Morningstar to revamp VA ratings

Morningstar Inc. is revising its rating and ranking methodology to compare group variable annuities to open-end mutual funds, the company announced today.
Previously, the Chicago-based independent investment research company compared group variable annuities to individual variable annuities, which, from a benefit and cost standpoint, tend to be structured differently than group annuities.
Other than that, the company will not change the basic structure or methodology of its individual variable annuity ratings and rankings.
Morningstar has been collecting variable annuity data since the early 1990s, and included group variable annuities beginning early 2006.
The new ratings will be released in the October 2007 Morningstar Principia CD-based investment research and planning software, and will appear in other offerings early next year.