This profit-centered, risk-tolerant mind-set increasingly prevalent across the industry is an awkward fit, given that annuities are looked to for safe and steady returns, says forensic accountant Tom Gober.

“The people driving the investment decisions are not the traditional lifelong executives who care about policyholders for the long term, "says Gober, who has briefed the U.S. Department of Labor and the Senate Banking Committee on the changing life insurance landscape.
Life insurers have increasingly invested in so-called private placements, generally higher-yielding securities that are exempt from federal reporting requirements and lack active secondary markets, said the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in a June 3 report.
“The growing investment in this less liquid asset class therefore increases the risk of fire sales during times of crisis,” wrote the Fed analysts.

6/7/24, 10:16 AM Annuities Aren’t Always Safe. Why Sentinel and Atlantic Coast Annuities Look Risky. - Barron's
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