It certainly looks as if there will be a big market for variable annuities.

Despite the potential returns, variable annuities are not for everyone.

But because of the death benefit, the same investment in a variable annuity is still worth $100,000 - at least on paper.

Variable annuities have features of both life insurance and investment products.

But variable annuities are hurting the insurance companies in other ways.

Or invest in funds similar to these through variable annuities.

That is a way to obtain the main features of a variable annuity at lower cost and with little added risk, in his view.

But there are situations in which variable annuities can make a lot of sense for certain investors.

Many financial experts say variable annuities work best for people with high incomes.

By contrast, the average total expense for variable annuities is 2.10 percent.