Annuity Market News articles from October 2004

Annuity Market News archives from October 2004

At Deadline.(news)
October 1, 2004... Newsweek Columnist Pans VAs as Faulty Investments' Variable annuities received yet another blow from the national media in an Aug. 30 Newsweek article by Jane Bryant Quinn entitled "One Faulty Investment." She states that she is "so deeply...

A Shares May Be the Next Hot Trend.(variable annuities)
October 1, 2004... The annuity industry is abuzz with talk of A shares. Although the front-end loaded products have been out of favor since the early 1970s, many broker/dealers are looking at offering A shares, notably Planning Corporation of America (PCA) in St....

Bill Would Create Paycheck for Life.(annuities as a source of lifetime income for retirees)
October 1, 2004... Although passage of legislation to sweeten annuities as a source of lifetime income for retirees this year is doubtful, the broad coalition behind the measure hopes to use the bill to pave the way for substantive action in 2005. In late...

Putting a Price Tag on Annuitization.
October 1, 2004... How much is annuitization worth? If you thought it was impossible to assign a value to lifetime income, think again. The Individual Finance and Insurance Decision Centre (IFID) at the Fields Institute and CANNEX Financial Exchanges, both in...

People Moves.
October 1, 2004... Hart to Run New Sun Line Sun Life Financial has launched a new variable annuity product line for its new division, MFS/Sun Life Financial Distributors, created in 2003. Before, MFS Investment Management and Sun Life operated separate...

The Journey from Accumulation to Distribution is Starting.(variable annuity )
October 1, 2004... The development and proliferation of variable annuity living benefit features over the past few years clearly illustrate just how adaptable and market-sensitive annuity issuers are to rapidly changing sales environments. Since the commencement...

Asset Allocation a Big Draw for VAs.(variable annuities)
October 1, 2004... In the wake of the three-year bear market that ended in 2002, more variable annuities have launched asset-allocation programs. But are they truly working? Nationwide Financial of Columbus, Ohio, has obtained 7,000 contracts with more than...

Personal Defined Benefit Plans Fill Retirement Gaps.
October 1, 2004... MassMutual Life Insurance Co. of Springfield, Mass., and GE Financial Services of Richmond, Va., see their personal defined benefit products as the wave of the future. The products combine the benefits of a deferred and income annuity into one...

Amex Expands VA Distribution Through Broker/Dealers.(American Express Financial Group distribution of variable annuities)(Interview)
October 1, 2004... American Express Financial Advisors may be the primary outlet for American Express' financial products, but American Express also is making inroads in the third-party distribution of its variable annuities through the American Express Financial...

How to Calculate Implied Longevity Yield.(life annuity )
October 1, 2004... Here is an example of how the index for implied longevity yield (ILY) would be calculated. In early 2004, a 65-year-old male with a $100,000 premium would get approximately $678 per month from a fixed immediate annuity with a 10-year payment...