
Research & Reports
DOL Rule-Related Takeaways from the Retirement Industry Conference
Last week we attended the annual LIMRA/LOMA/SOA Retirement Industry Conference, held in Orlando, Florida, and in this report we’ll share some thoughts on a topic that was much discussed throughout the event – the Department...
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...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from March, 2017
This report covers notable variable fund developments from the last month, a time in which we saw no new registrations, but a good amount of filings that made changes to investment platforms…
Thinking About the Variable Annuity Business in 2016 – and Beyond
Not long ago industry research firms released full-year 2016 variable annuity sales data, thus in this report we’ll give our thoughts on what the numbers revealed, and discuss some themes from last year might remain...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from February, 2017
This report contains our customary coverage of noteworthy variable fund filings from the prior month. During February we noticed a number of new registrations, including some that will pursue alternative investment and managed-volatility strategies, which...
More Notes on Lincoln National’s New GLWB – and Other Matters
Due to this being a somewhat slow period in the variable annuity product pipeline, in this report we’ll delve a little further into a new guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit from Lincoln National scheduled to launch...
Highlights from Recent VA Filings from February and Early March
In this report we’ll get caught up with notable annuity product filings filed with the SEC from February and early March, including new contracts and benefits as well as modifications to existing ones…
Variable Annuity Sales Were Again Depressed in Q4 and Full Year 2016
After reviewing the results of selected publicly-traded insurers from their fourth quarter earnings calls and financial statements, we expect that the variable annuity industry as a whole reflected the experience of these companies, namely lower...
Putting Hartford’s Planned VA Fund Replacements in Perspective
In this commentary we’ll discuss Hartford’s plan to replace a large number of funds in its variable annuity contracts, and the controversy it has generated. We’ll also endeavor to put the proposed move in context...