‘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 the strategy but are responding at a crawl. (Image: 'Sleeping Guards,' Piero della Francesca.)

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 it’s growing fast. (Photo: Gullfoss in Iceland.)

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 such concentrated loans.
Featured

The Stakes in the Romney-Obama Contest

By Knowledge@Wharton
Expect big changes next January? Think again. While the candidates' economic philosophies and positions are dramatically different, divided government will prevent either from bringing his version of Morning to America, predicts a Wharton School professor.

To De-Risk or Re-Risk, That Is The Question

By Ashish Kapur
Pension fund managers across the Pond are feeling boxed-in. The author, European head of institutional solutions at SEI, feels their pain in an essay that first appeared in IPE.com.
News

Britain adjusts to universal auto-enrollment

By Editor Test
“Many organizations are still in a head-in-sand mode,” said Dean Wetton, a pension consultant. “Auto-enrollment is lost somewhere between payroll, HR and the pensions department."

DALBAR validates Pacific Life funds as QDIAs

By Editor Test
The PL Portfolio Optimization Funds are five target-risk fund-of-funds, ranging from conservative to aggressive, that are designed to offer investors one-step diversification.