No. Some investment companies sell annuities without charging a sales commission or a surrender charge. These are called direct-sold annuities, because unlike an annuity sold by a traditional insurance company, there is no insurance agent involved. With the agent out of the picture there is no need to charge a commission. Firms that sell low-cost annuities include Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, T. Rowe Price, Ameritas Life and TIAA-CREF.
