Description: Discussion of possible hedging strategies for offsetting the investment risk for variable annuities, especially those with guaranteed benefits.

Description: This article reviews the topics discussed at the December 2004 meeting of the Life and Health Actuarial task force. The covered topics include Actuarial Guideline 38 and Reserves for Variable Annuities C-3 Phase 2 reserves.

Description: Discusses the interactions between dynamic lapses and interest rates in stochastic modeling for variable annuities.

Description: A discussion of how the tax law changes of 2003 might affect the attractiveness of variable annuity business relative to mutual funds and direct investments in dividend paying equities.

Description: A paper demonstrating how to obviate the need for market timing strategies in variable annuity products by judicious use of product design. The paper presents the premise behind the product design, provides numerical examples, then explores possible extensions of the concept to produce more sophisticated variable annuity plans based on guarantees of investment outcomes.

Description: This article discusses a variety of new developments in the annuity market.

Description: Milliman, Inc. recently conducted a survey of leading variable annuity insurers to better quantify the current dynamics of the GLB market. The scope of the Milliman survey included variable annuities that offered any type of GLB during calendar year 2004 and during the first quarter of 2005.

Description: Feature article from the newsletter Product Matters discussing variable annuities and principle-based approaches to reserve and capital requirements.

Description: A review of product and sales trends for variable, indexed and fixed annuities against the current backdrop of low interest rates and record equity market valuations

Description: Target volatility, as an investment strategy, has been used by many funds not only as a way to smooth return but also as a way to manage risks of the VA guarantees. Contrary to existing research which favors volatility targeting over fixed allocation, this article shows that because of the existence of market jump risk, target volatility strategy does not necessarily offer an improved risk profile for VA writers. Further, target volatility coupled with leveraging can significantly increase tail risk for insurance companies.