March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Axa SA’s U.S. unit was fined $20 millionby a New York regulator for making changes to a retirement productwithout fully informing the watchdog.

Axa Equitable changed the investment strategy for some variableannuities sold earlier, limiting potential returns for customerswithout providing adequate notice to regulators, the New YorkDepartment of Financial Services said today in a statement.

“Axa changed the rules on these important products midstream,”Superintendent of Financial Services Benjamin Lawsky said in thestatement. “When it comes to retirement products, insurers must goabove and beyond to explain any changes that would alter investorreturns.”

Axa said in a statement that it routinely makes changes toproducts and that policyholders have a “full menu” of investmentoptions. The company said the regulator found that it “should havecommunicated better to NYDFS when it made certain technicalfilings.”

Variable annuities can guarantee that a client’s account willappreciate even if assets decline in value. Axa, based in Paris,applied a strategy called Axa Tactical Manager to some accounts,which was designed to smooth returns in volatile markets, DFSsaid.

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