Honorable Mention
Federal watchdog report briefly covers U.S. insurance industry; Fidelity's annuity platform adds rare Fidelity annuity; High surrender rates accompany high annuity sales, AM Best says; Greg Lindberg pleads guilty...
Honorable Mention
Gainbridge, RetireOne to offer non-tax-deferred MYGA for RIAs; Income Lab launches new income planning tool; Schroders polls plan participants on appetite for private assets; Protective enhances its flagship variable...
Bermuda Shorts
Private credit sector growing fast: Financial Times; Venerable launches its own line-up of variable annuity insurance trusts.
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...
Private assets, reinsurance pose systemic risks, research warns
Life insurers’ exposure to risky assets and reliance on reinsurance raises concerns about their interconnectedness and complexity, research from the Bank of International Settlements shows.
Briefs from the ‘Bermuda Triangle’
US insurers hold more private equity, but income on PE drops; State Street sued again for recommending Athene in PRT deals; State Street and Apollo to partner on distribution...
Honorable Mention
Top news items: GAO investigators go 'undercover' to study conflicts of interest; SEC charges six major ratings agencies with record-keeping lapses; How the commercial real estate bust could affect...
US life/annuity insurers cede $1.74 trillion to reinsurers, 2016-23
New capital keeps flowing into the reinsurance segment, primarily via reinsurers owned by investment managers focused on annuity business, AM Best analysts write. These newer entrants co-insure assets that...
Most annuities bought to reduce investment risk: LIMRA
'Most annuities are purchased as protection from investment risk, not for longevity risk,' LIMRA research chief Bryan Hodgens said. 'Most fixed index and RILA contracts are bought without a guaranteed...
Wink’s Annuity Sales & Market Report, 2Q2024
Athene USA was the annuity sales leader (overall market share of 8.2%; 11.9% for non-variable deferred annuities), followed by MassMutual, Corebridge Financial, Equitable Financial and Nationwide.
Honorable Mention
Milliman to offer Hueler Income Solutions to its recordkeeping clients; Principal issues its second RILA; John Hurley joins Ibexis from Global Atlantic.
Private credit holdings of US life/annuity firms reach $1.7 trillion: AM Best
Aside from providing new data, this article describes the 'Bermuda Triangle' strategy, and includes comments from an AM Best managing director.
High rates drive high interest in annuities: LIMRA
'After years of ultra-low interest rates, LIMRA believes conservative investors, who were sitting on the sidelines reluctant to lock in low rates, have poured money into the market as...
Offshore Regulatory Arbitrage by US Insurers Explained
In a recent report, Moody's analysts showed that the accounting 'regime in Bermuda tends to allow for a higher discount rate than other jurisdictions' and this 'directly impacts the...
Calamos Structured ETFs: An alternative to FIAs
The one-year contract issued by Calamos on May 1, 2024 provided 100% principal protection and a maximum credited interest of 9.81% at the end of the term, less a...
MetLife and Micruity expand their DC savings-to-income IT partnership
The two firms have already worked together on connecting MetLife’s retirement income services with Fidelity’s Guaranteed Income Direct and State Street Global Advisors IncomeWise platforms.
Bermuda Shorts
Nassau Financial gets $200 million from Golub Capital; AM Best affirms ratings of Aspida Group, backed by Ares Mgt; 3M swaps its $2.5bn DB pension for a MetLife group...
Annuities enjoy record sales in 1Q2024
'Total annuity sales have come down from fourth quarter 2024, largely due to a softening in the fixed-rate deferred annuity market. However, LIMRA expects annuity sales to perform well...
Athene’s group annuities not the ‘safest available,’ lawsuit charges
The suit against Athene may be a test case for the legitimacy of Bermuda Triangle strategy. In other news from the Bermuda Triangle: Annuity sales boom attracts private equity-backed...
Test-drive annuities at CANNEX/Luma ‘Marketplace’
The Annuity Marketplace will provide income, rate, yield, and product information on annuities from more than 60 issuers, a CANNEX release said. Advisers can illustrate the outcomes of market...
