Products & Services June 25, 2025

Despite Fintech Advances, Users Remain Reluctant to Try New Products

A Nationwide survey also found that annuity sellers want a simplified suitability process and better digital tools for accepting and managing applications.

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Financial professionals who sell annuities are reluctant to change their software and financial technology systems or look for more options, according to a recent Nationwide survey.

The three most common types of software and fintech platforms used are planning software (73%), customer relationship management platforms (62%) and performance reporting software (56%), according to the survey conducted online by the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. and Zeldis Research.

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Respondents said they mostly get access to these programs through their firms or third-party providers, according to the survey. More than half of those surveyed said CRM and specialized planning tools come from third parties, while compliance, forms management and fee billing platforms were the three most likely to be proprietary.

Despite significant fintech development, only 30% of survey respondents said they were extremely or very open to new software or fintech platforms; 45% said they were somewhat open, and 25% said they were only a little open or not at all open to changing platforms.

Even with the uptick in technology platforms usage, according to the survey summary, gaps remain in tasks those platforms do not adequately address. Financial professionals were asked what types of solutions would improve the annuity sales process for themselves and their customers. The three most common responses were a simplified suitability process (61%), accepting new business applications digitally (49%) and online capabilities to track pending business applications (38%).

Nationwide Aligning Business Structure

Craig Hawley, president of Nationwide Annuity, said in a statement that gaps in platform solutions that support the sale of annuities are an issue the industry is actively addressing and that “it’s one of the reasons Nationwide is configuring and integrating a new policy administration system” for its annuity business.

This new system will enable the company to improve both digital business tools and processes, as well as prioritizing simplicity and allowing a “more efficient experience” for its partners, according to Hawley.

Hawley also noted that financial professionals may not know that industry groups, including the Insured Retirement Institute, are working to shape and define the annuity industry’s digital standards. That lock of knowledge leads them to feel their concerns are not being addressed, according to Hawley. This belief was evident in the results of the survey, with two-thirds of respondents claiming they are “only somewhat or a little open to exploring new or additional Fintech platforms.”

By looking for and leveraging more digital tools, Hawley said financial professionals will be able to stand out and “create a more efficient and personalized” experience for their customers.
The Markets June 25, 2025

Private Equity Sponsors ‘Cautious’ Amid Market Uncertainty

A Churchill Asset Management survey found PE firms remain cautiously optimistic about the outlook for dealmaking, exits and returns.

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Although macroeconomic ambiguity has put capital markets on a temporary pause, U.S. middle market private equity firms are still cautiously optimistic about the outlook for dealmaking, exits and returns, according to a recent survey from Churchill Asset Management, an affiliate of Nuveen.

The survey polled 164 senior leaders from Churchill’s private equity relationships “to gauge sentiment in today’s market environment and how these perspectives are influencing investment decisions.”

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According to the survey, more than half of respondents predict normalized M&A activity in the first half of 2026, and one-quarter expect normalization as early as the second half of this year.

Congruent with this outlook, when asked how many exits they predict over the next 12 months, 42% of respondents noted two, with more than one-third (34%) eyeing three or more.

Further, the survey found expectations for returns equally strong, with more than 90% of respondents projecting 2025 base-case returns to match or exceed those from 2024.

‘The Power of Relationships’

Middle market private equity firms remain “confident” in their capacity to sustain strong returns and attractive deal flow, according to Churchill’s vice chairman of investor solutions, Randy Schwimmer.

Schwimmer said in a statement that quality deals for well-performing assets in non-cyclical sectors such as business and financial services are still being completed, also noting that “the power of relationships has never been more apparent.”

Survey respondents picked “relationships” and “speed and certainty” as top priorities when selecting a financing partner.

Continuation Vehicles Remain Viable

In the last two years, 95% of respondents used a senior lending strategy for portfolio companies. Other popular approaches were equity co-investment (85%) and junior capital (60%), according to the survey.

While most private equity leaders said they will maintain their current approach amid today’s investment environment, senior lending and continuation vehicles remain particularly popular. About one-third (36%) of sponsors said their appetite for senior lending has increased, followed by 33% for CVs and 30% for equity co-investments.

CVs are also gaining traction as a “strategic mainstay” for PE firms, the survey found. Among those that employed CVs in the last two years, 88% named retaining high-value “trophy” assets and providing liquidity to limited partners as their main motivations.

Notably, the adoption of this strategy looks resilient. The survey found that 79% of respondents said that even if the M&A environment improves and interest rates decline, the chances of pursuing a CV would either remain unchanged or would increase.

A Strategic Allocation Shift

Tariff pressures and political uncertainty are also resulting in a strategic allocation shift among general partners, according to the survey.

GPs expect to increase investments in sectors deemed more resilient, including business services (42%), utilities/environmental (19%) and financial services (17%).

Conversely, there has been a noticeable departure from consumer goods (-17%) and automotives (-12%), “as sponsors deem these sectors more vulnerable in the current economic climate.”

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