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Research & Reports

Soleares Research, LLC is a market research and consulting firm servicing the annuity and life insurance businesses. We provide, through our website, periodic articles that cover important industry trends; we also offer clients phone or on-site consultations, executive briefings and presentations. We pride ourselves on first-class customer service and responsiveness to our clients. We aim to be an indispensable resource to the marketplace.

A Quick Update on New VA Contracts, Lifetime Withdrawal Benefits

This will be a brief commentary to get caught up with new variable annuity contracts and guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits (GLWBs) filed with the SEC this year, as some new ones have entered the pipeline...

Another Interesting VA Benefit Offer – is on the Way from AXA

In this report we’ll discuss the filing by AXA Equitable of a new option that’s being extended to owners of vintage variable annuity guaranteed benefits. Unlike past offers from the company, which enticed clients to...

An Update on Variable Managed-Volatility Portfolios Through 2Q16

This commentary will cover trends in variable managed-volatility portfolios through the first half of 2016, citing data we compiled from trust semi-annual reports filed with the SEC…

Some Fall Reflections – on Trends in the Variable Annuity Space

In this commentary we’ll discuss current conditions in the variable annuity business, such as which products are selling the best, and touch on details from recent product filings…

More Rate Sheets – And Fee-Based Contracts – Entering the VA Space

A number of interesting new contracts and optional guaranteed benefits were filed with the SEC recently, leading us to believe the industry is sprucing up its products in sort of a “back to school” mode...

VA Industry Sales Remained Weak in Q2 – And May Drop Further

Leading industry research firms released second-quarter 2016 annuity sales data not long ago, and results for variable annuities were down substantially over last year, while some fixed annuity product types did fairly well…

Hard to Determine a Clear Direction for VA Industry Sales in 2Q16

Based on our review of results of publicly-traded insurers we watch regularly, variable annuity sales fell for most, with at least one bright spot. Thus we are unsure whether the recent downward movement in industry...

Reflecting on the GMIB – And Its Current Place in the VA Industry

While the number of guaranteed minimum income benefits (GMIBs) has dropped dramatically from years past, a few still remain for sale, and in this report we will discuss them, and share thoughts on how they...

Impressions on the Second Quarter – And Notes on Recent VA Filings

Second quarter earnings season is now underway and insurers will be reporting their results, thus we are starting to formulate our own thoughts on where variable annuity sales might have moved during that time period....