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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.
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New VA Contract Filings Reflect Emphasis on Lower Pricing, More Options

We’ve made it one of our regular tasks to monitor new variable annuity contract designs being introduced, so with this report we’ll share with you our latest findings on this subject, to take stock of...

VA Contract Notebook: Tendencies Within New Designs Filed This Year

With this report we’re going to take a little time to consider what’s currently popular in variable annuity contract designs, based on our understanding of sales trends and our evaluations of new products filed this...

Following Up on Recent Revisions to VA Guaranteed Living Benefits

As the May prospectus update season is now in full swing, we anticipate that a fresh stream of new variable annuity living benefit concepts will be coming out due to competitive pressure. It’s always challenging...

More of a Bargain: Movements in VA Contract Design and Structure

If there’s any one trend in variable annuity design we see building momentum, it’s that of insurers offering contracts with lower-than-average costs, usually combined with a relatively modest number of sub-accounts and optional benefits. Since...

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...

“Next Generation” VA Withdrawal Benefits and Shapes They Are Taking

The rate of filing activity around variable annuity Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefits (GMWBs) remains vigorous and will probably pick up as we approach the May prospectus update season. Since the beginning of the year some...

Insurers Fine-Tune Their VA Living Benefit Guarantees – Continued

This week we’re going to continue on the theme of our previous commentary by noting more adjustments insurers are making to their variable annuity living benefits, fees and related provisions…

Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from September, 2006

Of the new variable funds registered in September quite a few were illustrative of the current interest in protective or non-correlative investment styles, long/short strategies or sectors like natural resources or commodities. And yet more...

VUL Breeding: Hybrid Policies Mix Protection, Equity Exposure and Liquidity

Variable Universal Life (VUL) policies certainly have a lot going for them in terms of optionality and flexibility, with the insured being able to adjust the death benefit, the timing and level of premium payments,...