Honorable Mention
SEC suspends trading of securities hyped in social media; Mutual of Omaha aims to get ‘Retirement Right’; Americans feel more financial damage from pandemic than in 2008: Allianz Life;...
‘COVID-19 is not a retirement story’: CRR
'A hot topic these days is how COVID-19 and the ensuing recession have affected retirement. The surprising answer may be: Not very much,' write Alicia Munnell and Anqi Chen...
Meet Laurence Black, Interpreter of Indexes
There's a confusing profusion of new indexes behind ETFs and annuities. Laurence Black of The Index Standard says he can make sense of them. Watch as Tamiko Toland of...
Honorable Mention
Pacific Life offers an investment-only VA; Wells Fargo will sell its asset management business; Philips, MetLife and Principal Financial seal $1.2 bn pension risk transfer deal; Security Benefit receives...
Honorable Mention
Women are skeptical of advisers: Cerulli; Equitable announces $1 billion share buyback.
January 2021 fund flows follow 2020 pattern: Morningstar
Taxable-bond funds dominated, with $79 billion of inflows in January and $459 billion of inflows over the trailing 12 months, the most by far for any group, Morningstar's latest...
Fear of longevity: A victim of COVID-19?
The percentage of consumers surveyed who rated lifetime income as highly valuable fell to 63% from 71% between February and August 2020, according to a recent CANNEX-Greenwald Research survey.
Britain passes landmark pension legislation
The legislation provides for the creation of collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes, which are hybrids of DC and defined benefit plans. It also boosts the powers of The Pensions...
The story of Geode—Fidelity’s low-profile indexing jewel
'Growing steadily without a marketing budget, Geode now manages some $720 billion, up from less than $100 billion a decade ago,' the Wall Street Journal reported this week.
Honorable Mention
Pacific Life to distribute two fee-based annuities; NARSSA sets up platform to support accredited Social Security experts; PGIM Investments announces over $21 billion in net fund flows for 2020;...
Will Biden tinker with tax deferral?
'Biden will equalize benefits across the income scale, so working families also receive substantial tax benefits' when they save, a former official told the Financial Services Institute.
As B/Ds merge, technology and culture are keys to success
In a recent survey by Cerulli Associates, technology was tied for the top spot among the factors most frequently cited by advisors as influencing their decision to join a...
Nationwide, Annexus partner on in-plan annuity
Nationwide announced last October that it would release a series of five new products for the 401(k) market. Today it announced Lifetime Income Builder, a fixed indexed annuity with...
Honorable Mention
Sammons Financial buys $3 billion Ohio-based RIA/TAMP; MetLife unit completes pension risk transfer deal with Weyerhaeuser; Equitable publishes study on educators' retirement savings rates; National Guardian Life buys Everplans;...
US insurers’ exposure to CLOs passed $132 billion in 2019: AM Best
The share of collateralized loan obligations in the fixed-income portfolios of life/annuity companies rose to 4.0% in 2019 from 2.7% in 2016, according to the ratings agency.
MassMutual buys Great American Life for $3.5 billion
MassMutual was the sales leader in fixed-rate deferred annuities through the first nine months of 2020, with $5.18 billion in sales. This acquisition makes it an instant player in...
Honorable Mention
Life sales show new life in 2020, MIB Index shows; 'Excessive fee' lawsuit against Penn's 403(b) plan settles for $13 million; Metro-area businesses are expected to recover from Covid-related...
AM Best assesses variable annuity regulatory reforms
The NAIC's VA reforms 'will serve to diminish the noneconomic volatility..., but ongoing developments related to the pandemic will likely lead to more uncertainty, with potential increases in equity...
Honorable Mention
Annuity distribution expert Scott Stolz joins SIMON; TIAA private equity affiliate raises $6.4 billion in new capital; MetLife unit in longevity reinsurance deals with Legal & General; Thrivent promotes...
