A Big Read

A Primer on Collateralized Loan Obligations, from ChatGPT

By Kerry Pechter
CLOs, analogous to the bottles of STP that increased the performance auto engines, have added pep to the general accounts of life/annuity companies over the past decade. To understand them better, we consulted ChatGPT, which uses Apollo/Athene as an example.
From ChatGPT

Slow-Walking the Oversight of Insurers and CLOs: 2010 – 2025

By Editorial Staff
Committees at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners since 2014 have been studying how best to regulate the purchase of collateralized loan obligation tranches by life/annuity companies from asset managers who own them. "No uniform binding regulatory overhaul has been enacted," says ChatGPT, which provides a timeline of NAIC activity on CLOs.

COVER STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

March 2025

‘Rated Note Feeders’ Attract NAIC Attention

By Kerry Pechter
Holding a rated note (instead of an unrated private equity fund) can reduce the extra capital that life insurers need to post when buying risky, unrated private assets. Insurance regulators have taken interest in...
February 2025

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...
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...