Sec. 425.1231.  AUTHORIZED INVESTMENTS: BOND EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS.  (a)  An insurance company may invest the insurer's funds in excess of minimum capital and surplus in shares of a bond exchange-traded fund registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. Section 80a-1 et seq.), as amended, if:
(1)  the exchange-traded fund is solvent and reported at least $100 million of net assets in the exchange-traded fund's latest annual or more recent certified audited financial statement;
(2)  the securities valuation office has designated the exchange-traded fund as meeting the criteria to be placed on the list promulgated by the securities valuation office of exchange-traded funds eligible for reporting as a long-term bond in the Purposes and Procedures Manual of the securities valuation office or a successor publication; and
(3)  the amount of the insurance company's investment in the exchange-traded fund does not exceed 15 percent of the insurance company's capital and surplus.
(b)  This section does not authorize an insurance company to invest in a bond exchange-traded fund that has:
(1)  embedded structural features designed to deliver performance that does not track the full unlevered and positive return of the underlying index or exposure, including a leveraged or inverse exchange-traded fund; or
(2)  an expense ratio in excess of 100 basis points.
(c)  A bond exchange-traded fund described by Subsection (a) shall be considered a business entity for purposes of Section 425.110.
(d)  An insurance company may deposit with the department shares of a bond exchange-traded fund described by Subsection (a) as a statutory deposit if state law requires a statutory deposit from the insurance company.
Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1132 (H.B. 2694), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2019.