MyRock Advisor (NY) review

It depends on why you are shopping. As a low-cost, liquid, tax-deferred investment wrapper inside a fee-based advisory relationship, it is a good fit. As a retirement-income or principal-protection tool, it is not — those features simply are not part of this contract. The value here is the tax deferral and the clean cost structure, not any insurance guarantee.

The rational reason to buy MyRock Advisor (NY) is tax-deferred growth on money you have already exhausted other shelters for — after maxing a 401(k) and IRA, for example. Because it is an advisory (fee-based) product with no surrender period, your advisor can move money in and out without triggering charges, which makes it behave more like a brokerage account with a tax-deferral overlay. The low base cost is what makes that overlay worth paying for. You would choose this over a taxable account when deferral matters and over a guaranteed annuity when you specifically do not want to pay for guarantees you will not use.

I think this is best for an investor — typically 45 to 65, still accumulating, comfortable with market risk — who works with a fee-only advisor and has non-qualified money that has outgrown other tax-advantaged accounts. It suits someone who values liquidity and wants their advisor to manage the underlying portfolio actively. It is a poor fit for anyone who needs guaranteed lifetime income, wants downside protection, or does not have an advisory relationship — and since it is only approved in New York, it is irrelevant to buyers in other states.

Strip away the word "annuity" and this is a tax-deferred investment account. Your premium buys units in variable subaccounts — mutual-fund-like portfolios spanning stocks, bonds, and blended strategies — and your account value moves with their performance, up or down, with no floor. Unlike a fixed or indexed annuity, there is no crediting formula, no cap, and no participation rate shaping your return; you simply get the market result of the funds you choose, minus fees. The "annuity" benefits you are paying the insurance company for are the tax deferral on gains and the death benefit, not any guarantee on your principal.

The core engine is the variable subaccount menu — roughly 89 options according to the brochure materials. You and your advisor allocate premium across these subaccounts, and the account value reflects their daily performance. Net subaccount fees run from about 0.09% to 0.89%, layered on top of the base contract charge, with an additional 0.35% Fund Facilitation Fee applying to 31 specific funds. On top of that sits the base contract charge: 0.40% total (0.25% mortality and expense plus 0.15% administration) for net premiums under $1 million, dropping to 0.25% total (0.10% M&E plus 0.15% administration) once net premiums reach $1 million or more. Because there is no surrender period, you can reallocate or exit at any time without a contract-level charge — you get up to 20 free transfers a year, then $10 per transfer after that.

The optional Return of Adjusted Purchase Payments death benefit is the most meaningful add-on. For 0.10% assessed daily against account value, it guarantees your beneficiaries receive the greater of the current account value or total premiums paid (reduced proportionally for withdrawals). In plain terms, it protects your heirs from a down market at the moment of death — if your investments have fallen below what you put in, the death benefit still pays back your premiums. Without it, the death benefit is simply the account value, market losses and all. Whether the 0.10% is worth it depends on how much legacy protection matters to you; for a younger accumulator it is a small cost, for an older buyer it can be genuinely valuable.

There is no surrender schedule. This is an RIA / I-share style contract built with no contingent deferred sales charge, so you can withdraw your account value at any time without a contract-level penalty. That is the headline liquidity advantage over a commission-based variable annuity. Standard caveats still apply: withdrawals are subject to ordinary income tax on gains and, before age 59½, a potential 10% IRS penalty, and any withdrawal is taken at the then-current market value, so selling after a downturn locks in losses. Required minimum distributions are accommodated. The practical point is that liquidity is not the constraint here — market risk is.

The fee stack is the whole story. The base contract charge is low for a variable annuity — 0.40% under $1 million and 0.25% above it — and there is no surrender charge to recover commissions, which is the defining feature of the fee-based design. On top of that you pay the net subaccount fees (about 0.09% to 0.89%), the 0.35% Fund Facilitation Fee on 31 of the funds, the optional 0.10% death-benefit charge if you elect it, and a $50 annual contract fee that is waived once account value reaches $100,000. Stacked together, an all-in cost in the 0.6%–1.3% range is realistic depending on fund selection — reasonable for an advisory VA, but a real drag compounding against market returns over time. The trade is straightforward: you accept those layered fees and full market risk in exchange for tax deferral and complete liquidity.

Legal Entity: Pruco Life Insurance Company of New Jersey

Parent: Prudential Insurance Company of America

A.M Best Rating: A+