Research & Reports
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from December, 2006
Variable fund filings from December reflected the current emphasis in our business on asset allocation in its various forms, whether through investing in baskets of conventional mutual funds, or newer ideas like Exchange Traded Funds...
Insurers Fine-Tune Their VA Living Benefit Guarantees – Continued
This week we’re going to continue on the theme of our previous commentary by noting more adjustments insurers are making to their variable annuity living benefits, fees and related provisions…
Insurers Adjust VA Living Benefits for Competitive Advantage, Protection
Based on new filings we’re seeing, the variable annuity living benefit “arms race” has not subsided but rather continues in 2007 with richer guarantees coming out, however we must add that at the same time,...
A Simpler Story – Insurers Move to Streamline VA Sub-Accounts, Features
In getting started with the New Year, we’ll comment on a growing tendency for insurers to trim the number of sub-account options and features on their variable annuities in order to make them simpler for...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from November, 2006
We continue to see variable insurers add funds with sophisticated quantitative and non-correlative investment methods, and one of these cropped up in November, however during that month most activity centered on tweaking and consolidating investment...
Assessing Windows of Opportunity for Variable Annuities in Qualified Plans
One topic we plan to tune into regularly in our reports is the use of variable annuities in qualified plans, a practice that has its critics, yet quite a few industry observers think this section...
VA Contract Trends – More Immediate Income Products on the Horizon
This year we haven’t seen as many new variable annuity contracts being registered as in the past, a fact we think reflects current conditions like the consolidation of market share, the competition around benefit features...
Reviewing Variable Insurance Fund Filings from October, 2006
Over the month of October, we identified 46 new variable funds registered, and these reflected the current popular interest in hedging and shorting strategies, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), and the use of mathematical modeling in devising...
On Revenue Sharing, Directed Brokerage Deals – More Disclosure is Coming
Variable product insurers and mutual fund companies have at times used creative means to pay for, or receive compensation from, financial firms they have relationships with, while not always revealing these arrangements to shareholders. Now...