• Go online and find any Variable Annuity prospectus for a company other than Vanguard or Metlife. Locate the Table of Expenses (or Fee Table) section at the beginning of the prospectus (it is not necessary to print it).
• Using the tab Your Company Blank in the Excel VA file, fill in the yellow cells in the assumptions section with information from your contract.
• Here are some instructions on how to fill the blanks.
• Name and company: Type your name and the name of the company you are using in the cells at the top of the worksheet.
• Contract class: Some companies (but not all) offer different classes of contracts. These classes typically affect the fee structure and the investments offered. If several classes are offered, you can choose any one. If there is only one class offered (like in the Vanguard contract), write Not Applicable.
• Death benefit: Some contracts (but not all) offer different death benefits. A fee is charged for more generous death benefits. For the illustrations, assume that the most basic death benefit is chosen and indicate the name of this benefit in the yellow cell. If there is only one death benefit option and the prospectus does not indicate its name, write Standard Death Benefit.
• Funds: If possible, choose a balanced fund from the list of funds offered, i.e. a fund that combines stocks and bonds (sometimes these are called balanced funds explicitly, but they can have a lot of other marketing names). If there is no such fund offered, choose any other fund that is not too specialized.
• Separate account charge: Fill the yellow cell with the separate account charge that corresponds to the class of contract and the death benefits that you have chosen. In your contract, the separate account charge might be divided into a mortality and expense risk (M&E) charge and into other administrative charges. Includes all charges. Assume that no other death benefits or guarantees for living benefits are purchased.
• Total annual operating expenses: Fill the yellow cell with the total operating expense for the fund you have chosen. This fee should include all expenses applicable to the management of the fund, e.g. management expenses, 12b-1 fee, and other expenses. Some prospectuses give you the minimum and maximum fees instead of a list of all fees; in that case, you can use the average of the minimum and maximum.
• Annual contract fee: Indicate the annual contract fee (if there is one) and the minimum investment required to waive the annual contract fee (if there is one).
• Withdrawal/surrender charges: Fill in the cell with the number of years with surrender charges and the cells with the withdrawal/surrender charges for the contract. Ignore the charges if they apply after 7 years.

Other information: Each VA contract is different: they can use different terminology for the charges and can include various additional benefits. For this exercise, focus on the features that are similar to the ones that we had in the class activity.