MarketValue Index review

Depends on the buyer. For someone who wants a fully principal-protected, 10-year accumulation vehicle with meaningful crediting flexibility and doesn't need an income rider, this is a reasonable annuity — the death benefit and accumulation-value guarantees are genuinely competitive. For someone who wants shorter liquidity, a lifetime income guarantee, or a carrier with a top-tier financial strength rating, this isn't the right fit.

The rational case for MarketValue Index is accumulation with real downside protection and an unusually low barrier to entry — $10,000 gets you in, well below the $25,000-plus minimums common at this surrender length. Someone who wants to spread money across several index-crediting approaches inside one contract, rather than picking a single cap rate and living with it, gets that here. The optional buy-up strategies also give more hands-on buyers a way to trade a known annual cost for a higher ceiling on gains. And the enhanced death benefit — full accumulation value, no surrender charge or MVA at death — makes this a defensible choice for someone who also cares about what's left for heirs.

I think this product is best for someone in their 50s to mid-60s who has non-qualified or qualified retirement dollars they won't need for a full decade, wants principal protection with index-linked growth potential, and isn't looking for a guaranteed income stream from this specific contract. It's a reasonable fit for someone consolidating a modest sum ($10,000-$50,000) who wants more crediting flexibility than a basic MYGA offers. It's a poor fit for anyone who might need more than 10% of their money in the first few years, or who is shopping specifically for a lifetime income rider — this product doesn't offer one, full stop.

You're not buying stock market exposure. You're buying an insurance contract that credits interest based on the movement of an external index — the S&P 500 and three others — using formulas (caps, participation rates, or a performance trigger) that limit how much of any index gain you actually receive. In exchange, your principal is protected from index losses: a flat or negative index year credits zero interest to that strategy, not a loss. The "buy-up" versions of some strategies aren't a better deal by default — they carry a 1.00% annual fee that applies whether or not the index moves in your favor, so the higher cap or participation rate has to be worth paying for that risk every single year.

MarketValue Index offers ten crediting strategies split across four indices: the S&P 500, the S&P 500 Dynamic Intraday TCA Index, the S&P MARC 5% Excess Return Index, and the Barclays Focus50 Index. Strategies include 1-year point-to-point cap and participation approaches (each with a standard and a buy-up version), a 1-year point-to-point performance trigger, monthly averaging and monthly point-to-point designs, and two 2-year strategies. As of the March 2026 rate sheet, point-to-point caps on S&P 500 strategies ran 9.25%-12.00% and participation rates ran 70%-225% depending on strategy and index, with select strategies carrying a 1.00% spread instead of a cap. A traditional fixed account is also available, crediting 5.00% as of the same date. Every strategy resets annually or every two years depending on term length, so none of these rates are locked for the life of the contract — they reset to whatever EquiTrust is offering at each renewal, which can move up or down.

The most useful secondary feature here isn't a rider you pay for — it's what EquiTrust builds in at no cost. A Nursing Home Waiver (issue ages 0-80) waives surrender charges and MVA after a 90-day qualifying confinement, and a Terminal Illness Rider lets any owner access up to 75% of accumulation value after a one-year waiting period, also without penalty. Neither costs anything extra, and both function as a release valve if health circumstances change mid-contract. Paired with the enhanced death benefit — heirs receive full accumulation value with no surrender charge or MVA deduction — this product treats "what happens if things go wrong" more generously than a bare-bones accumulation FIA does.

After the first contract year, you can withdraw up to 10% of the prior anniversary's accumulation value each year without penalty. In year one, only systematic interest withdrawals from the 1-Year Interest Account are free — a real restriction if you need access to any principal in the first twelve months. Withdrawals beyond the free amount trigger both the surrender charge shown above and a market value adjustment (MVA), which can move the penalty up or down with prevailing interest rates. Several states use different, generally gentler schedules — a reduced 10-year schedule tops out at 9% in states like TX, PA, and OH, and California uses a 9-year schedule with MVA waived entirely. The brochure materials didn't specify any RMD-specific surrender-charge relief, which some competing products spell out explicitly — if RMDs are a near-term concern, confirm the treatment directly with EquiTrust before purchase. Note also that in Texas, annuitization after year one currently isn't available under company practice, which narrows the income-conversion path in that state specifically.

There's no explicit annual base-contract fee disclosed in the materials — typical for an FIA, where the cost of principal protection is embedded in the caps and participation rates rather than billed as a line item. The one real, visible fee is the optional buy-up: 1.00% annually, guaranteed for the life of the contract, applied whether or not the underlying strategy credits any interest that year. That's the trade to weigh carefully — a buy-up strategy has to outperform its standard counterpart by more than 1 percentage point most years to be worth the fee. Beyond that, the tradeoffs are structural: caps and participation rates limit upside compared to direct index exposure, the ten-strategy menu takes real effort to compare and rebalance across, and the 10-year, front-loaded surrender schedule is longer than the 5-7 year products many buyers in this price range are also considering.

Legal Entity: EquiTrust Life Insurance Company

Parent: Magic Johnson Enterprises (controlling interest)

A.M. Best Rating: B++