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Cover Stories

Take the ‘Gauss’ Work Out of Saving

by Kerry Pechter

Take the ‘Gauss’ Work Out of Saving

Tue, Mar 15, 2011

Using "non-Gaussian" analysis, Jim Otar has created a benchmark for evaluating retirement savings vehicles--and discovered that cautious savers might want to hold fewer equities.

Morningstar’s ‘Secret Sauce’

by Kerry Pechter

Morningstar’s ‘Secret Sauce’

Wed, Mar 09, 2011

Speaking at the 2011 Morningstar/Ibbotson Conference in Orlando, Roger Ibbotson (above) described low-liquidity as a largely unrecognized source of alpha in stocks and mutual funds.

Wedding Bells for TIPS and ALDA

by Kerry Pechter

Wedding Bells for TIPS and ALDA

Wed, Mar 02, 2011

Together, PIMCO's TIPS-based managed payout funds and MetLife's longevity insurance mitigate two big retirement risks: inflation risk and the risk of outliving one’s savings.

LPL Taps Five Insurers for New VA Platform

by Kerry Pechter

LPL Taps Five Insurers for New VA Platform

Tue, Feb 22, 2011

Advisors who use LPL Financial’s new Fee-Based Variable Annuity platform can manage VA subaccounts just like mutual funds. (Photo at LPL’s San Diego office.)

News

Americans anxious about retirement, new surveys show

Tue, Mar 15, 2011

More than half of workers say they have less than $25,000 in total savings and investments, excluding their homes.

30% of employers to restore matching contributions in 2011

Tue, Mar 15, 2011

But the survey also showed that 57% of DB plan sponsors had frozen their plans to new entrants.

Millionaires’ attitudes, a leading indicator, are pointing up

Tue, Mar 15, 2011

Some millionaires need only $1.75 million in investments to “feel wealthy," but 42% won’t feel wealthy until they have $7.5 million, a Fidelity survey found.

U.S. Insurance M&A Rebounds in 2010

Wed, Mar 16, 2011

Conning Research reports that transactions increased 36% and deal value increased 224%, reversing a five-year decline.

China outlines Social Security Fund expansion

Wed, Mar 16, 2011

The SSF, which was established in 2000 and receives a statutory 10% of the proceeds of all IPOs by Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs), is the largest pension fund investor in China.