Research & Reports
Insurers are Reshaping Annuities to Offer Unique Income-Focused Guarantees
The annuity industry is now in a period where it is seeking to develop new product types, using the lessons learned during the heady days of the variable annuity arms race. It is abundantly clear...
New Coverage: New Variable Annuity Contracts Filed in 2013
This grid commences our coverage of new variable annuity contracts registered with the SEC so far in 2013…
New Coverage: New Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefits Filed in 2013
This grid commences our coverage of new variable annuity Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefits (GLWBs) filed with the SEC so far in 2013…
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from January and February, 2013
At The Soleares Report it’s our intention to always keep up with what’s happening in variable insurance underlying funds, and in this commentary we’ll cover noteworthy filings from the first two months of this year…
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...
Insurers Are Building New VA Living Benefits to Handle Interest Rate Risks
As variable annuity insurers have been scaling back on their products, they have tended to make more refined adjustments over time, aimed at addressing specific contingency factors. Recently we have seen a few insurers introduce...
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...
As Market Leaders Make De-Risking Moves, Other VA Players Follow Suit
Around the variable annuity business, the past few weeks have been characterized by a pattern of activity that goes like this: first, rumors start circulating about a given company making a de-risking change, only for...