The High-Voltage Plank in the GOP Platform
Social Security deserves our respect and protection, not our contempt or our scorn. Even if it does crowd out private annuities.
Why Growth Matters More Than Debt
The author explains why the national debt shouldn't terrify us. This article first appeared last January in The American, the publication of the American Enterprise Institute.
Four out of five advisors continue to use VAs: Cogent Research
Sales of variable annuities by registered reps and RIAs is broad but not deep: 80% use them but put only 11% of their clients’ assets into them.
What Does ‘CFP’ Really Stand For?
The CEO of the American College took umbrage at the way the incoming CEO of the Financial Planning Association, Lauren Schadle, in a recent news interview, seemed to identify...
Economy shows “early signs of sustainable strength”: S&P
“While it may be too early to conclude that the economy has fully emerged from the second quarter ‘soft patch,’ economic conditions have not continued to deteriorate in July...
Fixed indexed annuity sales rise in 2Q 2012: AnnuitySpecs.com
After less than one year in the FIA market, Security Benefit Life had the top-selling indexed annuity for the quarter, the Secure Income Annuity.
Prudential Launches HD Lifetime Income 2.0
Highest Daily Lifetime Income 2.0, which includes an enhanced death benefit, replaces Highest Daily Lifetime Income and Spousal Highest Daily Lifetime Income benefits.
Quote of the Week
"When there are economic gains to be allocated, our political process can allocate them. But when there are large economic losses to be allocated, our political system is paralyzed....
RIIA’s Retirement ‘Bootcamp’
I drove up to Salem, Mass., last week to see what the classes for the Retirement Income Industry Association's RMA designation were all about.
Six VA issuers that advisors love
Prudential, Jackson National, MetLife, Aegon/Transamerica, and RiverSource have increased their penetration among VA users over the past year, says a new report from Cogent Research.
The worst of the global slowdown will soon be over: BNY Mellon
“We disagree with the disaster scenarios for Europe,” said the bank’s chief economist, Richard Hoey.
Too many fund choices can spoil the portfolio, researchers say
Increasing the fund options increases the number of funds that people invest in and increases their tendency to spread the dollars evenly among those funds, a new study shows.
IRA contributions increase nearly 15% since 2007: Fidelity
For the first half of 2012, Fidelity conducted more than 45,000 Roth IRA conversions with investors.
Strategic Insight is Bullish on ‘In-Plan’ Annuities
"This market is more mature than many people realize," said Tamiko Toland, principal author of a new Strategic Insight review of the efforts to sell individual lifetime income guarantees...
Crump Life Insurance expands relationship with AXA Network
Effective July 2, 2012, AXA Network’s 119 employees at its Harrisburg location became employees of Crump, continuing to service AXA Advisors financial professionals exclusively as a national account of...
$17 billion flows into stock and bond funds in July
With so much pre-election gloom and doom in the media and so many investors abandoning stocks, contrarians might wonder if it’s time to bet on an equities rally.
Will my clients have to pay the new Medicare surtax?
If your clients' modified adjusted gross income (AGI) and their investment income combine to put them over one of the income thresholds, they will owe the tax. (Got questions?...
Two JFP articles you shouldn’t miss
In the August issue of the Journal of Financial Planning, there's an article by Harold Evensky et al about using home equity instead of a cash bucket in retirement,...
What Retirement Advisors Most Want to Know
In a recent webinar, RIIA asked attendees, including many advisors, for input on creating survey questions for an upcoming advisor poll. The responses reflected some of the most pressing...
Falling rates drove up pension liabilities in July: BNY Mellon
Portfolios for plan sponsors have performed well, with assets rising more than seven percent during the first seven months of the year for the typical U.S. corporate plan. But...
