Research & Reports
“To Be Expected” – Insurers Cut VA Benefits in Response to Market Upheaval
Given the turmoil in the financial markets it’s only natural to think that variable annuity insurers would start to de-risk in earnest, and they have been – we have seen numerous products cutbacks come through...
Update: Variable Insurance Volatility-Managed Portfolios
This spreadsheet concludes our coverage of variable insurance volatility-managed portfolios for 2019. By our count, at the end of the year there were 208 such portfolios in operation, containing nearly $280 billion in assets…
A Final Note on Managed-Volatility Portfolio Trends in 2019
In our view, variable managed-volatility portfolios performed relatively well in 2019, benefiting from the momentum in the equity markets that prevailed through most of the year. This brief report will conclude our coverage of such...
Some Thoughts Regarding the Proposed Jackson National IPO
Recently U.K.-based Prudential plc disclosed plans to spin off its Jackson National unit, a move we think will have many ramifications for the U.S. annuity industry. In this report we’ll attempt to put this matter...
New Coverage: Summaries of New VA Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefits Filed With the SEC in 2020
This table commences our coverage of new variable annuity Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefits (GLWBs) filed with the SEC so far this year and contains summaries of three riders…
New Coverage: Summaries of New VA Contracts Filed With the SEC in 2020
This table commences our coverage of new variable annuity contracts filed with the SEC in 2020 and contains summaries of nine new products…
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from February, 2020
February is usually when many new variable portfolios are registered in preparation for the May prospectus update season and such was again the case this year. During the month we also noticed quite a few...
Covering a New GLWB – and Recent Benefit Rate Sheet Updates
In this report we’ll provide thoughts on a new variable annuity guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB) scheduled to launch during the May prospectus update season, and notable changes to existing riders we discovered in benefit...
Stock-Traded Insurers’ VA Sales in 4Q19 Reflected the Industry’s Rise
Variable annuity sales for most of the stock-traded insurers we track regularly improved in the fourth quarter of last year, in line with how the industry as a whole performed...