Fixed Indexed Annuity

OrionShield 9

AuguStar Financial

7.6%

Best Cap

10%

Free W/D

California

Only state

Product data status: May 29, 2026

Rates, state availability, rider terms, and contract language must be confirmed with a licensed financial advisor or insurance professional before purchase. Guarantees are backed by the issuing insurer.

Live product data

Rates as of May 29, 2026, based on the latest AdvisorWorld scan of CANNEX data.

S&P 500 annual point-to-point cap

7.6% cap on S&P 500

An accumulation-focused, A-rated, 9-year fixed indexed annuity from AuguStar Financial filed only in California — the CA DOI 9-year-surrender sibling of OrionShield 10 — built around a no-fee S&P 500 annual point-to-point cap plus a daily-credited fixed account and a wide menu of proprietary participation-rate strategies, with no income rider attached.

1-year termAdvisorWorld + CANNEX data

Best fit

California residents committing to a 9-year deferral who want a recognizable no-fee S&P 500 cap alongside a wide menu of proprietary participation-rate strategies from an A-rated carrier, and who are comfortable with an accumulation-only contract whose only attached rider is a Guaranteed Accumulation Protection (GMAV) floor rather than a lifetime-income guarantee.

AM Best

A Excellent

Surrender period

9 years

Free withdrawal

10%/yr

Availability

California only

Featured crediting strategies

Caps, participation rates, and declared rates are shown separately.

Index / strategyRate mechanicsTermPremium

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

7.6% cap rate

Rate varies by premium band.

1-year term

Up to $150,000

Fixed Account

3.25% declared rate

Rate varies by premium band.

1-year term

Up to $150,000

+ 5 volatility-controlled index options (Nasdaq Night, S&P 500, Balanced...)

Product analyst notes

How to think about this contract

Why it can stand out

Crediting menu includes a recognizable S&P 500 annual point-to-point cap with no strategy fee attached, so this contract gives a buyer at least one clean like-for-like comparison line against other FIAs on this site rather than only proprietary participation-rate strategies.
Underneath the S&P 500 cap, the index menu reaches across several distinct alternative families — Nasdaq Night Owl, an S&P 500 Dynamic Intraday TCA excess-return index, a Dynamic Balanced Asset 10 Index, a Strategic Dynamic Balanced Asset 8 Index, and a Multi-Asset Dynamic Managed 5 Index — giving the buyer multiple participation-rate paths in addition to the cap line.
A daily-credited fixed account is offered alongside the index strategies, so a buyer who wants to park part of premium in a non-indexed sleeve can do so inside the same contract rather than splitting carriers.
The contract publishes contractual minimum-guarantee floors — a minimum cap, a minimum participation rate, and a minimum fixed-account interest rate — so the renewal-rate downside is bounded by something a buyer can read up front.

What to confirm

This contract is filed only in California — it is the 9-year-surrender CA-specific filing of the same OrionShield chassis. Buyers outside California cannot purchase this contract; the 50-jurisdiction sibling (ex-NY) is OrionShield 10 (orionshield-10), which carries the same crediting menu on a 10-year surrender period instead.
This is an accumulation-only fixed indexed annuity. The incomeRiders array is empty in the live feed and the contract has no Protected Income Value chassis — the only attached rider is a Guaranteed Accumulation Protection (GMAV) feature, which protects an account-value floor at end of term, not lifetime withdrawals. Do not buy this contract for a guaranteed lifetime income stream.
Most of the non-S&P index options are proprietary volatility-controlled or excess-return indexes. Their participation rates can look high in absolute terms but are not directly comparable to an S&P 500 cap, and several have shorter live-track histories than the S&P 500 itself — evaluate each on its own merits rather than the headline participation number alone.
Surrender lockup runs nine years with a market-value adjustment on amounts above the annual free-withdrawal allowance, and the standard death benefit on this contract pays cash surrender value rather than account value or a rolled-up income base — early exits or a death-during-surrender event can deliver materially less than a buyer might expect from a competing contract.

Not ideal for

Buyers outside California (the 50-jurisdiction sibling OrionShield 10 is the matching chassis on a 10-year surrender), buyers who need a contractually guaranteed lifetime withdrawal rate from a GLWB rider or a built-in Protected Income Value chassis, buyers who want a plain MYGA-style declared rate, buyers who need short-surrender liquidity, and buyers who require an account-value-based death benefit — none of those are what this contract is built to deliver.

All crediting strategies

View rate listings (14 rows)

These are the current crediting strategy listings returned for this product. Use the filters to narrow by index, term, premium band, or rate type.

Par: 49% · 1-yr

S&P 500 Dynamic Intraday TCA Index (USD) ER

participation

9-yr surrenderUp to $149,999.9

Par: 138% · 1-yr

Multi-Asset Dynamic Managed 5 Index

participation