But don't write off this Swedish pioneer. Skandia is taking its uniqueway of selling insurance and applying it in Japan and Germany. France will be next. These markets have more potential than the U.S. because they're less mature. All three contain aging populations facing deteriorating social benefits.
Most insurance companies sell policies managed in-house, leaving investors with few choices.
Skandia gave away software and promotional materials that helped small advisers look smart to their clients and collect a sales commission for every policy they sell. That creates an emotional switching cost. In essence, Skandia takes other companies' mutual funds, wraps them in an insurance policy and pays others to sell it. It happened by accident, really. We were tired of training money managers and sales staff only to have them leave.