An Insurance Group Separate Account (IGSA) is a product offered by insurance companies that are used to fund retirement arrangements such as 401(k), 403(b), profit-sharing, and other types of company-sponsored retirement plans.
A pension plan investing in an IGSA is not providing its participants with a stream of guaranteed future income.
A typical IGSA product is simply a lineup of separate account investment options that may either be managed directly or that may invest in an open end mutual fund. "Separate" because the assets are separate from the general account of the insurance company.
IGSA are not registered investment vehicles like mutual funds or ETFs. SEC registration is not required for IGSA products, although they are regulated by state insurance boards.
Until now, IGSA investment vehicles have not been uniformly or distinctly identified by Morningstar. Consultants and advisors screening the database should recognize that as of May 2009 the database is in its initial stages and will increase in size and information disclosure as time progresses.
Presented in the Separate Account/Collective Trust database, a new Product Type, “IGSA” has been added to better identify these products. Product Type will contain one of the following three choices: the existing Composite (SMA), Collective Investment Trust, and now, IGSA.