Research & Reports
We Suspect VA Industry Sales Were Probably Down Again in 1Q16
We just finished conducting our review of first quarter results of publicly-traded insurers we monitor regularly, and for all of them, variable annuity sales fell, thus we suspect the industry experienced a similar result…
More Thoughts on Recent Variable Annuity Prospectus Updates, Changes
In our view, variable annuity product filing activity is still rather slow compared to prior years, so for that reason we’ll devote this report to touching on just a few developments, some which we have...
Jackson National Files New Variable Annuity for Fee-Based Advisors
This week we’ll discuss a new variable annuity filed by Jackson National designed to be sold through fee-based advisors, which may be an indication that new Department of Labor fiduciary rules – set to come...
Puzzling Out Meanings Within Recent VA Contract and Rider Filings
In this commentary we’ll discuss some variable annuity product filings with the SEC from recent weeks that we found interesting, some of which, we’ll admit, have elements we are not yet totally clear on…
Insurers are Preparing VA Product Changes for May – and Beyond
In recent SEC filings we’ve seen interesting variable annuity developments scheduled to take place either during the May prospectus update season – typically the time when insurers update or launch new products – or even...
Tendencies We Noticed – in VA Product Filings and Changes in 2015
In this report we’ll reflect on variable annuity product activity that occurred during 2015, and suggest whether or not similar patterns might continue into this year – and beyond…
Notes on New Variable Annuity Contracts Filed Recently With the SEC
This report will cover a number of new variable annuity contracts registered last week, which to us provide evidence that the industry product pipeline is beginning to pick up…
VA Product Update – Covering Filings From Late Last Year, Into 2016
In this report we’ll get caught up with variable annuity product filings from the past few months that we found interesting. In the batch we saw multiple instances where insurers sought to add rate sheet...
On 2015: A Time of Shifting Realities For the Variable Annuity Business
Each year we provide, with our last issue of December, a quick rundown of how the variable annuity business performed so far, from our perspective, and a few forward-looking thoughts for the New Year. While...