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February 28, 2022 at 05:23 PM
What You Need to Know
- Life insurers have little direct exposure to Russia.
- Some small insurer-run mutual funds and variable life and annuity international options do have some investments in Russia.
- Securian acknowledged Feb. 17 that the Russian conflict with Ukraine was a geopolitical wildcard.
Some life insurers may have a good view of the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war on world financial markets.
Some offer variable annuities with separate account options that link crediting rates to the performance of Russian issuers’ stocks and bonds.
Other life insurers have asset management arms with exposure to Russia-linked investments through mutual fund that focus on investments in Russia, Eastern Europe or emerging markets.
Insurance agents and other members of the public can see information about the Russia-linked investments by using the SEC’s Variable Insurance Products filings search page.
What’s There
Voya, for example, has a Voya Russia Fund that had about $94 million, and a 53.75% 1-year return, during the 12-month period that ended Oct. 31, 2021, according to an SEC filing.
The Voya Russia Fund’s top three investments were in Gazprom, an energy company; Sberbank of Russia, a bank; and Yandex, an internet search and services company.
Fidelity, Great-West, Manulife’s John Hancock, Prudential Financial and Securian are examples of some of the insurers with units that mention Russia in filings for the portfolios that support variable annuity, variable life and variable universal life products.
Some of the filers were cautiously optimistic about the risks involved with investing in Russia.
In December 2021, for example, managers of the Voya Russia Fund reported that Russia’s economy was beating market expectations, thanks to rising commodity prices.
