Research & Reports
In 2013, VA Sales Eased While Other Annuity Products Gathered Steam
Throughout most of 2013, variable annuity sales took a downward trajectory, due mostly to the de-risking undertaken by insurers, mirroring moves they had executed the year before. While net flows into VAs slowed, fixed and...
Earnings Held Up for Insurers in Q3 – But VA Sales? Not So Much
It seems to us that most variable annuity insurers fared well this third quarter from an earnings standpoint, helped by a rise in the stock market. However VA sales were down for the group of...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from June, 2013
Usually in June we see a slowdown in variable insurance fund filings, but this year we thought there was a good bit of activity, which we’ll discuss in this commentary…
VA Sales Appear to Have Continued Their Downward Movement in 1Q13
We have just completed our review of variable annuity results for publicly-traded insurers we watch regularly and, based on the performance of those companies, we suspect the industry saw a drop in deposits in the...
Some Speculation on Q1 Performance of the VA Business – and Other Matters
Now that the first quarter has ended and we are well into the next one, we’ll share some thoughts on how we think the variable industry may have done so far this year. We think...
Jackson National Jumps to Top of VA Industry Sales Standings for 4Q12
From some of our sources we heard that Morningstar was to report final fourth-quarter 2012 variable annuity sales data today, and, if early indications prove correct, we think Jackson National took the No. 1 spot...
“What’s Working?” – Thoughts On the Industry As it Awaits Q4 Sales Data
In this report we’ll try to break from our usual preoccupation with product nuances to raise questions as to where the variable annuity business is headed. It’s clear that most insurers are moving beyond offering...
Thanks to De-Risking, Sales Were Down for Leading VA Insurers in Q4
By the end of last week we finished reviewing the fourth-quarter earnings reports of selected publicly-traded insurers we watch regularly, and we came away with the suspicion that variable annuity industry sales were probably down...
Industry VA Sales Look Steady for Q3 – But Earnings Results Were Mixed
After reviewing the variable annuity business results of the group of stock-traded insurers we track regularly, we’re figuring that third quarter industry sales were flat to slightly up sequentially, and probably got a little lift...
