The current regulatory forecast for the U.S. individual annuity market may now be for a little sunshine, with a chance of helpful breezes.
Ryan Krueger, a securities analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc., gave a glimpse of how helpfully calm the annuity regulatory climate might be in a report on the life insurance and annuity issuer presentations at his firm's recent insurance conference.
In recent years, both life and annuity issuers have faced storms caused by low interest rates, and by the sales and marketing regulation writers at the U.S. Department of Labor.
Now, Krueger writes, the skies may be clearing.
(Related: Q2 Annuity Sales Look Better: IRI)
Krueger says he had a hard time finding anything to write about other than life insurers' solid first-half earnings.
"There weren't that many hot-button topical issues this year," Krueger writes.
