Research & Reports
On Finding Capacity – During a Stressful Time for the Annuity Business
In this report we’ll share what we thought were key takeaways from the Insured Retirement Institute’s 2012 Marketing Summit held last week in New York City, and try to put those thoughts in perspective with...
Early Thoughts on 1Q12 – and Directions, Pressures in the VA Industry
Last Friday the first quarter ended and we must confess to thinking that it will be hard to forecast how the variable annuity industry performed during that time (not that it’s been all that easy...
“Bowing Out” – Hartford’s Departure from the VA Space and What it May Portend
Hartford’s decision to discontinue sales of individual annuities has triggered a number of related events in recent days, and we get the feeling that more interesting developments are yet to come. Moreover we believe that...
VA Insurers are Taking Divergent Paths in this Period of Uncertainty
The way we see it, variable annuity insurers are moving in one of two directions these days: either de-risking, or enhancing their products with an eye toward moving up the market share ranks. What this...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from January and February, 2012
We’ve arrived at the point in the year when the rate of SEC filings related to variable insurance funds increases as insurers touch up their investment platforms for the prospectus update season. In this report,...
“Shuffling the Deck” – Intriguing VA Product Changes are in the Pipeline
In recent weeks we have noticed a marked increase in variable annuity product filings being submitted to the SEC, most containing tweaks and adjustments scheduled to take effect in May. If this rate of filing...
The Price of De-Risking: Sales for Most VA Issuers Dropped in 4Q11
After reviewing variable annuity sales of selected publicly-traded insurers from the fourth quarter of 2011, we’re of the opinion that, for that time period, industry-wide deposits declined a bit sequentially. However for the full year,...
Results Are Coming In – and VA Sales Appear to Have Cooled Off
As we write this, stock-traded insurers are in the middle of earnings season, and 4Q11 variable annuity sales data are being released. So far, most companies we monitor regularly have been reporting sequential declines in...
Coming Into Focus – Pending VA Product Changes Are Being Finalized
Last year some variable annuity insurers filed what appeared to be de-risking tweaks to their products, but with key details left undisclosed, and some of these planned changes have stayed in the pipeline for quite...