Products April 22, 2013

SVIA Releases Stable Value Guaranteed Insurance FAQ

The Stable Value Investment Association (SVIA) released a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding stable value guaranteed insurance accounts. 
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Although they represent a significant portion of the stable value asset class, there is not much information currently publicly available on stable value guaranteed insurance accounts, the Association contends. SVIA has responded to several frequently asked questions in an effort to provide some information on the various aspects of stable value guaranteed insurance accounts. The PDF is available for download here.

The FAQ addresses the following questions: 

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  • What is a stable value guaranteed insurance account?
  • How do guaranteed insurance accounts serve the needs of defined contribution (DC) plans?
  • What are the strengths of guaranteed insurance accounts?
  • What risks does the insurer bear for providing the guarantees?
  • How does an insurer take on these risks?
  • What are general accounts and separate accounts?
  • Why are the disclosure requirements for guaranteed insurance accounts different?
  • What is a spread?
  • Why is it difficult to measure or compare spreads?
  • Why are guaranteed insurance accounts excluded from some DOL fee disclosure requirements?
  • What are the plan’s exit rights in guaranteed insurance accounts?
  • How does a plan get comfortable with a single guarantor behind a guaranteed insurance account?

The FAQ is limited to an overview of guaranteed insurance accounts and focuses primarily on ‘spread-based’ general account insurance products. For simplicity, the FAQ assumes a plan uses only one guaranteed insurance account product for the entirety of its stable value investment option. The FAQ does not address all the variations of guaranteed insurance accounts or the combination of stable value products that may be used by a plan, and does not discuss or compare other stable value products such as synthetic guaranteed investment contracts (GICs) or differences in investment management.

Deals & People April 22, 2013

FINRA Appoints Regulatory Operations EVP

Susan Axelrod will become executive vice president of regulatory operations at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
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Axelrod will oversee enforcement, the office of fraud detection and market intelligence, and member regulation (sales practice, risk oversight and operational regulation and shared services). Axelrod previously was the head of FINRA’s member regulation sales practice area. Mike Rufino, chief operating officer of member regulation – sales practice, will assume the role of acting head of the sales practice group.

Axelrod brings deep and wide-ranging knowledge of securities regulation to her new position. Before becoming head of member regulation sales practice, Axelrod was senior vice president and deputy of regulatory operations, where she assisted in the oversight of market regulation, enforcement and member regulation. Before joining FINRA in 2007, Axelrod was chief of staff to the chief executive of New York Stock Exchange regulation. She began her career at NYSE in 1989 as a staff attorney in the division of enforcement and became an enforcement director in 1997.

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Axelrod holds a bachelor’s degree from Emory University and a law degree from the School of Law at Hofstra University.

Axelrod will report to Richard Ketchum, FINRA’s chairman and chief executive.

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