It’s July, So We Must Be in VA-VA-Land
Welcome to Retirement Income Journal’s Variable Annuity Month. We’re devoting all four of our weekly issues in July to the promise and the problems of variable annuities.
Mercer in deal with Financial Engines, HelloWallet and TD Ameritrade
The three new services will be added to Mercer's benefits administration platform.
“New normal” mindset pervades Boomers: Allianz Life
When asked which is more attractive, an investment paying a 4% guaranteed return or one with 8% return subject to market risk and loss of principal, 76% chose the...
DALBAR announces fiduciary designation for 401(k) advisors
The 401(k) RFTM Designation is awarded to designees who after training and testing prove to be fluent in the language and regulations of ERISA.
Mind the [Retirement] Gap
Of those who expect to need 75%-100% of their pre-retirement salary in retirement, less than a third had enough savings to generate this income, according to J. P. Morgan's...
SEC “starved of resources”: New Yorker
"The market has become more of an exclusive gambling club for the very rich than a level playing field open to the ordinary investor," wrote journalist George Packer.
Eleven Million Millionaires Worldwide
About 40,000 Americans have investable assets of $30 million or more, according to the 15th annual World Wealth Report from Merrill Lynch and Capgemini.
Things Heard and Overheard
Here's a follow-up on our earlier report on the recent SPARK conference, with more news and comment about DoL enforcement strategy, the threat to the tax deferral for savings,...
Vanguard issues annual DC report
"How America Saves," now in its 10th edition, is a compilation of data from Vanguard's 2,000 defined contribution plans, which cover three million participants with about $400 billion in...
Your financial crisis is different from my financial crisis
New research from Olivia S. Mitchell of Wharton’s Pension Research Council et al shows that financial crises are felt differently by the young and the old, and by those...
AARP disavows reports of its reversal on Social Security
In Washington, AARP's CEO denied earlier statements by his own policy chief that the organization was open to future cuts in Social Security benefits if the cuts made the...
RBC Wealth Management ranks first in “satisfaction” survey
The annual J. D. Power and Associates U.S. Full Service Investor Satisfaction Survey also found that most people don't understand the difference between the "fiduciary" and "suitability" standards of...
SPIA Flow at Fidelity: $70M-a-Month
Sales began going up after Fidelity incorporated SPIAs into its online retirement planning tools: the Income Strategy Evaluator and the Guaranteed Income Estimator.
Fixed annuities from three small insurers make Barron’s “smart” list
While smaller than most of the other 15 companies on the list (see today’s Data Connection), Life Insurance Co. of the Southwest, Royal Neighbors of America and The...
Annuities, Sudden Darlings of the Media
Positive articles about annuities are certainly welcome—especially at a time when a relentless interest-rate drought is desiccating their value—but recent pieces in Barron's and the New York Times didn't...
New York Life’s new annuity ad campaign targets wirehouse advisors
“The campaign is meant to reinforce the thinking validated by academics, that income annuities are a valuable asset class for retirement portfolios," said Steve Fisher, chief marketing officer for...
Fund flows decline again in May; ETFs see outflow: Morningstar
U.S. stock funds recorded their first significant outflows of the year, as the asset class lost $4.5 billion in May.
The Hartford enhances VA suite
The product enhancements are part of a series of investments The Hartford is making in its annuity business in recent months, the company said.
Wolters Kluwer weighs in on Supreme Court’s Janus decision
In its 5-4 decision on Janus Capital Group, Inc. v. First Derivatives Traders, a lawsuit first filed in 2003, the high court held that liability for allegedly misleading statements...
Milliman’s annual VA survey analyzes rider exercise rates, lapse rates
Lifetime withdrawal benefit exercise rates rose with in-the-moneyness and age of contract owners, according to Milliman's survey of 18 variable annuity issuers, including 11 top-20 issuers.
