Research & Reports
No Summer Vacation for Product Development in the Variable Business
During the summer the rate of new features, tweaks and modifications to variable annuities tends to slow down, but the past couple of months have contained enough meaningful filings to keep us quite occupied, and...
An Ongoing Task: Evaluating VA Net Flows and Their Utility for the Industry
Since the topic has been on the minds of our contacts and colleagues, in this report we’re going explore the topic of variable annuity net flows, a measurement somewhat controversial when introduced to the industry...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from May, 2007
After reviewing variable fund filings from the month of May we found, as usual, interesting new registrations plus numerous changes and adjustments to fees and expenses, sub-advisors and other matters. Of particular note were some...
From Flat to Just Slightly Up: VA Insurers See Moderate Sales in Q1
For the publicly-traded variable annuity insurers we track on a quarterly basis, 2007 seemed to start off on a slow note, at least on a sequential basis: a few companies saw modest increases in sales...
Continuing the Discussion: VA Industry Issues Informing Product Designs
With this commentary we’ll follow up on our previous report by reflecting on some important themes in the variable annuity industry and how they are intimately connected to the products, features and funds being marketed...
Keeping Up With the Fast-Paced Variable Annuity Industry Landscape
In this report we’ll pause to consider the “moving and shaking” going on in variable annuities over the first quarter and suggest key themes impacting the industry, adding that it’s likely the pace of product,...
Public Insurers’ Q4 VA Results Point to Overall Improvement for the Industry
For the fourth quarter of 2006 variable annuity sales grew for all the publicly-traded insurers we track, reflecting the experience of the industry as a whole, which we hear rebounded from the lackluster sales of...
Insurers Adjust VA Living Benefits for Competitive Advantage, Protection
Based on new filings we’re seeing, the variable annuity living benefit “arms race” has not subsided but rather continues in 2007 with richer guarantees coming out, however we must add that at the same time,...
Seeing VA Business Priorities Revealed Through Public Insurers’ Q3 Results
The third quarter was a mixed bag for the nine major public variable insurers we regularly track, as all saw sales levels fall sequentially, but apparently these companies don’t feel the results were troubling and...
