A new way to manage market volatility
Equitable’s Market Stabilizer Option® II (MSO II)
See how MSO II Indexed Options work
Watch this video to see how clients may benefit from equities' upside potential in up, flat and down markets, with the goal of providing some downside protection to manage volatility.
Video transcript: The market is pretty wild these days. It's up. It's down. It's up. It's down.
After many years of relative stability, Market volatility can be a lot to deal with when planning for your financial future.
The fact is everyone invests differently depending on their stage in life, available income, lifestyle, and appetite for risk versus reward. Having a level of protection against the market swings while still trying to make the most of it is essential.
At Equitable, we get how you feel and came up with a smarter way to manage volatility with our Market Stabilizer Option II. A suite of choices that give you upside potential whether the market is up, down, or flat along with a variety of downside protection buffers to
minimize risk.
It's all about more choice and more flexibility to be the type of investor you want to be, now or in the future. The Market Stabilizer Option offers different choices that best suit your investment strategy to manage volatility. The Standard, Step Up, and Dual Direction options.
With the standard indexed option you get upside return potential when the S&P 500 price return index is positive up to a cap along with varying levels of downside protection buffers of negative 10, negative 15 or negative 20%, each with its own growth cap rate.
Let's see when the index is up.
If it rises by 8% in this case, you'd see the full return of 8%. If the index goes up more than the growth cap rate, which in this case is 15% Then your return will equal the 15% cap rate - still a healthy return given the built-in protection.
Now, if the index is down by 12% for the year and you have a downside buffer of negative 10% this protects you from the first 10% of loss and your return is only negative 2%. If the index is down only nine percent, you're fully protected and your account remains steady with a zero percent return.
The Step-Up index option offers downside protection while providing a return equal to the growth cap rate whenever the index is flat or up. It even has the potential for a return to be stepped up higher than the index is actual return. So whether the market is flat at 0% or it rose to 5%, your return would step up to the growth cap rate of 15% we are using. Since you know your growth cap rate, you'll know exactly what your actual return could step up too.
The last option Dual Direction is quite unique in that it gives you upside potential returns whether the index is up or down in this scenario. The market is down with the return of negative 9% since this is within the negative 10% downside protection buffer, your account is credited with the Positive 9%, which is the absolute value of the index return. You can stay confident knowing if the index is down below the buffer we still protect up to negative 10 percent.
Whatever the market is doing on any given day shouldn't affect your long-term financial goals.
Equitable has a long history of innovating insurance.
We were the first to offer buffered investment options within VUL policies because we understand that the market changes and so do people's financial needs. That's also why we expanded our choices with the Market Stabilizer Option II now available with all Equitable individual.
VUL policies, whether you're aiming for cost-effective death benefits or maximizing total earnings our range of VUL's will satisfy your needs.
Talk to your Equitable representative today to help choose the VUL that's right for you.
Learn more about using strategies to manage market volatility
and our variable universal life insurance (VUL) with more than 85 investment options
Sales Desk:
(866) 545-1590
Monday–Friday,
8 a.m.–7 p.m. ET
Discover the innovation of Market Stabilizer Option® II
Our five buffered indexed options has the goal of providing some downside protection with competitive upside potential.
Equitable’s new options to manage market
volatility in variable universal life insurance
Equitable has designed a new way to manage market volatility in VUL and benefit from equities’ upside potential. With more than a decade of offering buffered indexed options in our VULs, we designed the new Market Stabilizer Option® II to provide your clients with more flexibility, choice, the upside potential of equities up to a cap with a goal of some downside protection with five buffered indexed options.
The performance of the Market Stabilizer Option® II is tied to the S&P 500® Price Return Index.
All Growth Cap Rates and index returns shown are hypothetical.
Three Standard options
Choose between -10%, -15% or -20% downside protection buffers with upside potential up to a cap.
When markets are down: The account provides 0% return (no loss) if the S&P 500® Price Return Index’s 1-year return is between 0% and the downside protection. If market volatility drives the index return lower than the downside protection rate, the account will be the index return less the downside protection rate selected.
When markets are up: The account would earn the S&P 500® Price Return Index’s 1-year return rate, up to the selected option’s declared Growth Cap Rate. Each protection buffer has its own Growth Cap Rate (lower protection buffers have higher Growth Cap Rates).
View current Growth Cap Rates.
The Step Up option
Potential for “stepped-up” return with -10% downside protection
When markets are down: No loss (0% return) if the index’s return is from 0% to 10%. If the index return is lower, the account will be the index return less the -10% downside protection buffer.
When markets are up: The 1-year account return is guaranteed to equal the Growth Cap Rate as long as the 1-year S&P 500® Price Return Index return is 0% or higher.
View current Growth Cap Rates.
The Dual Direction option
Downside protection of -10% and the potential for a positive MSO II return whether the S&P 500 index is up or down
When markets are down more than 10%: If the S&P 500® Price Return Index is lower than 10%, the return will reflect the index rate less the downside protection buffer of 10%
When markets are down 0% to -10%: For S&P 500® Price Return Index performance lower than 0% and up to -10%, the 1-year account return is the absolute value (e.g. -5% results in +5% MSO II return).
When markets are up: When the S&P 500® Price Return Index performance is equal to or greater than 0%, the account return is equal to 1-year index return up to the cap.
View current Growth Cap Rates.
Our Market Stabilizer Option® II is available with all our individual VULs
Equitable was the first to pioneer variable life insurance and the first to offer buffered strategies in VULs with our innovative Market Stabilizer Option®. Learn more about investing in equities’ upside potential with the goal of providing some downside protection through our range of variable universal life insurance products.
VUL Optimizer®or VUL Optimizer® Max
Focus on tax-deferred account value accumulation, potential tax-free income and death benefit protection.
Learn more about VUL Optimizer®
Learn more about VUL Optimizer® Max
VUL Legacy®
Provides cost-effective protection, reduces taxes and potentially grows money more quickly over time.
COIL Institutional Seriessm
Designed for high early cash surrender values with accumulation of tax-advantaged capital for personal retirement or to support corporate and key person retention plans. For qualifying professionals, higher income wage earners and business owners.
Equitable Advantage Maxsm
Provides tax-deferred growth, potential tax-free income and death benefit protection.
Protect your clients from market volatility with
our MSO II investment strategy
Choice
Choose from different levels of downside protection during periods of market volatility and crediting features.
Protection
The objective is to reduce market losses during periods of market volatility and recover more quickly from downturns.
Flexibility
Customize portfolios by selecting MSO II indexed options for some protection from volatility and have additional variable investment options with uncapped upside potential.Get ahead of the competition with the
Market Stabilizer Option® II
Our variable universal life insurance with MSO II provides these benefits for your clients:
Learn more about how our innovative suite of VULs with the MSO II Indexed Options can help your clients.
Contact our Sales Desk today at
(866) 545-1590, Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–7 p.m. ET.
Client materials
Below you can find resources you can share with your clients to start the conversation about market volatility.
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Documents to view or email to clients
- MSO II brochure: Use in all states except IN, MA, MD, NJ, NY, OR, VA, WA
- MSO II History as a guide flyer: Use in all states except IN, MA, MD, NJ, NY, OR, VA, WA
- MSO brochure: Only use in IN, MA, MD, NJ, OR, VA, WA
- MSO brochure for Equitable Advantage Maxsm: Use only in IN, MA, MD, NJ, OR, VA, WA
- Addressing market volatility concerns flyer
- ALI and Equitable cobranded article on 5 questions clients should ask about market volatility
- Downturns and recoveries: A Morningstar report
- Emotional cycle of the market flyer
- Equitable strengths and stability
- What can Time teach us about investing? brochure
- Worried about volatility? flyer
Financial professional materials
For financial professional materials please log in to equitable.com
1 The Market Stabilizer Option® II Indexed Options are available with new issues of VUL Optimizer®, VUL Optimizer® Max, COIL Institutional Seriessm, VUL Legacy®, Equitable Advantagesm and Equitable Advantage Maxsm policies, subject to state approvals.
Please be advised this web page is not intended as legal or tax advice. Accordingly, any tax information provided is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. The tax information was written to support the promotion or marketing of the transaction(s) or matter(s) addressed, and clients should seek advice based on their particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor. Neither Equitable Financial, Equitable America or its affiliates provide legal or tax advice.
Variable universal life insurance and the MSO II are sold by prospectus only. Be sure your clients review the current prospectus for complete details, including investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, limitations and restrictions. Please be sure your clients read the product prospectuses and consider the information carefully before purchasing a policy or sending money. You can find a copy of the prospectus at equitable.com.
A variable universal life insurance contract is a contract with the primary purpose of providing a death benefit. It is also a long-term financial investment that can also allow potential accumulation of assets through customized, professionally managed investment portfolios. These portfolios are closely managed in order to satisfy stated investment objectives. There are fees and charges associated with variable life insurance contracts, including mortality and risk charges, administrative fees, investment management fees, front-end load, surrender charges and charges for optional riders.
Life insurance products are issued by Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company (NY, NY) or Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company of America, an Arizona stock corporation, and are distributed by Equitable Advisors, LLC (member FINRA, SIPC) (Equitable Financial Advisors in MI & TN) and Equitable Distributors, LLC, 1290 Avenue of Americas, NY, NY 10104. Equitable America is not licensed to conduct business in New York and Puerto Rico. When sold by New York state-based (i.e., domiciled) Equitable Advisors Financial Professionals, variable universal life insurance products are issued by Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company (NY, NY). Equitable Financial and Equitable America are separate companies, and each insurance company has sole responsibility for its life insurance obligations. The MSO II is an indexed linked option available with single life variable universal life insurance policies issued by Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company (NY, NY) and Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company of America.
References to Equitable in this document represent both Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company and Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company of America, which are affiliated companies. Overall, Equitable is the brand name of the retirement and protection subsidiaries of Equitable Holdings, Inc., including Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company (Equitable Financial) (NY. NY); Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company of America (Equitable America), an AZ stock company; and Equitable Distributors. LLC. Equitable Advisors is the brand name of Equitable Advisors. LLC (member FINRA, SIPC) (Equitable Financial Advisors in MI & TN). The obligations of Equitable Financial and Equitable America are backed solely by their claims-paying abilities.
