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HEADLINES:

Best And Worst ETFs And Mutual Funds: Financials Sector
David Trainer • Mon, May 6
Frankenstorm 'The Not-So-Black Swan': Climate As The New Risk Variable
AllAboutAlpha • Wed, Nov 14, 2012 • 105 Comments
5 ETF Sectors To Watch After Hurricane Sandy
Tom Lydon • Wed, Oct 31, 2012 • 1 Comment
Natural Disasters: Unfair Stimulus
Tim Ayles • Wed, Oct 31, 2012 • 33 Comments
'Frankenstorm' May Create Headwinds For Insurance ETFs
Tom Lydon • Mon, Oct 29, 2012
Healthcare Mandate's Precedent Is The Pandora's Box
Carlos X. Alexandre • Tue, Mar 27, 2012 • 5 Comments
Industry Ranks March 2012: P&C Insurers, Reinsurers Look Cheap
David Merkel • Tue, Mar 20, 2012 • 1 Comment
David Merkel Positions For 2012: Overweight Insurers, Information Technology, Energy
David Merkel • Fri, Jan 6, 2012 • 3 Comments
Sleight Of Hand At Its Worst In Financial Sector
David Trainer • Wed, Oct 19, 2011 • 18 Comments
Don't Gamble in Financial Sector ETFs
David Trainer • Wed, Aug 17, 2011
New ETF Update: Pipeline Continues to Fill
Michael Johnston • Tue, Aug 16, 2011
Trade of the Decade: Energy vs. Financials
Jeffrey Dow Jones • Wed, Aug 3, 2011 • 25 Comments
Will Social Media Change the Insurance Industry?
Gloria Vogel • Wed, Mar 2, 2011 • 7 Comments
Insurance Companies: Still Attractive Based on Price to Book
Tom Armistead • Thu, Feb 17, 2011 • 16 Comments
Winter Storms Hit Cities and Businesses in the Wallet
Money Morning • Thu, Feb 10, 2011
Three ETFs to Watch This Week: IYK, IAK, FXB
Michael Johnston • Mon, Feb 7, 2011
Overt and Covert Ways to Profit From the BP Oil Spill
Sam Subramanian • Thu, Jul 15, 2010 • 8 Comments
Canceled Trades From the May 6 'Flash Crash'
Morningstar • Sun, May 16, 2010 • 1 Comment
Beyond XLF: 5 Financial ETF Alternatives
Michael Johnston • Wed, May 12, 2010
China Has Been Driving Materials and Mining ETFs Lower
Gary Gordon • Thu, Jan 28, 2010 • 2 Comments

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Early Hurricane Forecasts Often Unreliable
Ravi Nagarajan • Fri, May 1, 2009

Best And Worst ETFs And Mutual Funds: Financials Sector
David Trainer • Mon, May 6
Frankenstorm 'The Not-So-Black Swan': Climate As The New Risk Variable
AllAboutAlpha • Wed, Nov 14, 2012 • 105 Comments
5 ETF Sectors To Watch After Hurricane Sandy
Tom Lydon • Wed, Oct 31, 2012 • 1 Comment
Natural Disasters: Unfair Stimulus
Tim Ayles • Wed, Oct 31, 2012 • 33 Comments
'Frankenstorm' May Create Headwinds For Insurance ETFs
Tom Lydon • Mon, Oct 29, 2012
Healthcare Mandate's Precedent Is The Pandora's Box
Carlos X. Alexandre • Tue, Mar 27, 2012 • 5 Comments
Industry Ranks March 2012: P&C Insurers, Reinsurers Look Cheap
David Merkel • Tue, Mar 20, 2012 • 1 Comment
David Merkel Positions For 2012: Overweight Insurers, Information Technology, Energy
David Merkel • Fri, Jan 6, 2012 • 3 Comments
Sleight Of Hand At Its Worst In Financial Sector
David Trainer • Wed, Oct 19, 2011 • 18 Comments
Don't Gamble in Financial Sector ETFs
David Trainer • Wed, Aug 17, 2011
New ETF Update: Pipeline Continues to Fill
Michael Johnston • Tue, Aug 16, 2011
Trade of the Decade: Energy vs. Financials
Jeffrey Dow Jones • Wed, Aug 3, 2011 • 25 Comments
Will Social Media Change the Insurance Industry?
Gloria Vogel • Wed, Mar 2, 2011 • 7 Comments
Insurance Companies: Still Attractive Based on Price to Book
Tom Armistead • Thu, Feb 17, 2011 • 16 Comments
Winter Storms Hit Cities and Businesses in the Wallet
Money Morning • Thu, Feb 10, 2011
Three ETFs to Watch This Week: IYK, IAK, FXB
Michael Johnston • Mon, Feb 7, 2011
Overt and Covert Ways to Profit From the BP Oil Spill
Sam Subramanian • Thu, Jul 15, 2010 • 8 Comments
Canceled Trades From the May 6 'Flash Crash'
Morningstar • Sun, May 16, 2010 • 1 Comment
Beyond XLF: 5 Financial ETF Alternatives
Michael Johnston • Wed, May 12, 2010
China Has Been Driving Materials and Mining ETFs Lower
Gary Gordon • Thu, Jan 28, 2010 • 2 Comments

There are no Transcripts on IAK.

Superstorm Sandy Hits ETFs

at Fox Business (Nov 19, 2012)
Conrad de Aenlle's Funds For Thought: Sandy may be windfall for insurance ETFs

at MarketWatch.com (Nov 1, 2012)

IAK vs. ETF Alternatives

IAK Description

The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Insurance Index Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Insurance Index.
See more details on sponsor's website

Sector: Financial

Country: United States

Key Info

In Your Portfolio: A Guide to Sector ETFs, Financial Sector ETFs
Asset Class Performance: Sectors

All
| Earnings
| Dividends
| M&A
| On the move

Tuesday, February 26, 3:57 PM PowerShares has shuttered 13 ETFs, representing less than 1% of the issuer's AUM, as of today's close. Affected funds follow (with competing funds in parentheses): PIC (KIE, IAK, KBWP, KBWI), PYH, PJB (IAT, KBE, KRE, RKH, QABA, KRU, KRS, KBWR), PSTL (SLX), PLK, PWND (FAN), PMA, PKOL (KOL), PKN (NLR, NUCL, URA), PTO, PAO, PCA and CVRT. (pdf) Comment!
Monday, December 17, 2012, 5:20 AM Insurers reportedly warn global regulators that plans to designate some of them as "too big to fail" are incoherent, impractical and simplistic. Firms are particularly concerned about areas of their business deemed "non-insurance," "non-traditional," and "semi-traditional", which they may even be forced to sell. These include variable annuities and third-party asset management, both of which are important profit generators. Comment! [Financials]
Monday, December 3, 2012, 5:31 AM The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has voted in favor of new regulations for how life insurers fix reserves for future claims in a decision that could free up billions of dollars for acquisitions, dividend increases and buybacks. However, critics, who include New York's Benjamin Lawsky, fear that insurers will become under-reserved and vulnerable to economic downturns. 8 Comments [Financials]
Thursday, November 1, 2012, 10:26 AM Hurricane Sandy caused as much as $20B in insured losses and $50B in economic losses, says disaster-modeling firm Eqecat, more than doubling the estimate the company made 2 days ago. 5 Comments [Financials, U.S. Economy]
Tuesday, October 30, 2012, 3:42 AM Hurricane Sandy is still wreaking havoc over the Eastern Seaboard, but that's not stopped insurance experts from estimating how much it will cost. AIG (AIG) CEO Robert Benmosche says, "It will be Irene, plus or minus something," for his company, so a few hundred million. Disaster-research firm Kinetic Analysis and Eqecat estimate total economic damage of around $20B, including $5B-$10B of insured losses. 3 Comments [U.S. Economy, Top Stories]
Monday, October 29, 2012, 3:08 AM With Hurricane Sandy making its way to the Eastern Seaboard, insurers such as Allstate (ALL) are preparing to send their rapid-response teams of claims specialists to assess the damage once the storm passes. The cost to insurers is likely to be less than it would have been in the past, as they've been raising home-insurance rates, tightening underwriting standards, and scaling back sales of policies in hurricane-prone areas. 2 Comments [U.S. Economy, Top Stories]
Sunday, October 28, 2012, 2:38 AM Hurricane Sandy is projected to make landfall by Tuesday morning, after which it could combine with two winter weather systems and create a super "Frankenstorm." Experts warn that the damage could be greater than the $15B worth caused by Hurricane Irene last year. Hardware stores such as Home Depot (HD) are doing a brisk trade as people stock up on essentials, but oil refineries and insurers will probably get hit hard. 3 Comments [U.S. Economy, Top Stories, Energy]
Monday, August 27, 2012, 6:22 AM State regulators are looking at changes that would force insurers such as AIG (AIG) and MetLife (MET) to increase by billions of dollars the amount that they would have to hold against the riskier mortgage bonds they've been acquiring lately. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners could implement the changes later this year in a move that could cool interest in the once-toxic assets. Comment! [Financials]
Monday, August 27, 2012, 5:48 AM The drought will probably cause insurers their biggest agricultural loss ever, with gross indemnities of $30B and an underwriting loss of $18B. However, the government will pay for $14B through reinsurance programs and private firms $4B-$5B. Companies with exposure include QBE (QBEIF.PK), American Financial (AFG) and Wells Fargo's (WFC) Rural Community. 2 Comments [Financials, Commodities]
Thursday, May 31, 2012, 12:05 PM Regulators are examining 48 insurers across 13 countries to assess whether they should be designated as "systemically important" as part of an attempt to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis. The designation could lead to higher capital requirements - the industry doesn't have a global minimum standard - and increased supervision. Comment! [Financials]
Thursday, March 29, 2012, 12:12 PM The market's interpreting the Supreme Court hearings over Obamacare as positive for insurers, which are getting a lift. Comments from Justices indicate they believe that if mandatory insurance is struck down, they may have to also void the rule requiring carriers to provide coverage to all. AET +5.3%, CVH +4.6%, CI +3.9%, UNH +3.4%, HUM +1.9%, WLP +2.1%, HNT +3.1%. (previously I, II) 1 Comment [On the Move]
Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 11:24 AM Last year's natural disasters, from the earthquake in Japan to the storms in the U.S., cost the global economy a record $370B, Swiss Re says. The insurance industry took a hit of $116B, more than double 2010 and the second-largest ever. Had the Japanese had better insurance, the figure would have been much higher. 1 Comment [Financials]
Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 6:30 AM Insurers can expect a claims bill of $1B-$2B from the wave of 150 tornadoes that swept fives states in the south and Midwest last week, risk-modeling firm Eqecat said yesterday. Comment! [Financials]
Monday, January 23, 2012, 3:06 AM France and Germany will reportedly call today for a relaxation of global bank capital rules to ensure lending isn't choked off. The countries will urge special treatment for banks that own insurance companies, and call for a three-year delay to the mandatory deadline to disclose leverage ratios. 6 Comments [Global & FX, Financials]
Thursday, December 15, 2011, 5:52 AM Worldwide economic losses from disasters climbs to a record $350B in 2011 from $226B in 2010, due to the earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan, the floods in Thailand, and severe storms in the U.S., Swiss Re (SWCEY.PK) says. The insurance industry's losses were far lower at $108B, up from $48B in 2010. Comment! [Global & FX, Financials]
Tuesday, November 1, 2011, 3:40 AM Insurers may have to boost reserves by billions of dollars if regulators insist on a stricter approach for meeting claims on "universal-life" products, the WSJ reports, with states saying that firms have improperly minimized reserves. No names have been mentioned, but Genworth (GNW), Lincoln, (LNC) and Protective (PL) use the disputed methodology. Comment! [Financials]

knownOUTlaw
carefully. volume move into MAKO and IAK. I just don't what to do tomorrow.
4/14/10
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ETFdesk
Insurers' Biggest Writedowns May Be Yet to Come: Jonathan Weil http://tinyurl.com/nbkcf2 time to short Insurers? $IAK $KIE #MKT #ETF
8/20/09
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ETFdesk
Insurers' Biggest Writedowns May Be Yet to Come: Jonathan Weil http://tinyurl.com/nbkcf2 time to short Insurers? $IAK $KIE #MKT #ETF
8/20/09
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