Are Direct-Sold Funds a Better Value?
New research argues that broker-sold mutual funds—both active and passive—tend to generate lower returns at higher costs than direct-sold mutual funds.
VA from Fidelity and MetLife marks $1 billion in sales
MGGI simplifies the investment option selection for the customer by offering a single fund, the Fidelity VIP FundsManager 60% Portfolio, which uses an asset allocation approach to achieve exposure...
Many Americans unprepared for health expenses in old age
More than one-third of Americans ages 45 to 70 are worried about running out of money during retirement, but only 20% plan to purchase any form of guaranteed lifetime...
Health spending grew less rapidly in 2009
Health spending rose only 4% in 2009 to $2.5 trillion, or $8,086 per person, down from 4.7% in 2008. Consumers spent $299.3 billion out-of-pocket on health care, up 0.4%.
Poland mixes politics with pensions—with mixed results
Polish workers pay 19.5% of taxable income into the mandatory pensions system, of which 12.2% goes into a plan like our Social Security and 7.3% goes into privately-run DC...
Prudential’s Q-class fund shares offer fee transparency
Eligible plans, including 401(k) and 403(b) plans, among others, can convert their current holdings in another share class of a Prudential fund to the fund’s Class Q shares.
National Life Group adds income option to IUL products
If the policy owner is between ages 60 and 85 and the policy has been in force for at least 15 years, and the policy has sufficient value independent...
Financial Engines to announce retirement income program
The presentation will begin at 12:30pm ET, January 31. Investors and interested parties can access this presentation by visiting the Company’s investor relations website.
Four Drawdown Methods Compared
In his new book on the decline of defined benefit pensions, George "Sandy" Mackenzie also compares four non-insured retirement income strategies and chooses the best of a flawed lot.
A Roundup of Crisis-Related Research
Here are summaries of some of the newest work published by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
Despite Aging Workforce, Japan Turns Young Immigrants Away
By 2055, more than one in three Japanese will be over 65, as the working-age population falls by over a third to 52 million.
Swiss Re completes first longevity trend bond
The bond, which is based on population data, would trigger in the event of a large divergence in the mortality improvements experienced between men aged between 75 and 85...
Bank of America Settles Fannie-Freddie Claims
The agreements center on loans that Countrywide Financial, which was purchased by Bank of America in 2008, sold to the two agencies.
States Have Mandate, But Not Money, To Oversee Mid-Sized Advisors
California, Florida, New York and Texas will account for 35% of all the advisory firms switching over to state regulation, according to National Regulatory Services, a Connecticut consulting firm.
Boomers May Regret Payroll Tax Holiday: Op-Ed
If made permanent, a new Social Security ‘payroll tax holiday,’ reducing the ‘match’ employers pay from 6% to 4% of salary, will drop the solvency of the program 14...
SPARK Institute starts data project for non-registered plan investment options
The new standards will help the providers share the comparison chart information electronically with one another and with existing investment information aggregators, the institute says.
High popularity, low penetration augur well for ETF growth
Research from Mintel shows that more than six in 10 investors—including high income investors--say they don’t invest in ETFs simply because they “don't know what they are.”
For capital gains tax, the “honor system” ends January 1
Before the new rule, the government didn’t have a way to verify if an investor was reporting the true gain on a sale unless there was an audit, said...
Of apples, oranges and unemployment rates
“Among individuals predicted to be at highest risk of being unemployed, a one percentage point increase in the resident state's unemployment rate is associated with a 2-8% reduction in...
SEC seeks comments on credit rating standardization
The SEC is conducting a study, required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, to investigate the feasibility and desirability of standardizing credit rating...
