The Deleveraging Blues
After a credit boom and bust, we face a long period of spending less and saving more, writes the well-known author and NYU Stern School professor.
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Ohio National launches ‘Low-Vol’ VA options
"Going forward, I think the only sustainable product designs will be in the context of risk-levered funds,” said Steve Murphy, FSA, a senior vice president at the Cincinnati-based mutual...
The ‘Safety First’ Income Planner
Maryland advisor Antoine Orr couldn’t find an income planning tool that matched his low-risk, low-debt philosophy. So he created the Plancorr Planner.
Canada’s Annuity Issuers Protect their Turf
The Bank of Montreal will halt new sales of its BMO Lifetime Cash Flow, a retirement income product that Canadian insurers said worked a bit too much like a...
Low Growth, High Inflation? It Could Happen.
"We have been buying inflation-linked bonds and selling government bond futures against them," writes the head of fixed income at Old Mutual Asset Managers.
Fitch calls U.S. life industry “stable,” but notes concerns
"The industry’s large in-force book of variable annuity business will continue to be a drag on profitability over the near term," the ratings agency said in a recent bulletin.
Sun Sets on Sun Life’s U.S. Annuity Business
New CEO Dean Connor decided to cut Sun Life's losses in the U.S. annuity business after a third quarter that negatively impacted many U.S. annuity issuers. The Canadian...
The Fees Ate My Savings
A gerontology professor argues in a new article that Americans’ 401(k) holdings are coming up trillions of dollars short, thanks to high investment management fees.
Five Challenges for Life Insurers in 2012: E&Y
“Pressures such as low interest rates, volatile equities markets, and a political and regulatory environment in flux will continue to impact the industry, making it difficult for insurers to...
MetLife Dominates 3Q VA Sales
Another “very bright spot in the third quarter data was the significant increase in net cash flow, to $8.9 billion from $5.7 billion in the second quarter and $6.4...
Fixed Annuity Sales Running Flat in 2011: Beacon
"It's an interesting environment," said Beacon Research CEO Jeremy Alexander (left). "The word is that some carriers are keeping a lid on business" because of the low rates.
Put Your Money Where Your Neurons Are
The author of "Rational Exuberance" and co-creator of the Case-Shiller Home Price Indices heralds a new science that will help us understand economics by studying the physical structures that...
Changing Money
On a recent visit to Shanghai, our contributor found that a dollar doesn't command as much respect on the streets of China as it once did.
Six Ways Insurers Can Fight Low Interest Rates
While forecasting a 10% decline in investment yields for life insurers due to Fed interest rate policy, Ernst & Young proposes six strategies firms can use to combat the...
MetLife, Sun Life feel the pressure from low interest rates
MetLife's reduction of the deferral bonus on its hot-selling GMIB Max VA rider by a half-percent and news that Sun Life's strength rating is under review are symptoms of...
A Closer Look at the Wealth of the Wealthiest
This excerpt from a new Congressional Budget Office report on wealth inequality in the U.S. shows that "highly compensated workers have replaced people whose income is from property or...
It’s Back: The Hartford’s In-Plan Income Annuity
With United Technologies' recent adoption of an in-plan annuity, it now appears more likely that guaranteed income will eventually become commonplace in the defined contribution space. The Hartford, after...
Send the Social Security Statement to Everyone On One Day!
The associate director of the Center for Retirement Research wants financial services companies to fund a revival of the delivery of Social Security statements to working Americans. Cost: $55...
United Technologies Adopts In-Plan Annuity
After overhauling its huge retirement plans, this Fortune 50 firm selected AllianceBernstein's stand-alone living benefit as its in-plan 401(k) income option. AXA Equitable, Nationwide, and Lincoln Financial were expected...
Our Debt Won’t Bankrupt Our Grandkids
Deficit hawks say that federal debts and deficits put our progeny in a hole. Indeed, they've said it for decades. But some economists, starting as far back as 75...
