LPL to buy National Retirement Partners
Over the past decade, LPL has become the largest independent contractor broker-dealer in the industry. In 2000, the firm had 3,569 advisers. It had 12,026 as of March 31.
Investors Talk the Talk, But Ignore Walk: Allianz Global Investors
The majority of investors 65-plus (57%) have less than 25% of their portfolios in bonds and/or bond mutual funds, according to a survey of Americans in households with at...
D.C. Appeals Court Rules Against 151A
“Most likely this means that the SEC will drop efforts to regulate this product,” said Eric Marhoun, general counsel of the Old Mutual Insurance Company.
Mr. Smith Goes to the Patent Office
An actuary-turned-entrepreneur claims to have invented a cheap, benign, versatile new income distribution tool. But he’s coyly cryptic about its secret sauce.
A Longevity Test: Science or Science Fiction?
After studying the genomes of centenarians in New England, two Boston University researchers say they have identified a set of genetic variants that predicts extreme longevity with 77% accuracy.
Bill Gross Cites Barrier to a Better ‘New Normal’
It is the lack of global aggregate demand—resulting from too much debt in parts of the global economy and not enough in others--that is the essence of the problem,...
Plans Could Save 70 Bps a Year Through Trusts and ETFs
Without giving up the investment objectives offered by actively managed funds, participants in 401(k) plans could pay much lower costs on their assets by shifting to ETFs and commingled...
Roth Account Openings Up 89% at Fidelity
New account openings increased significantly in the first four months of the year, driven by Roth IRA conversion activity and the use of Roth IRAs as a savings vehicle.
In Japan, Savers Grow More Conservative
Among risk assets, domestic stock funds were down 19% as a proportion of assets held, while foreign stock funds were down 28%, with a correspondingly positive growth in domestic...
Five Ways to Adjust to a New Tax Landscape
A consortium of advisors who represent Securities America offered these suggestions for how investors and their advisors can adjust to the expiration of EGTRRA and JGTRRA at the end...
NIH Devotes Only 11% of Budget to Elderly Studies
Although there has been moderate growth in spending at all 27 N.I.H. research centers, the growth is slower at the National Institute on Aging.
Orszag to Depart OMB Director Post
“Basically, the OMB Director is a brutal job and subject to quick burnout," commented one political blogger.
Towers Watson Explains New Pension Relief Law
A Client Alert details the implications of the "Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010."
The Guardian Offers New SPIA
As an inflation hedge, the product’s Annuity Payment Increase Benefit option increases the annuity payment each year by a fixed dollar amount.
The Global Distribution of Millionaires
In Singapore and Hong Kong, millionaire households account for 11.4% and 8.8%, respectively, of all households, according to Boston Consulting Group.
“Too Good to Last”
Curiosity about investments in secondary market annuities, which earn up to 9%, is growing. But these “factored products” are scarce—and virtually unregulated.
New VA Contracts from Smaller Issuers
After highlighting new VA contracts from big issuers last week, we now turn to four new products from second-tier or regional insurers, all of them with sturdy A-level strength...
Reflections of a VA-Selling Advisor
Jay Hauenstein, a dually-licensed advisor in Mississippi who manages about $10 million in VA assets, looks for contracts with strong roll-ups and death benefits.
SEC Proposes More Disclosures for TDFs
Under one proposed rule, marketing materials that include a date in a target date fund’s name must also disclose the fund’s asset allocation at the target date.
Loyalty to Plan Providers Varies By Plan Size—Cogent
Plan providers are able to win loyalty in each size-tier to the extent that they meet the needs of that tier, says Cogent Research.
