Research & Reports
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from February, 2007
February is a month where there’s often an increase in the number of variable fund filings as companies prepare changes for the May prospectus update season. This year was no exception as we saw numerous...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from January, 2007
Over the first month of the New Year we identified 13 new variable fund registrations, a fairly modest number, while most of the filing activity in insurance product investment options centered around the trimming of...
Impressions on the Variable Annuity Business in 2007 – Part II
In this report, our last of the year, we’ll conclude our two-part commentary summarizing key forces influencing the sale of variable annuities in 2007 – our main three being “features, shelf space and scale” –...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from December, 2006
Variable fund filings from December reflected the current emphasis in our business on asset allocation in its various forms, whether through investing in baskets of conventional mutual funds, or newer ideas like Exchange Traded Funds...
A Simpler Story – Insurers Move to Streamline VA Sub-Accounts, Features
In getting started with the New Year, we’ll comment on a growing tendency for insurers to trim the number of sub-account options and features on their variable annuities in order to make them simpler for...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from November, 2006
We continue to see variable insurers add funds with sophisticated quantitative and non-correlative investment methods, and one of these cropped up in November, however during that month most activity centered on tweaking and consolidating investment...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from October, 2006
Over the month of October, we identified 46 new variable funds registered, and these reflected the current popular interest in hedging and shorting strategies, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), and the use of mathematical modeling in devising...
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...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from August, 2006
Over the month of August we saw a pickup in the rate of new variable insurance fund registrations, with eight coming out. In addition there were many adjustments done to fund platforms – albeit in...