Research & Reports
Assessing Variable Annuity Benefit Rate Sheet Changes of Recent Months
It’s about time we got caught up with variable annuity benefit rate sheets because much has happened since we last visited the subject. Most changes insurers have been making of late involve de-risking – even...
Most Stock-Traded Insurers’ Annuity Sales Grew – Sequentially – in Q3
As we do each quarter, we reviewed business results of stock-traded insurers we watch regularly and discovered that for most of them, annuity sales improved slightly compared to the prior quarter, but were still lower...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from October, 2020
During October we saw a number of new variable fund registrations and not surprisingly, most of them will invest in fixed income – an asset class that has managed to generate positive flows in recent...
Jackson National Files New RILAs – and Other Recent Developments
In this report we’ll discuss new registered index-linked annuities filed recently by Jackson National, currently the leader in variable annuity sales in the U.S., and one of the only major insurers not to offer such...
CDAs, GLWBs, Buyouts and More – a Mix of Filings from Fall, 2020
Lately we have been of the opinion that insurers are in a predicament we have seen in years past, namely that while there remains great demand for annuities – especially those that can provide investors...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from September, 2020
This report contains our customary look back at notable variable fund filings from the prior month, in which we saw a good deal of activity for the autumn, with two insurers registering new portfolios and,...
It’s Been Quite Active Along the Variable Annuity Product Pipeline
Although times have been difficult for insurers, as they are coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, market volatility, rock-bottom interest rates, social upheaval and the stresses of an election year, those challenges haven’t kept them from...
An Update on Variable Managed-Volatility Portfolios Through 2Q20
This spreadsheet updates our coverage of variable insurance volatility-managed portfolios in 2020. By our count, at the end of the second quarter there were 204 such portfolios in operation, containing nearly $259 billion in assets…
An Update on Variable Managed-Volatility Portfolios Through 2Q20
This is our second quarter snapshot of developments in variable managed-volatility portfolios, in which we will cite data we compiled from trust semi-annual reports. As we usually do this time each year, we will have...
