Financial Crisis

S&P raised its ratings outlook on The Hartford Financial Services Group from negative to stable. The Hartford had received a series of ratings downgrades in light of the financial crisis and its impact on the company's variable annuity business. The ratings revision appears to be attributable in large part to the $3.4 billion in TARP funds that The Hatford received from the federal government. S&P considers The Hartford's life and annuity subsidiaries to be at "A" (strong) levels...

The CEO of the Hartford Financial Services Group, Ramani Ayer, will step down from the post by the end of 2009. Mr. Ayer has been with the Hartford for 36 years and has been CEO for 12 years. He has been the chief architect of the company's aggressive pursuit of variable annuity business. The Hartford has been one of the most active companies in the variable annuity space over the past several years. This line of business has been particularly painful for the company in light of fallout from...

A recent Wall Street Journal article indicates that the number of government-backed reverse mortgages has increased 20% from the same period last year. This stands in contrast to the number of new home equity loans which decreased 70% from the same period last year. The increased interest in reverse mortgages is directly related to the fall-out from the financial crisis. Seniors who have suffered as a result of decreasing asset values in the capital markets see home equity as a potentially...

Do reverse mortgages deserve a second look in light of the financial crisis? Similar in some ways to annuities, reverse mortgages have received little attention from conventional financial planners and investment advisors. Part of this reluctance involves lack of familiarity with the products, part of it involves lack of financial incentives to discuss the products, and part involves genuine, well-founded skepticism regarding product value. The reality, though, is that home equity is a major...