Research & Reports
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from April, 2023
This commentary contains our coverage of noteworthy variable fund news from April, a time which was relatively slow in terms of filing activity, although there were a few significant developments…
Various Thoughts on Sales Trends and Product Pipeline Activity
In our view, industry sales trends of last year are continuing into this one, the upshot being that investors are still flocking to fixed annuities for their relative safety during a time of stock market...
Update: Variable Defined Outcome Portfolios
This spreadsheet concludes our coverage of variable defined outcome portfolios for 2022; during the fourth quarter 23 portfolios began reporting assets. At quarter’s end we counted 109 portfolios in operation which held $263.6 million in...
Wrapping Up Coverage of Defined Outcome Portfolios for 2022
Over the last quarter of 2022, the number of variable defined outcome portfolios in the industry continued to grow substantially, as did their assets under management. In this report we will conclude our reporting on...
Update: Variable ESG Portfolios
This spreadsheet concludes our coverage of variable Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) portfolios for 2022; at year end we counted 28 portfolios in operation, which held nearly $6.8 billion in assets…
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from March, 2023
This commentary contains our customary coverage of noteworthy variable fund filings from the prior month, and also includes some observations on trends in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) portfolios, citing data through the end of...
Initial Coverage: Notable VA Benefit Rate Sheet Changes in 2023
This spreadsheet commences our 2023 coverage of variable annuity rate sheet updates that involve noteworthy changes from the prior sheet as well as new benefit launches and closures; so far this year we have seen...
Commencing Coverage of VA Benefit Rate Sheet Updates in 2023
As our readers surely know by now, the majority of variable annuity living benefits these days have elements that can be changed periodically via rate sheet. For this reason, we have endeavored to keep track...
Various Thoughts on Annuity Sales Trends, Now That Q1 is Over
Final year-end 2022 annuity sales figures from LIMRA may have been out for some time now, but we have not yet weighed in on them, so in this commentary we will share what we think...