All of the hoopla surrounding the financial overhaul has left one segment of the financial market unscathed: equity-indexed annuities.

In today's Wall St. Journal Fund Track article , Daisy Maxey reports that some advisers are shaking their heads over a court order was issued last week vacating a Securities and Exchange Commission rule to regulate equity-indexed annuities as securities.

In addition, the financial-overhaul bill includes an amendment that would ensure that indexed annuities remain under the regulation of state insurance departments, which means that inappropriate sales of the products will continue, according to the report. Indexed annuities are tied to the performance of stock indexes, but typically are sold by insurance agents, who have reportedly been criticized for inappropriate sales of the annuities, particularly to the elderly. Fundsters interested in the ongoing debate about equity-index annuities should check out the article. 

Edited by: Hung Tran


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