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.