NAIC approves revised “best interest” rule for annuities
The revisions clarify that all recommendations by agents and insurers must be in the best interest of the consumer.
Once scorned, FIAs are now embraced: Cerulli
'FIAs should not be harmed greatly by Fed rate cuts, and if markets become volatile and or bearish, fixed annuities will once again serve as safe havens for risk-averse...
Mike Bloomberg’s Retirement Security Plans
Bloomberg favors a public-option national workplace savings program, modeled on the federal Thrift Savings Plan. Its government match would be paid for with 'a reduction in the tax break...
Annuity sales reach 12-year high in 2019
Total fixed sales in 2019 were $139.8 billion, up 5% from 2018. That broke the previous record of $133.5 billion despite a weak fourth quarter when sales dropped 18%...
Divorces over 50 roil estate planning
'Not communicating the estate plan with family members' is the most common cause of conflict (43%), followed by 'dealing with blended families' (29%), according to a TD Wealth survey.
T. Rowe Price adds growth to its TDFs
The third-largest issuer of target date funds, which reportedly lost TDF market share from 2017 to 2019, said it will raise the equity allocation of the funds' glide paths...
MassMutual to offer student debt relief program
The program, administered by CommonBond, will be offered to 2.6 million MassMutual retirement plan participants. An estimated 44 million Americans owe $1.5 trillion in student loan debt, according to...
Brighthouse, Athene announce FIA innovations
Brighthouse Financial will be issuing its first fixed indexed annuity (FIA), which has a six-year term. Athene announced the availability of two new custom indices on its existing FIAs.
2019 was a remarkable year for passive large-cap funds: Morningstar
'The strong long-term inflows in both December and for all of 2019 were due almost entirely to record inflows for both taxable-bond and municipal-bond funds,' the fund data giant...
You’ll love New York Life’s Super Bowl Ad
In the 60-second spot, there’s a montage of people expressing philia (friendship), storge (familial love), eros (sexual love), and finally agape (charity, in the highest sense, or divine love).
Ruark releases new mortality tables for VAs and FIAs
The Ruark tables reflect not only the effects of age and gender, but also differences by product type and contract duration, said Tim Paris, actuary and Ruark CEO (pictured)....
Lincoln Financial wraps income rider around CapGroup TDF
In a renewal of an old partnership, Lincoln Financial and Capital Group are collaborating on a variable annuity with an income rider and exposure to Capital Group target date...
AIG, AllianceBernstein offer index annuity with income rider
AllianceBernstein’s new “AB All Market Index” will be offered exclusively as an indexing choice in AIG’s Power Select Index Annuities. Alliance Bernstein created the multi-asset index for AIG; Market...
Honorable Mention
Nag Odekar moves to HealthView from Great-West Financial; Which default investment is the stickiest?; Bhalla to be CEO of American Equity Investment Life; Great American joins SIMON structured products...
Next-gen funds will be active/passive hybrids: Cerulli
Demand is up for strategies that perform like actively managed funds but with lower fees, such as smart beta and 'active' exchange-traded funds (ETFs), said a Cerulli analyst.
Honorable Mention
Breaking news from Nationwide Financial, Symetra, Vanguard, Morningstar, and Milliman.
TD Ameritrade offers two Pacific Life annuities for RIAs
It keeps getting easier for registered investment advisers (RIAs) to buy no-commission annuities through online platforms. But will RIAs recommend annuities to clients? The jury is still out.
‘Don’t overlook us,’ a boutique ETF issuer tells advisers
The three largest ETF sponsors have 82% of ETF assets; market share jumps to 90% when expanded to the top five, according to Cerulli Associates. A smaller ETF issuer...
Schwab adds hybrid robo income distribution service
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios has a $5,000 minimum and charges no advisory fee. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium has a $25,000 minimum and charges an initial one-time $300 fee for planning and...
Size matters, Cerulli tells plan providers
With estimates that the 10-largest recordkeepers will represent more than 75% of recordkept 401(k) assets by year-end 2019, current market dynamics point to an 'oligarchy' of retirement plan providers,...
