Red Bulls and Blue Bears
After the 2016 election, Republicans shifted toward equities and Democrats shifted toward bonds. MIT researchers found that out of step with the classic image of the ‘rational investor’ and...
_Position: Cover
On the Case: Plan for A Couple with $750K
RIJ asked advisor/actuary Jerry Golden, founder of Golden Retirement, Go2Income.com, and the Income Power method, to develop a retirement income plan for the 'M.T. Knestors,' a couple with about...
How to Make Your Widow Merrier
The generosity of the Social Security spousal benefit is something every primary earner should understand. Yet many spouses--and even some professionals--aren't sure exactly how it works.
Research Roundup
Recent research suggests that factor investing may beat passive; air pollution promotes dementia; investors buy active funds because they believe hard work pays off; Fed 'surprises' cause wider ripples...
Making Annuities Easier for RIAs
It's no longer a minority report. We talk to executives at Envestnet, DPL Financial, RetireOne, Allianz Life and United Capital about new platforms for helping registered investment advisors integrate...
Meet the First ‘Structured Outcome’ ETF
Innovator Capital Management and Milliman have built the first structured outcome product on an exchange-traded fund (ETF) chassis, challenging the annuity monopoly in this category.
The Science (Not Sci-Fi) of Social Security
The overlap of Social Security policy and behavioral finance was the subject of several papers aired at the Retirement Research Consortium’s 20th annual meeting last week. Economists are trying...
‘PEP’ Talk
In this sixth installment of our series on "pooled employer plans" or PEPs
(also known as "open multiple employer plans" or MEPs), we asked 401(k) experts if this new...
Mind the Coverage Gap
'I am not aware of any predictions that a significant percentage of small employers who do not currently offer a plan will now adopt a PEP,' said Jack Towarnicky,...
Turning the 401(k) on Its Head
Executives at State Street Global Advisors, Transamerica, Securian, and Prudential discuss their strategies for developing multiple employer 401(k) plans for small companies and helping to close the 401(k) ‘coverage...
Provider-Sponsored 401(k): Part III
This is the third installment of our series on the push for shifting plan sponsorship from employers to service providers and the "institutionalization" of retirement in the US. This...
Fuzzy Words in a Retirement Bill
The Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act of 2018 has bipartisan support and a greater-than-average chance of passing. Many believe that it could lead to provider-sponsored 401(k) plans. But bill...
Everybody into the Pool?
If pending legislation passes, retirement service providers could begin to sponsor 401(k) plans. Asset managers are especially keen on these ‘pooled employer plans’ or ‘open MEPS.’
Adding a ‘Retirement Tier’ to 401(k)s
Drew Carrington, who markets Franklin Templeton funds through jumbo 401(k) plans, believes that plans should include a “retirement tier” reserved for participants who are nearing retirement. His payout funds...
‘Show Me the Income’
The focus was on mutual funds and ETFs at Morningstar's 30th Investor Conference this week in Chicago, but retirement financing and the 'best interest' proposal were also discussed. (Photo:...
An Income Strategy for ‘M.T. Knestors’
We gave WealthConductor LLC a real retirement income case to solve. Here's the 'bucketing' plan their IncomeConductor software created for a couple with $663,000.
The Myth of the Aging Society
‘The standard chronological measure of age makes less sense than ever,’ writes our guest columnist, a professor at the London School of Economics and co-author of ‘The 100-Year Life:...
The Complex Truth about Retiree Medical Costs
The cost of medical care in retirement doesn't look as scary when you break it down into annual expenses and remember that insurance covers most of the big-ticket items.
This Is Worse than the Fiduciary Rule
Nature abhors a vacuum, and so does the retirement industry. Now that the Obama fiduciary rule is gone, some people are realizing that it actually served a purpose. The...
La Vida Robo
After MIT and a stint at Merrill Lynch, Carlos Garcia decided to start Finhabits, the first bilingual English and Spanish robo-advisor and savings tool. It's for first-time savers. It's...
