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.
Honorable Mention
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...
Wide variation seen in British target date funds
Here’s another instance--along with coverage ratios, fiduciary duties of advisors, and the decline of pensions--where the British and American retirement industries share certain challenges.
Kitces’ XY Planning Network adds its 1000th adviser
Members of the network, whose median age is only 39, comprise more than 5% of all state-registered RIAs delivering financial planning services across the country, the organization said.
High-end advisors shifting to holistic planning: Cerulli and IWI
Investments & Wealth Institute members are nearly twice as likely to report operating in a primarily fee-based practice relative to the industry average (62% vs. 38%, respectively). By 2020,...
Honorable Mention
Nationwide digitizes, customizes annuity client kits; Envestnet sued by software vendor; Ascensus acquires ‘prevailing wage’ benefits specialist.
Plan sponsors seek proof that ‘financial wellness’ pays off: Cerulli
'Improving financial literacy, increasing workplace productivity, and decreasing employee stress are hard to attribute directly to a financial wellness initiative,' the consulting firm said this week.
Fast and Frumious
'Fast and Frumious' is a new feature in Retirement Income Journal. It contains short items that caught our eye or raised our eyebrows during the past week--ranging from the...
‘Auto-portability’ gets green light from DOL
Retirement Clearinghouse, creator of a technology by which small abandoned 401(k) accounts would automatically follow their owners to their next plan, has received the permissions it needed to begin...
Honorable Mention
Innovator “Buffer ETFs” now trade on the Cboe; Don’t fund Medicare-for-all with tax on savers: ARA; Lincoln Financial provides data on the cost of assisted living and long-term care...
