Russia's First Participatory Life Insurance Product Launches in March
Sber's inaugural fund in its lineup features a variable coupon bond strategy and a money market fund with the lowest risk rating.
SberLife Insurance will launch Russia's first participatory life insurance (PLI) program, "Equity Capital," in March. Under a neutral scenario, the projected annual return over a one-year horizon is 20.2%. Ruslan Vesterovsky, Senior Vice President and Head of Wealth Management at Sberbank, announced this during a press conference summarizing Sber's insurance business performance in 2024.
On January 1, 2025, a new law takes effect in Russia allowing insurers to offer PLI. In January, SberLife Insurance obtained a license to manage investment funds, unit investment funds (UIFs), and non-state pension funds.
The "Equity Capital" program combines actively managed investments with insurance coverage. Clients receive insurance protection alongside returns from investments placed in UIFs. In the event of an insured risk, the policyholder or beneficiary receives a payout in addition to the accumulated investment portion. If no insured event occurs, the full investment portion is paid out at the contract’s conclusion.
SberLife Insurance’s first PLI program allocates 50% to variable coupon bonds and 50% to money market instruments, both with the highest risk rating. Management fees (0.9% annually) and fund expenses (≤0.33% annually) are included in the unit price, while the PLI insurance fee is just 0.2%.
Ruslan Vesterovsky, Sberbank Senior VP and Wealth Management Head:
"The market long awaited PLI legislation, and we’ve finally achieved it. Two years ago, Sber phased out traditional investment life insurance in favor of PLI principles. Clients embraced it quickly, but high entry thresholds (legally set at 1.5 million RUB) limited its reach.
Now, under the new law, we’ll offer a product with a minimum entry of 1,000 RUB starting in March. 'Equity Capital' delivers stable returns with minimal risk—projected at 20.2% annually under a neutral one-year scenario.
In Q2, we plan to launch another open-end UIF fund, followed by a premium closed-end UIF in H2. These products have strong prospects. Additionally, starting January 1, 2027, life insurance products will fall under the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) guarantee system, akin to bank deposits."
Contracts can span up to 30 years, with clients able to track portfolio performance via SberLife Insurance’s online portal.
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