A Flood of ‘Flow Reinsurance’

By Kerry Pechter
Flow reinsurance involves the ongoing, immediate transfer of risks from a life insurer to a reinsurer as soon as annuities are issued. Life/annuity companies have used flow reinsurance for at least 15 years, but it’s growing fast. (Photo: Gullfoss in Iceland.)
The DC-to-DB Challenge

Cannex puts 401(k) annuities to the test

By Kerry Pechter
'Insurance companies should all be thinking carefully about this,” said Ramsey Smith, CEO of ALEXIncome, with respect to the nascent 401(k) annuity market. 'They need to understand that this is a Once-in-a-Generation opportunity to establish themselves in the 401(k) space.'

The Dimming of Brighthouse—Or a New Dawn?

By Kerry Pechter
The Financial Times reported last week that Brighthouse Financial wanted to sell itself. A major seller of RILAs, Brighthouse has a general account worth more than $100 billion. But it also has blocks of unprofitable variable annuities that it inherited from MetLife.

Honorable Mention

By Editorial Staff
Merit Life reincarnated as Knighthead Life; Morgan Stanley to distribute five Allianz Life index annuities; BlackRock’s LifePath Paycheck reaches $16 billion in AUM.

Where PRT Meets DC: The Agilis/Alight Plan

By Kerry Pechter
Agilis, an actuarial and risk management firm, and Alight, a retirement plan recordkeeper, have created an annuity purchase process, PensionBuilder, for participants in large 401(k) plans. Their process replicates the defined benefit 'pension risk transfer' process, but at the defined contribution plan level.

Private Credit AUM to Double by 2028: Moody’s

By Editorial Staff
The Moody’s report showed that, as of the end of the third quarter of 2024, private credit and insurance assets accounted for 52% the AUM of the four largest alternative asset managers: Apollo, Blackstone, Carlyle and KKR.

Annuity issuers enjoy third-straight year of record sales: LIMRA

By Editorial Staff
'Although lower interest rates likely will reduce some demand in 2025, LIMRA predicts innovative index design and competitive participation rates will keep FIA sales above $100 billion in 2025,' said Bryan Hodgens, senior vice president and head of LIMRA research.

COVER STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

January 2025

Nut Case: Prudential and Brighthouse’s Bets on Pistachios

By Kerry Pechter
A California pistachio grower defaulted on $1 billion in loans from Prudential, Brighthouse Life, and U.S. Bank this year. Their legal efforts to seize the collateral offer a glimpse into the potential risks of...
December 2024

‘Reinsurance Sidecars’: A Capital Idea

By Kerry Pechter
Athene Annuity & Life sold the most fixed deferred annuities in the first three-quarters of 2024. Its parent, Athene Holdings, has attracted billions in just-in-time third-party capital through Bermuda 'reinsurance sidecars.' Coincidence? Not likely....
November 2024

Middleware is Central to In-Plan Annuities

By Kerry Pechter
Middleware is hub-and-spoke software that lets retirement plan recordkeepers and life insurers talk to each other. Steve McCoy of iJoin, a provider of managed account user interfaces, and Bill Mueller of IPX, a middleware...