Investors flock to low-yield money funds
Though the Fed's target rate has dropped 75 basis points since July 31, money market funds collected $220.9 bn during the next three months. Long-term funds collected just $57.2...
Big BBB debt rollover is just three years away: A.M. Best
The next downturn will be characterized more by ratings transitions than large-scale impairments, AM Best said, because the non-cyclical industries issuing much of the BBB debt often maintain stable...
Structured annuity sales up 61% in 3Q2019, YoY: Wink Inc.
'Structured annuity sales continue to set records,' said Sheryl Moore of Wink, Inc. 'It is no wonder that we continue to see companies enter this line of business each...
Wink, Inc. releases annuity sales data
'Indexed annuity sales set a new record in the second quarter, beating their previous record in 4Q2018 by nearly 3%,' said Sheryl J. Moore, author of Wink’s Sales & Market...
Buttigieg’s plan to close the 401(k) coverage gap
The Buttigieg plan would borrow elements of the SIMPLE IRA, the auto-IRAs created in California and Oregon, and existing 401(k)s to ensure that any full-time “middle-earning American worker” can...
‘RILA’ Sales Boost Annuities Market: SRI
Year-to-date, total annuity sales were $184.2 billion, up 8% from the prior year, according to the Secure Retirement Institute. (Three downloadable charts included.)
Honorable Mention
DPL Financial Partners expands insurance platform for RIAs; T. Rowe Price now closer to issuing active ETFs; Financial literacy low among African-Americans: TIAA and GFLEC.
RIA consolidators face a $2.4 trillion opportunity: Cerulli
'The major RIA consolidators currently manage a total of $308 billion today, so $2.4 trillion represents a massive growth opportunity,' said a Cerulli release this week.
Eagle Life adds new income-focused FIA with roll-up
A 55-year-old couple paying a $100,000 income could withdraw 3.78% of $150,000 ($5,670) at age 65 under the free living benefit and 3.78% of $200,000 ($7,560) under the option...
Why high returns leave Dutch DB plans unhappy
'As the high returns are largely due to dropped interest rates, the rosy figures will in part disappear as soon as interest rates rise again,' said a Dutch pension...
SECURE Act still stuck in Washington gridlock
With the impeachment hearings and the looming 2020 election taking up much of legislators' bandwidth, the SECURE Act continues to be going nowhere fast in the Senate.
Fidelity adds USAA SPIA to its annuity platform
'Annuities, when designed and used appropriately, can help investors address key financial needs,' a Fidelity spokesman told RIJ.
Rates would be negative without government debt and deficits
'Had real interest rates not gone down over the last half century, savings would have exceeded investment in OECD countries by between 9 and 14 percentage points of GDP,'...
‘Performance-enhanced’ bond funds? Evidently.
Many actively managed bond funds are riskier than advertised, and often provide higher returns than their stated portfolio holdings would suggest, according to research by business school professors at...
Five Questions to Ask about an Annuity Issuer
'I recommend that an adviser develop his or her own criteria and put together a template, similar to an RFP, with questions to have answered when considering an annuity...
Honorable Mention
Great American amends fee-based annuity contracts; Security Benefit issues two new index annuities; New mortality tables for pension plans issued by SOA; Fidelity offers in-plan income planning tools; State...
MassMutual’s vision for Open MEPs (if they become reality)
MassMutual, a manager of multiple-employer retirement plans for affiliated companies since 1989, hopes to manage Open MEPs. Legislation on Open MEPs is stalled in the U.S. Senate.
‘Greatest Economy in American History’ still needs Fed help
'Leverage among corporations is historically high. We’re monitoring that and taking appropriate steps,' Fed chair Jerome H. Powell told reporters Wednesday after announcing a third quarter-point hike in the...
Instead of ‘life span,’ think ‘health span’
A conference will be held to kick off the National Academy of Medicine's 'Healthy Longevity Global Grand Challenge' at AARP headquarters in Washington, D.C. on November 6-8, 2019.
Scalia will help draft new fiduciary rule (after helping kill the old one)
'Mr. Scalia first defended the brokerage and insurance industry’s right to engage in conflicts of interest that harm retirement savers. Now, he seems eager to engage in his own...
