Plugging Leaks in VA Guarantees
VA issuers can’t keep bearing so many of the contract risks. Milliman's Ken Mungan (above) and Deep Patel suggest three ways to make VA manufacturing more sustainable.
For VAs, Roll-Ups Rule
Perhaps unintentionally, "roll-ups," aka deferral bonuses, have arguably become the key feature of variable annuities with GLWBs. But can they save VAs from becoming a niche business?
The ‘Senior’ Senator from Wisconsin
The soft-spoken Herb Kohl (D-WI) fights for retirees as chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, which will hold hearings on retirement income June 16.
You May Live in Interesting Times
Interest rate risk keeps us all in suspense. Here’s how executives at Vanguard, New York Life, Delta Global Advisors, Prudential Annuities, and Loomis, Sayles cope with the uncertainty.
Featured
New VA Contracts from Smaller Issuers
After highlighting new VA contracts from big issuers last week, we now turn to four new products from second-tier or regional insurers, all of them with sturdy A-level strength ratings from Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s.
Reflections of a VA-Selling Advisor
Jay Hauenstein, a dually-licensed advisor in Mississippi who manages about $10 million in VA assets, looks for contracts with strong roll-ups and death benefits.
News
With BP Investments, Pensions Win or Lose
BP's falling share price has cost the NY state pension fund more than $30 million, but NJ's public pension fund earned a $5.5 million profit from its investment in BP plc.
Lincoln Financial to Repay U.S. Treasury Investment
To repurchase almost $1 billion in preferred shares, Lincoln Financial Group is selling $335 million worth of common stock and up to $750 million of senior notes.
French Retirement Age May Rise to 62
The move is expected to allow the government to save €18bn, or about $27 billion, and combat a growing pensions deficit.
Loyalty to Plan Providers Varies By Plan Size—Cogent
Plan providers are able to win loyalty in each size-tier to the extent that they meet the needs of that tier, says Cogent Research.
SEC Proposes More Disclosures for TDFs
Under one proposed rule, marketing materials that include a date in a target date fund’s name must also disclose the fund’s asset allocation at the target date.
