Research & Reports
Thoughts on the Annuity Value Proposition as Q2 Results Come In
As we write this, second quarter earnings season for insurers is well underway and, by most accounts, we can look forward to very positive news from most players, as early indications are that sales of...
Covering Filings of New VA Contracts and Living Benefit Riders
Now that the year is nearly half over, we thought it would be a great time to get caught up with new variable annuities and guaranteed living benefits (GLBs) that have been registered with the...
Our Year-End Comments on How the Industry Performed In 2021
Each year we devote our last commentary to a consideration of how the U.S. annuity business performed – mostly on the variable annuity side, as it still is our primary focus – however over time...
Random Thoughts on the Business, as Summer Draws to a Close
Now that we’ve reached the weekend and are, for the most part, caught up with annuity product developments, in this commentary we’ll share our thoughts on some topics we think are of most interest to...
More From the Pipeline – Including an Index Annuity With Floors
Well, things have been heating up along the annuity product pipeline, that’s for sure, and what we’re seeing reflects priorities and preferences around the industry. Much activity of late has centered around registered index-linked annuities...
Newer Products Blur Distinctions Between RILAs, Other Annuities
Lately the surging sales of registered index-linked annuities (RILAs) have led insurers and other financial firms to join the bandwagon and come up with variations on them. We’re not sure whether all these new designs...
Notes From the VA Contract Pipeline – And Some New Rider Filings
In this report we’ll get caught up with recent developments along the variable annuity product pipeline and touch on pre-effective amendments to new contracts that have launched or will soon, as well as some new...
An Update Regarding Recent Variable Annuity Product Filings
In recent weeks we’ve seen an uptick in product filings coming through around the variable annuity industry, including new contracts, guaranteed benefits and other changes that we’ll cover in this commentary…
An Update on New VA Contracts and GLWBs Filed This Year
In this report we’ll get caught up with new variable annuity contracts and guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits (GLWBs) filed with the SEC so far this year. In our view, industry filing activity in 2017 has...