New commission changes take effect on October 10, 2019 for individual investors and will be available on November 4, 2019 for registered investment advisors, a Fidelity release said.
Income-producing funds from New York Life
Short-term high-yield funds, insured municipal bond funds: These vehicles offer out-of-the-ordinary options for yield hunters, says the fixed annuities sales leader.
Honorable Mention
Foreign central banks lower exposure to U.S. dollar; SOA seeks papers on retirement strategies, offers $10k award; New FIA from Nassau Re.
Asset managers need to design ‘vehicle-agnostic’ products: Cerulli
'Mutual fund providers feel pressure to prioritize development and distribution of other vehicles over the mutual fund,' said a report from the Boston-based global consulting firm.
TD Ameritrade to sell its first indexed annuity, a Pacific Life contract
'The settlements are part of an ongoing, industry-wide investigation into immediate annuity replacement practices in the state,' regulators said.
Life insurers fined over annuity exchanges
'The settlements are part of an ongoing, industry-wide investigation into immediate annuity replacement practices in the state,' New York regulators said.
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Retirement assets total $29.8 trillion in 2Q2019: ICI; T. Rowe Price model portfolios offered on Envestnet platform; 27% of Americans very confident about retirement: TIAA; U.S. ranks 18th in...
Vantis Life to sell fixed annuities direct to the public
The two direct-sold products are the TaxSaver Freedom ROP and TaxSaver Freedom MYGA. Vantis Life is a unit of Penn Mutual Life.
More up ratings than down among U.S. insurers: AM Best
AM Best cited an improvement in risk-adjusted capitalization stemming from the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, a modest increase in interest rates in 2018, and expense reductions.
Subscription-based planners sue SEC over Reg BI
Like eight state attorney generals, the subscription-based XY Planning Network has filed a federal lawsuit against the SEC in New York. XYPN was co-founded by celebrity adviser Michael Kitces...
Pacific Life’s new 5-year VA/GMAB rider sets -10% floor
'Unlike a structured variable annuity, there’s no cap on investment returns, so contract owners' earning potential is unlimited,” said Pacific Life senior vice president Brian Woolfolk.
40% of life insurers’ bank loans below investment grade: AM Best
'The benefit of floating interest rates on bank loans, which somewhat protects insurers from rapidly rising interest rates, is further diminished in a continued low interest rate environment,' the...
Honorable Mention
Lincoln’s Fuller wins IRI award; JP Morgan offers tool for plan advisors; Scholten to retire from Principal; Principal absorbs Wells Fargo plan services; 11% of Gen Xers still paying...
Voya rolls out risk-adjusted TDFs
In addition to selecting an age-appropriate target date fund (TDF), participants can select a risk-appropriate TDF (conservative, moderate or aggressive).
What active funds must do to survive: Cerulli
'Active fund families that have grown organically have shown that there is, in fact, a viable path to success,' said Ed Louis, senior analyst at Cerulli.
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Sullivan to succeed Pelletier at Prudential; Three Jackson fee-based annuities join RetireOne platform; Ascensus publishes 'Inside America's Savings Plans'; Fidelity publishes 10th annual plan sponsor survey; Vanguard releases fund...
RIJ takes vacation, returning September 5
Retirement Income Journal will be on vacation August 23, 2019 to September 1, 2019. We'll return with the September 5 issue. Thanks for reading RIJ!
Honorable Mention
Most RICP clients delay Social Security benefits; MassMutual boosts support for third-party administrators; DC plan participants ‘stay the course’: ICI
Deferred annuity sales up 6% in 2Q2019: Wink
Sales of traditional fixed annuities were down nearly 10% from the prior quarter but up more than 21% over the second quarter last year, according to Wink's Sales &...
FIA sales break quarterly sales record (again): LIMRA SRI
'The 10-year treasury rate dropped nearly 50 basis points from the start of the second quarter,” said LIMRA's Todd Giesing. 'We anticipate sales of fixed-rate deferred annuities to substantially...