue to draw investors seeking principal protection and guaranteed growth,” Bryan Hodgens, LIMRA’s senior vice president and head of research, said in a statement. “LIMRA expects annuity sales to set a new record in 2024.”

DPL offers RIAs a platform on which to sell fee-based annuities, including tools to compare options against each other and other fixed-income investments. The firm works with insurance carriers Allianz, American Life, Ameritas, ASPIDA, Corebridge Financial, Equitable, Guaranty Income Life Insurance Co. and Integrity Life Insurance Co., according to its website.

Eos Ventures Principal Galen Shaffer will join DPL’s board of directors with the investment, according to the announcement.

“We’ve been impressed by DPL’s growth trajectory and leadership position in connecting RIAs with fee-based annuities,” Shaffer said in a statement. “As a firm, we’ve wrestled with the ‘annuity puzzle’ and we envision a future where technology, transparency, and fiduciary alignment can enable more individuals to access better income protection.”