Annuity Market News articles from March 2004

Annuity Market News archives from March 2004

Pacific Life Introduces New Fund-of-Funds.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... By launching a new fund-of-funds called Portfolio Optimization Funds, Pacific Life Insurance Co. has added variety among the selections of 15 mutual funds and given its registered representatives permission to open accounts and submit more...

Sun Life Renews Bank Push For Proprietary Annuity Deals.(proprietary annuity)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Sun Life Financial is hoping proprietary annuity and private-label agreements will help lift its annuity sales through banks. Coming off a private-label deal late last year to sell its fixed annuity through Sovereign Bank in Philadelphia,...

Unbundling and Hedging Helps Reduce Risk.
March 1, 2004... Along with offering investors a wide range of living and death benefit guarantees, insurers have now started hedging programs to mitigate claims-paying risks. Offering a choice of living and death benefit guarantees in one product is less...

Annuity Issuers Operating on Thin Margins.
March 1, 2004... Insurance company executives are going through a lot of lot of contortions to make money in the variable insurance business today. They have to navigate the stock market and bond market, as well as regulatory, inflation and longevity risks...

AICPA Guidelines Put Pressure on Profits.
March 1, 2004... Profit margins on variable annuities could come under pressure due to The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' (AICPA) new accounting guidelines on variable life insurance products. That may spell bad news for those insurers...

ACLI President Calls for Mandatory Savings.(American Council of Life Insurers)
March 1, 2004... If America is to stay competitive in the global economy, then its citizens must save more - even if they must be forced to do so. Those were the sentiments expressed by Frank Keating, president of the American Council of Life Insurers, the...

Haldeman on Putnam's Extreme Makeover'.(Interview)
March 1, 2004... BOSTON (Life after Lasser isn't as bad as it might appear from afar for Putnam Investments, some might argue. The firm, a staple of Bean Town's financial district and one of the top 10 variable annuity companies in the nation, with $24.4...

Why Asset Allocation and Diversification Are Needed in Any Market.
March 1, 2004... The volatility of the markets over the past three years has prompted many clients to demand the unexpected from their advisors: [a2]they want guarantees and safety from their variable annuities. This has caused many advisors to look at...

Old Mutual's Managing General Agency Approach.(Interview)
March 1, 2004... London-based Old Mutual plc entered the U.S. life insurance market in the spring of 2001 by acquiring Americom Life and Annuity Insurance Co. A few months later, Old Mutual acquired Fidelity and Guaranty Life Insurance Co. Americom Life...

Morningstar to Investors: Shun More Market Timers.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Morningstar raised eyebrows when it told investors to think twice about keeping their money with Putnam, Janus, Alliance and Strong. While the leading research firm has rescinded its cautionary stance against Alliance, it has he leading fund...

NYLife Among Dalbar's Top Service Providers.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Among the awards that Dalbar presented this year to the investment management community - including mutual fund, broker/dealer, annuity, life insurance and retirement plan providers - New York Life took top honors for pre- and post-sale support...

Mass. Pension Might Fire Fidelity for Performance.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Fidelity Investments might soon lose $475 million in assets that it runs for the Massachusetts state pension fund, Fidelity confirmed last week. Massachusetts' deputy CIO told Reuters that performance was the issue. Fidelity, which has...