Middleware is Central to In-Plan Annuities
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...
Life insurers
Sen. Warren Speaks Up for ‘Fiduciary Rule,’ Puts Down Annuity Sales Perks
Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-MA) new white paper details the sales incentives that annuity issuers offer insurance agents; the incentives, she says, show that the DOL's long-denied 'fiduciary rule' is...
The Feeling Was De-Mutual
In the 1990s and early 2000s, a wave of household-name mutual life insurers “demutualized” and become stock companies. The conversion was driven by fundamental changes in the U.S. economy...
BlackRock relaunches its “LifePath Paycheck” retirement income tool
'DCIO' asset managers like BlackRock must find ways to retain participant assets post-retirement and enrich the value of their target date funds. They must also make themselves relevant to...
Life Insurers as LEGO Monsters
Michael Gordon, CEO of Axonic Insurance, part of Axonic Capital, sees the future of the life/annuity/asset-management business as an increasingly a la carte affair, where the components of the...
Meet the Newest Platform in the 401(k) Annuity Space
'We’re a product design firm,' ALEXIncome co-founder E. Graham Clark told RIJ. 'We feel we’ve built the best process for integrating annuities into retirement accounts.'
This Year’s Legal Battles
The life/annuity industry faces three big legal issues this year. All stem from, or are complicated by, the patchwork regulation of financial products in the US, our out-of-date pension...
Insurers get an edge from hedge funds in 2021
The life/annuity segment saw its dollar exposure to hedge funds rise in 2021 by 14.0%, to $6.1 bn, and the property/casualty segment by 0.9% to $6.7 bn, following several...
Life/annuity insurers lead surge into private equity investments
Roughly 58% of the insurance industry's exposure to private equity is through investments in leveraged buyout funds, according to a new AM Best report. Among insurers, MassMutual was most...
Annuity providers report 1Q2022 performance
Jackson National Life reported almost $200 million in sales of its new registered index-linked annuity in the first quarter. Equitable's RILA, launched over a decade ago, took in about...
Fed’s stability report assesses life insurers
Over the last decade, life insurers increased the share of risky, illiquid assets on their balance sheets, according to the Federal Reserve's annual Financial Stability Report.
Net income of stock life/annuity firms tripled in 2021: AM Best
'The persistent drag from low interest rates continues to impact margins, but ongoing growth in general account invested assets has pushed investment income higher,' said Best's analysts.
Life/annuity industry moving toward equilibrium: AM Best
The life/annuity industry is approaching an equilibrium between companies seeking 'to build a less capital-intensive business' and those with 'a capital-intensive business appetite,' the ratings agency said.
For Jackson National Life, 2021 was a pivotal year
In reporting its fourth quarter and full-year 2021 results, Jackson National Life marked its separation from Prudential plc, its listing on the New York Stock Exchange, and $3.2 billion...
A Policy Dynamo Touts ‘Dynamic Pensions’
Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, an actuary and retirement policy expert at Canada's National Institute on Aging, claims that a non-guaranteed lifetime income tool could generate more income than any annuities. Tontines,...
‘Creeping inflation’ could hurt life insurers: AM Best
'Inflation could increase skepticism of a potential customer’s ability to afford life and annuity products, especially in the middle market,” said an AM Best analyst.
De Santo to lead New York Life
Craig De Santo is and will remain president of New York LIfe when he becomes CEO next April. Ted Mathas, CEO for the past 14 years, will serve as...
One Life Insurer’s Pivot to Private Assets
American Equity Investment Life’s ‘AEL 2.0’ strategy is designed to help it thrive even in a low yield environment. Allocating up to 40% of its money to ‘private assets’...
New RBC capital factors will affect insurer investment policy: AM Best
A new Best’s Special Report, “Navigating the New NAIC Risk-Based Capital Factors,” states that insurance companies likely will see increased required capital for bonds.
Northwestern Mutual Life rolls out PX (Planning Experience) Adviser Interface
In this blogpost from McKinsey, chief distribution officer Tim Gerend and chief customer officer Christian Mitchell explain the process of rolling out a new adviser/client interface that facilitates the...
