A ‘Babysitter’ for Immature Rollovers
GuidedChoice, the 401(k) participant advice provider, and InspiraFS, a recordkeeper specializing in IRAs, have joined forces to turn automatic rollovers from a problem into a profit center.
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The Death Spiral of Capitalism
"The effect of a decade or more with negative real interest rates is likely to be devastating," writes this ever-bearish pundit. He expects the central bank response to the...
Parallels to 1937
"Now, as then, people have been disappointed for a long time, and many are despairing," writes the 2013 Nobel laureate in economics.
DTCC Publishes first-half 2014 Annuity Flow Report
The report analyzed almost $104 billion in annuity transactions involving 120 insurance companies (44 parent/holding companies), 583 distributors, and 3,463 annuity products.
RetirePreneur: Sheryl J. Moore
The founder of Moore Market Intelligence and Wink, Ms. Moore has established herself as one of the most widely respected, quoted and enthusiastic authorities on fixed indexed annuities. ...
Nominal SPIAs Beat Nominal DIAs—But Perhaps Not for Long
“DIAs may represent a more palatable hedge against longevity risk for retirees than traditional annuities, because they are cheaper and therefore provide more liquidity to retirees,” writes Morningstar's David...
‘Changing of the Guard’ Continues in VA Sales
MetLife is selling one-third of what it was two years ago. Prudential is selling half of what it did in the first two quarters of 2012. The biggest gainers...
Consider the Alternatives!
Liquid alts are the hottest topic in mutual funds. Some have suggested that they can solve sequence risk and temper longevity risk in retirement portfolios. To demystify this topic,...
Man Bites Vanguard
A whistleblower's suit accusing Vanguard of transfer pricing and tax evasion reminded me of the time I asked, 'What does Vanguard do with its own money?'
Booming Until It Hurts?
As usual, the stock market appears to be climbing a wall of worry. This 2013 Nobel laureate believes that such worries are healthy, but only as long as they...
The Fed in Denial
The largest US banks are still 95% debt-financed, according to the Global Capital Index. With that much leverage, it does not take a lot to create fear of insolvency,...
Time for Fed to Take ‘Beer Goggles’ Off
“Early next year, or potentially sooner depending on the pace of economic improvement, the FOMC may well begin to raise interest rates in gradual increments,” said the CEO of...
My Dad’s Reverse Mortgage, Part II
I was staring into the smirking face of Moral Hazard itself. The stain of it was smeared on me too, because I was wishfully thinking that the condo might...
It Just Keeps Getting Better
"Don't worry. Be happy," suggests the president of PPCA, Inc., who attached this video when distributing copies of his "Review of the Capital Markets in the First Half of...
Thirteen Life and Annuity Specialists Rated ‘Successful’ by Conning
“In our analysis we see a greater focus on annuities among the successful insurers than we had previously,” said Steve Webersen, director of research at Conning.
Systemic Risk is Worse Now than in 2008
"When monetary policy is so extreme for so long, it results in more systemic risk. It's as simple as that," worries our ever-gloomy guest commentator, who pens the Bear's...
Introducing the free ‘Social Security Maximizer’
To access the Maximizer, subscribers (after logging in to the RIJ website) should simply click on the Social Security Maximizer image in the right navigation channel of the RIJ...
Getting the Exclusion Ratio (Without Annuitizing)
AXA and, most recently, Lincoln Financial, are marketing variable annuities that combine investment flexibility with variable income options that (for non-qualified contracts) allow regular tax-favored distributions without annuitization.
Conning appraises the invasion of the life insurance company snatchers
Their generally shorter bond maturities could give firms like Guggenheim, Athene, Apollo and Global Atlantic an edge over traditional life insurers if and when interest rates begin to rise,...
RetirePreneur: Mathew Greenwald
Mathew Greenwald is the president and owner of a Washington, D.C.-based market research firm that conducts surveys for financial service providers, life insurers and investment managers.
