text: In our life operations, aided by the Fortis Financial Group acquisition, we’re enhanc- 
  
  ing our market share and our distribution advantage. Individual life sales rose 14 percent 
  
  over 2000. Retail mutual fund sales increased 11 percent—despite a 19 percent drop in total 
  
  industry retail sales for the year. Performance in our Investment Products Division was 
  
  strong across all lines of business. Sales of 401(k) plans and institutional investment prod- 
  
  ucts rose 58 and 46 percent, respectively, in 2001, and our variable annuity market share 
  
  increased to 8.6 percent. 
  
  We believe we are uniquely positioned to reap the beneﬁts of a recovering and, ulti- 
  
  mately, rising stock market because we’ve enhanced our industry-leading market share for 
  
  individual retail variable annuities in a down market. This is especially encouraging since 
  
  industry-wide variable annuity sales declined by more than 17 percent last year. We’re lever- 
  
  aging our wholesaling capabilities to sell more mutual funds and retirement plans, and 
  
  we’re pursuing long-term growth opportunities driven by consumers’ ﬁnancial needs, 
  
  demographic shifts and our strengths as an organization. 
  
  As we add scale, we’re reinventing the life insurance sales process. Our SimplifyLife 