Short Takes: Jackson, Oppenheimer Vary Annunity Menus

annuity business by coming out with new products and incentives. Earlier this month Jackson National Life Insurance Co. rolled out a new variable annuity - the first for the Atlanta-based company - that allows buyers to invest in well-known portfolios from Alger Management, Janus Capital Corp., and T. Rowe Price & Associates, among others. Jackson is selling the variable annuity through banks and other financial intermediaries. The company is also adding a 1% bonus interest rate for one year to single premium deferred annuity policies bought before December 31. Oppenheimer Management Corp., which also sells mutual funds and annuities through banks, has added fixed-rate investment options to its LifeTrust Variable Annuity, in an effort to attract more investors. The fixed accounts are offered in maturities of one, three, five and seven years, and are underwritten by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.