Annuities
The report analyzed almost $104 billion in annuity transactions involving 120 insurance companies (44 parent/holding companies), 583 distributors, and 3,463 annuity products.
Nominal SPIAs Beat Nominal DIAs—But Perhaps Not for Long
“DIAs may represent a more palatable hedge against longevity risk for retirees than traditional annuities, because they are cheaper and therefore provide more liquidity to retirees,” writes Morningstar's David...
‘Changing of the Guard’ Continues in VA Sales
MetLife is selling one-third of what it was two years ago. Prudential is selling half of what it did in the first two quarters of 2012. The biggest gainers...
FIA sales could reach $50 bn in 2014: LIMRA
"This is only the second time we have seen quarterly sales over $60 billion since the third quarter of 2011," said Todd Giesing, senior analyst, LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute...
Forethought launches two new FIAs
“With these new offerings, we have combined our experience in the index annuity market with our strong partnerships with broker-dealers and their advisors,” said Paula Nelson, head of Forethought’s...
Two new annuity contracts from Midland National
Owners of the LiveWell VA can reduce their annual separate account annual expenses to 1.15% from 1.35% if they accept a surrender schedule.
Anatomy of a Success: Elite Access
Jackson National Life's Elite Access variable annuity zoomed from zero to a $1 billion in quarterly sales in less than two years. Using the craze for 'liquid alts' as...
Symetra’s income annuity sales double in 2Q2014
Symetra’s income annuities sales were $89.0 million for the latest quarter, up from $45.5 million in the prior-year quarter, thanks to 'effective selling strategies and a more favorable interest...
What’s Your ZIP Code’s Annuity Potential?
IAP, a small market research firm, analyzes and compares two giant databases to discover whether a particular ZIP code in the U.S. is saturated with annuity sales, underdeveloped, competitive...
RIJ’s Annual Variable Annuity Review
Every July, RIJ assesses the VA market. This year, we look at the “investment only” or “IO” VA, the structured VA, and the VAs with novel income options. All...
Voya files for ‘structured’ variable annuity
ING Potential Plus offers four term periods (1, 3, 5 or 7 years) and three buffer options that absorb either the first 10%, 20% or 30% of market losses.
Thirteen Life and Annuity Specialists Rated ‘Successful’ by Conning
“In our analysis we see a greater focus on annuities among the successful insurers than we had previously,” said Steve Webersen, director of research at Conning.
Life Just Got Easier for Qualified DIAs
The new Treasury regulation on "longevity insurance" does more than promote late-life annuities. By removing an RMD barrier, it makes retirement income planning easier for middle-class people whose savings...
Morningstar issues quarterly VA survey
Trends appearing in a slow quarter: A focus on 'investment-only' contracts, buybacks to reduce liabilities, and new living benefit structures that shift risk to the contract owner.
Getting the Exclusion Ratio (Without Annuitizing)
AXA and, most recently, Lincoln Financial, are marketing variable annuities that combine investment flexibility with variable income options that (for non-qualified contracts) allow regular tax-favored distributions without annuitization.
With ‘Daily+4,’ Forethought VA gets creative
With the Daily +4, each day that the contract value reaches a new high, the withdrawal base steps up to capture the new value. At the end of the...
VAs’ negative cash flow exceeds $1 billion in 1Q2014
With sales of $6.4 billion, up from $5.5 billion in 4Q2013, Jackson National was the only major VA issuer whose sales grew in the first quarter, according to Morningstar.
Total U.S. Annuity Sales Up 13% YOY: IRI
The year-over-year sales growth was supported by continued high levels of fixed annuity sales, which totaled $22.6 billion during the first quarter, according to Beacon Research.
An Algorithm That Loves Annuities
PrARI, the retirement product allocation calculator that Cannex recently acquired with its purchase of the Qwema Group, shows advisers how to maximize retirement income (or legacy) using a blend...
Voya hires Milliman to hedge its closed VA block
In 2010, Voya Financial stopped actively writing new retail variable annuity products with substantial guarantee features and separated its closed block of VA business from its ongoing businesses, according...