Amid ‘Trump Bump,’ annuities go begging
LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute's third quarter 2017 annuity sales survey reflects the fact that few Americans are taking profits from the aging bull market and locking them into safe...
Advisor headcount to shrink through 2017
Since peaking in 2005, the industry has shrunk by a net 32,000 advisors. Some simply aren’t needed. Competition and “underwhelming” client demand have caused firms to lower the supply...
DC participants should contribute 15% of pay for 40 years: Schroders
A Schroders executive criticized most collective DC fund managers for failing to target real returns of at least 3%. “You can’t eat relative returns,” said Lesley-Ann Morgan, head of...
Stanford biz professor to host online course on retirement and pensions
The 'Finance of Retirement and Pensions' course will conclude with an interactive symposium about the challenges of U.S. pension systems. It will be held in January 2014 at the...
Big outflows from bond funds persist
While the monthly outflow has been huge, it is still a recent phenomenon. The year-to-date net outflow of $28.4 billion reverses only a tiny fraction of the inflows from...
Britons debate best way to consolidate DC accounts
Some in the U.K. suggest the creation of a nationwide non-profit “pension-pot clearinghouse.” It would keep track of all the plans a person has contributed to and how much...
America’s Bond Market Blues
"For China, the benefits of holding large quantities of US dollars no longer outweigh the risks, so it must begin to reduce the share of US securities in its...
Symetra FIA surpasses $1 billion in sales
The Edge Pro fixed indexed annuity gives clients the choice of two index options: the S&P 500 Index and the S&P GSCI Excess Return Index.
Lufthansa permanently grounds its DB plan
CEO Peter Gerber said the airline's pension costs for domestic employees alone rose from €210m to €250m since 2011. One of the main cost drivers was the contract's guaranteed...
One in four US households stressed by debt: Mintel
Only 48% of those surveyed think it is an achievable goal to be debt free at retirement, with only 30% stating they will be able to live comfortably in...
‘Managed solutions’ pass $3tr in assets: MMI
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is the leader in managed solution programs with $627 billion in AUM at the end of 2Q 2013 and a 21% market share. The other...
“I’m financially literate, but you’re not”
Over half of Americans gave themselves an A or B grade on their saving and investing knowledge, while giving the average American a grade of D, according to a...
Seven Nominees for Our Product Innovation Award
Products from Great-West, ING-US, Midland National, New York Life, Northwestern Mutual, Sun Life of Canada and Transamerica/AEGON are in contention for the first annual "Innovation in Retirement Income Products"...
Sizing Up the DIA’s Sales Potential
With y-o-y sales growth of 150%, deferred income annuities have attracted a lot of attention. But so far the DIA phenomenon has been concentrated among mutual insurers and in...
The nexus of marriage, child-rearing styles, and wealth
Do Americans choose to marry, as opposed to cohabitate, so that they can invest heavily in their children’s futures?
MoneyGuidePro’s newest feature encourages client action
The new tool is designed to help advisors in “more deeply engaging their clients around plan actions," the Powhatan, Va.-based firm said in a release.
“Twenty to One”
The ratio of savings to annual retirement income is roughly 20 to one. Twenty-to-one is an easy ratio to remember. Promoting it would be cheaper and easier than requiring...
