The Hartford’s VA assets fall in 2Q

The Hartford (Conn.) Financial Services Group Inc. reported a slump in second-quarter profits, which have fallen to $543 million or $1.73 per diluted share. That’s a decrease of 13% from $627 million or $1.96 per diluted share in the second quarter of last year. But the news looks rosy for the firm’s assets under management which crept up 3%, hitting $416.3 billion. The firm’s life operations experienced a plum quarter, bringing in $334 million in net income. But in The Hartford’s retail products group, variable annuity deposits took a slide in response to volatile equity markets and the competitive product environment, the firm noted. Deposits in variable annuities were $2.2 billion for the second quarter, compared to $3.5 billion in the prior year. Outflows climbed to $1.6 billion from $419 million. Variable annuity assets also stumbled and fell to $105 billion from $122 billion. Nevertheless, the firm continues to expect its 2008 core earnings per diluted share to range between $9.20 and $9.50. That’s unchanged from the guidance range established on April 28.