Research & Reports
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from July, 2011
We were somewhat surprised to uncover a fairly large batch of new variable insurance portfolios registered during July – because it’s not something we normally see during the summer. In this commentary we’ll touch on...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from June, 2011
In this, our regular commentary about variable insurance funds from the prior month, we’ll start off by saying this June we saw a familiar pattern for the time of year, namely that there were not...
“Cliffhanger” Filings – Containing New Guaranteed Benefits from MetLife
Late last week MetLife submitted initial registrations of several new variable annuity guaranteed death and income benefits to the SEC, and we thought this was noteworthy for a number of reasons. In this report we’ll...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from May, 2011
We thought the month of May was rather active in terms of SEC filings related to variable insurance underlying funds. There was an interesting mix of movement: sub-account platforms were streamlined, new management fee arrangements...
A Contract Update – and Other Notes from the May Prospectus Season
At this time of year there’s a deluge of variable annuity prospectus updates being submitted to the SEC, and, as usual, we’ve been sifting through those documents in an effort to find newsworthy things to...
Met’s Move – to Offer a New Edition of its Guaranteed Income Benefit
Enough new product initiatives have been happening around the variable annuity industry to make us curious as to how such ideas may translate into sales over the rest of the year. Last week we saw...
Varied Changes – Coming Soon to Variable Annuity Contracts, Benefits
We continue to see interesting adjustments and enhancements being introduced to variable annuity products, which we think shows that there are still stiff winds of competition around the industry, however muted from the arms race...
Rising Markets, Benefit Riders Helped Spur VA Sales During 4Q10
After reviewing fourth quarter variable annuity sales results of stock-traded insurers in our regular coverage group, we strongly suspect that the industry fared well during that time period as well. What remains to be seen...
Shifting Directions – Industry Players are Adjusting to New Realities
At this early stage in the year, a growing number of variable annuity insurers are demonstrating a willingness to de-risk in one form or another. What’s not clear is whether these companies are experiencing specific...
