A New Film, ‘The Baby Boomer Dilemma,’ Praises Annuities
By the end of this cautionary tale, you might want to run out and, like Tom Hegna, buy a dozen annuities. (In photo: The film's fictional couple, under financial...
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A 5-Year Cushion against Market Risk
'Prudent Asset Allocation' gives you the confidence of knowing that over the next five years, you don’t have to worry about market conditions,” says Louis S. Harvey of Dalbar,...
‘Smart,’ from UK, Enters the US PEP Market
'Smart' is the recently-launched American branch of a British fintech with expertise in a kind of retirement savings plan that's called a 'master trust' in the UK and a...
Research Roundup
Almost every controversial subject in the US today--from Fed policy to machine learning to immigration--contains an element or theme related to retirement policy. The articles reviewed in this month's Research...
‘iTDFs’ Smooth the Bumps of Retirement Income
A former chief actuary of Denmark seeks a US target date fund company that might use his technology, the 'iTDF,' to create a seamless transition from pre-retirement savings to...
A Revolt Against PE-Led Annuity Issuers
Matt Zagula is an annuity wholesaler and fixed indexed annuity (FIA) designer. He and forensic accountant Tom Gober created the TSR ratio, a scale for rating FIA issuers. Mutual...
How to Dodge the ‘Inflation Ninja’
'Inflation is like a ninja,' write the authors of a timely article in The Journal of Investing. These experts from the CFA Institute and Franklin Templeton review the major...
Thanks-givings (Not Misgivings) about Social Security
This year I'm claiming the Social Security benefits that I've earned on my own work record. I'm old enough now to be truly thankful for Social Security, whose future...
The Alt-Asset Teams that Reinvent Annuity Companies
'Insurance Solutions' groups use private assets to boost the returns of life/annuity company investment portfolios. RIJ talks with Todd Fonner of Investcorp Insurance Solutions about this trend.
One Life Insurer’s Pivot to Private Assets
American Equity Investment Life’s ‘AEL 2.0’ strategy is designed to help it thrive even in a low yield environment. Allocating up to 40% of its money to ‘private assets’...
NAIC Eyes ‘Bermuda Triangle’ Strategy
A document from the NAIC's Financial Stability Task Force reflects the concerns that the NAIC has heard from a variety of sources about the increased ownership of life insurers...
Charting the Bitcoin Universe (and other New Research)
This Research Roundup offers a map of the world of cryptocurrency trading, a look at 'Participating Longevity-Linked Annuities,' an investing strategy for low-yield times from David Blanchett, and answers...
Another Annuity Issuer Enters the ‘Bermuda Triangle’
American Equity Investment Life Insurance Co., a top-ten fixed indexed annuity seller, is partnering with Brookfield Asset Management on a $10 billion reinsurance and investment deal. Their plan looks...
The New Table Stakes: ‘Unified Managed Income’
To get attention today, income calculation software has to do a lot. Like tell wealth managers and recordkeepers when, in what quantity, and from what sources they should send...
Retirement Parachutes, in Different Colors
'Constance' from RetireOne and Midland National lets advisers hang an income-for-life rider on a non-annuity portfolio. Five 401(k) plan sponsors are adopting 'LifePath Paycheck' from BlackRock, Brighthouse and Equitable....
Research Roundup
This month we bring you scholarly articles on the Social Security 'tax torpedo,' the likelihood of needing long-term care, the best decumulation strategies from DC plans, the people most...
Learn to [Ted] ‘Lasso’ Women Clients
David Macchia of Wealth2k and author Marcia Mantell are about to launch a new service, Women And Income, a turnkey marketing, income planning and lead generation service for advisers....
A New Path to Inflation-Resistant Income
Achaean Financial's novel hybrid design for a lifetime income annuity is being brought to market by National Western Life. We spoke with Achaean founder Lorry Stensrud and NWL's Chad...
Bermuda’s Role in a Changing Annuity Industry
In this latest installment in our 'Bermuda Triangle' series, we ask why US life/annuity companies would reinsure liabilities in Bermuda, and why big private equity firms are creating reinsurers...
Five Ways to Generate Retirement Income
In this pre-Labor Day issue of RIJ, we bring you five ways to create retirement income, based on concepts developed by or real-life cases solved by income experts like...
