Research & Reports
Continuing the Discussion: VA Industry Issues Informing Product Designs
With this commentary we’ll follow up on our previous report by reflecting on some important themes in the variable annuity industry and how they are intimately connected to the products, features and funds being marketed...
Keeping Up With the Fast-Paced Variable Annuity Industry Landscape
In this report we’ll pause to consider the “moving and shaking” going on in variable annuities over the first quarter and suggest key themes impacting the industry, adding that it’s likely the pace of product,...
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...
“Next Generation” VA Withdrawal Benefits and Shapes They Are Taking
The rate of filing activity around variable annuity Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefits (GMWBs) remains vigorous and will probably pick up as we approach the May prospectus update season. Since the beginning of the year some...
Public Insurers’ Q4 VA Results Point to Overall Improvement for the Industry
For the fourth quarter of 2006 variable annuity sales grew for all the publicly-traded insurers we track, reflecting the experience of the industry as a whole, which we hear rebounded from the lackluster sales of...
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...
Dueling GMIBs – The Arms Race Persists on Base Growth, Special Provisions
We’re constantly maintaining that the importance of living benefits to the variable annuity business cannot be overstated. Although most of the market right now is concentrated on lifetime withdrawal benefits, there’s been resurgence in competition...
Growing Focus on Annuity Exchanges – Fines are Levied, Regulations Updated
Given that tax-free 1035 exchanges are widely acknowledged to be a large portion of annuity sales, we think it’s important for companies working in the marketplace to monitor how these exchanges are being perceived and...
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” –...