Totally skewed: US annuity hedges magnify S&P volatility
Sales of fixed indexed annuities are soaring in the US. But dealers’ hedging of the products is being blamed for pushing up S&P 500 skew, and their complexities are dampening banks’ appetite to underwrite the instruments
Structured products have a nasty habit of undermining the foundations of the equity markets they track. Over the past year, for instance, stock index volatility and skew – not to mention certain foreign exchange pairs – have been influenced by dealers looking to hedge popular autocallable products.
Traders now claim to see similar dynamics in the largest index of them all – the S&P 500 (SPX) –
Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.
To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@risk.net or view our subscription options here: http://subscriptions.risk.net/subscribe
You are currently unable to print this content. Please contact info@risk.net to find out more.
You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@risk.net to find out more.
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
As outlined in our terms and conditions, https://www.infopro-digital.com/terms-and-conditions/subscriptions/ (point 2.4), printing is limited to a single copy.
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@risk.net
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
You may share this content using our article tools. As outlined in our terms and conditions, https://www.infopro-digital.com/terms-and-conditions/subscriptions/ (clause 2.4), an Authorised User may only make one copy of the materials for their own personal use. You must also comply with the restrictions in clause 2.5.
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@risk.net
More on Markets
Critics say perps are all froth. The numbers suggest otherwise
Healthy open interest in perpetual futures with TradFi underlyings could threaten incumbent exchanges like CME and Eurex
Big investors turn to off-exchange prediction markets
Millions of OTC event contracts are being traded monthly, with individual deals as big as $10 million
Futures venues eye growth in BRL trading with Asian investors
CME and SGX see ramp-up in out-of-hours demand for lucrative carry trade
How US dealers flipped the script in OTC trading
Dealer Rankings 2026: After years of creeping specialisation, buy-side filings show top US houses expanding across the board, and squeezing European rivals
Cuts and points – how the Dealer Rankings work
Dealer Rankings 2026: We have a simple way to compare dealers. Sort of simple, anyway
EU eases non-cleared margin rules for smaller players
New proposals aim to cut compliance and reporting requirements for phase five and six firms
Perps extend the menu to tempt TradFi diners
Expiry-less futures are spreading from bitcoin into gold, equities and FX. Institutions are watching, not buying
BoE backs away from mandatory gilt clearing
Discussions with industry shift to portfolio-based repo haircuts and ways to encourage voluntary clearing
