Morningstar Advisor - February/March 2011 - (Page 78)

By the Numbers: VAs VA Sales Slide, but Assets on the Rise By Frank O’Connor New variable annuity sales slid by a modest 1% in the third quarter of 2010, to $33.6 billion, but they were up 9.9% from the third quarter of 2009. New sales were up 7.7% for the year-to-date period, to $98.76 billion, but they are still down 17% from the new sales reported in the first nine months of 2008. Assets under management increased for the third quarter, buoyed by positive market returns. As of Sept. 30, 2010, VA assets totaled $1,418.4 billion, a 7.5% increase over assets on June 30, 2010. Assets in equities, which currently account for 56% of variable assets, increased by 11.1% from second-quarter assets, in line with the 10.7% increase in the S&P 500 index over the same period. Assets in fixed accounts held steady, rising a slight 0.5% and accounting for 21% of separate account assets. Net flow for the industry continued its upward trend, reporting at $6.4 billion in the third quarter of 2010, a 2.8% increase over Q2 reported flow. This is the highest level seen since $7.5 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2008. Prudential continued to lead the way as the top seller of variable annuities, with $5.4 billion in third-quarter sales and a 16% market share. MetLife remained in second with $4.7 billion in new sales and a 13.9% share of the market. Jackson National and Lincoln Financial remained in the number-three and -four spots for retail sellers. Ameriprise Financial moved into the number-five spot with its new RAVA5 series of products. Frank O’Connor is manager of Morningstar’s variable annuity software applications. Sales Rank Contract Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Jackson Natl Life Insurance Co Perspective II (7 Yr. CDSC) Jackson Natl Life Insurance Co Perspective L Pruco Life Insurance Prudential Premier Retirement VA B Variable Annuity Life Insurance Co Portfolio Director Pruco Life Insurance Prudential Premier Retirement VA L Metlife Investors USA Insurance Co MetLife Investors Series L-4 Year Metlife Investors USA Insurance Co MetLife Investors Series VA Pruco Life Insurance Prudential Premier Retirement VA X Metropolitan Life Insurance Preference Premier (B) Prudential Annuities Life Assurance Corp APEX II Prudential Annuities Life Assurance Corp XTra Credit Six Prudential Annuities Life Assurance Corp Advisors Plan III Lincoln National Life Insurance Company American Legacy III Riversource Life Insurance Co RVS RAVA4 Advantage (10-Year CDSC) Lincoln National Life Insurance Company ChoicePlus Assur. (L Share) Lincoln National Life Insurance Company ChoicePlus Assur. (B Share) Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada US Masters Flex Thrivent Financial For Lutherans Thrivent - Flexible Prem. DVA 2005 Fidelity Investments Life Ins Personal Retirement Allianz Life Ins Co of North America Allianz Vision B-Share Riversource Life Insurance Co RVS RAVA5 Advantage (10-Year CDSC) Lincoln National Life Insurance Company ChoicePlus Assur. (A Share) - 2006 AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co EQUI-VEST 100/200 Transamerica Life Insurance Company Landmark Metropolitan Life Insurance Preference Premier (R) John Hancock Life Insurance Co (USA) Venture (2006) Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada US Masters Choice Metlife Investors USA Insurance Co MetLife Growth and Guaranteed Income Nationwide Life Insurance Co Nationwide Destination B Transamerica Life Insurance Company Liberty Pacific Life Insurance Co Pacific Voyages Metlife Investors USA Insurance Co MetLife Investors PrimElite IV Metlife Investors USA Insurance Co MetLife Investors Series XTRA Lincoln National Life Insurance Company American Legacy III View AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co Accumulator 2009 AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co Retirement Cornerstone Series B Pacific Life Insurance Co Pacific Innovations Select Pruco Life Insurance Premier VA X Series Pruco Life Insurance Premier VA B Series SunAmerica Ann & Life Assur Co Polaris Choice III Pruco Life Insurance Premier VA L Series Allianz Life Ins Co of North America Allianz Vision L-Share Hartford Life Insurance Company Personal Retirement Manager B MetLife Investors Insurance Company MetLife Investors Class A New York Life Insurance & Annuity Corp NYL Premier Plus - Level Fee Riversource Life Insurance Co RVS RAVA4 Select Nationwide Life Insurance Co Nationwide Destination L John Hancock Life Insurance Co (USA) Venture Opportunity A Share Nationwide Life Insurance Co Nationwide Destination All American Gold Nationwide Life Insurance Co BOA - Future Venue Data as of September 30, 2010 GMWB Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit GMIB Guaranteed Minimum Income Benefit 78 Morningstar Advisor February/March 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Morningstar Advisor - February/March 2011

Morningstar Advisor - February/March 2011
Contents
Contributors
Letter From the Editor
First, Do No Harm
Do You Use Active or Passive Investment Strategies?
Best of Both Worlds
How to Build an Index
Accountable Investor
Nice Guys Finish First
Four Picks for the Present
Investment Briefs
A New Guardrail Against Risk
Tech Loosens the Purse Strings (a Bit)
It’s More About Costs Than Active or Passive
Play Your Stars
In Between Active and Passive
Selling Beta as Alpha
The Weighting Game, and Other Puzzles of Indexing
Leaving the Nest
Redefining Credit Risk
Another Vote for Market-Based Credit-Risk Measures
Big Opportunities in Small-Cap Stocks
Benchmarks? What Benchmarks?
Mutual Fund Analyst Picks
50 Most Popular ETFs
Undervalued Stocks With Wide Moats
VA Sales Slide, but Assets on the Rise
Indexing’s Lunatic Fringe

Morningstar Advisor - February/March 2011