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...
‘The Specter of the Giant Three,’ and Other Gripping Yarns
Four recent research papers that we think will interest you are summarized here. Topics include the dominance of shareholder voting by Vanguard, BlackRock and SSgA, the limits of stock-picking...
House MEP bill could fuel pension risk transfer deals
According to a CBO estimate, HR397 calls for loans and grants to insolvent or troubled multiemployer pensions totaling almost $49 billion between 2019 and 2024 and almost $68 billion...
Envestnet updates ‘financial wellness’ app
The updated service involves a set of educational modules called MyBlocks, which plug into MoneyGuidePro. Advisors could employ it as the 'robo' part of a hybrid digital/human advisory model....
Your copy of ‘How America Saves,’ small biz edition
The new report, which complements Vanguard's recent 'How America Saves 2019' report on retirement savings in large retirement plans, documents savings patterns among workers in smaller plans.
Honorable Mention
DPL Financial Partners, Lighthouse Life offer life settlements to RIAs; Jackson enhances variable annuity benefits, adds Fidelity as money manager; ACLI rebuts Wall Street Journal editorial on SECURE Act;...
Cetera, Allianz SE and Capital Group offer model retirement income portfolio tool
The partnership, still in its early stages, will end up 'disrupting the retirement income landscape,' an Allianz SE board member said.
Honorable Mention
Fidelity, in pursuit of Vanguard, bolsters its index fund line-up; Subscription-based advice resonates with investors: Schwab; 'Wealth' costs more than $1 million these days: Ameriprise; Global Atlantic to educate...
Honorable Mention
At AIG, Solash and Scheinerman move up as Greer retires; Beth Wood named to top marketing role at Principal; Barnabas Capital to distribute Great American annuities; Prudential explains its...
Hazards may lie ahead for life/annuity industry: AM Best
'Life iinsurers have steadily increased their allocations to Class 2 bonds, with BBB rated bonds having the highest exposure. Allocations to collateralized loan obligations and holdings in mortgage and...
Hueler income annuity platform now open to all
Income Solutions, the income annuity purchasing platform formerly reachable primarily through Vanguard, is now operating under its own brand. Its auction-style way of researching and buying income annuities is...
Honorable Mention
RIJ returns from vacation with July 11 issue; Jackson feeds demand for MYGAs; Changes in AXA Equitable’s top VA and IVA announced; What comes first: wellness or a corporate...
Wide but shallow: the impact of auto-enrollment in the UK
In British defined contribution plans, employer and employee contributions average a total of only 5.1% of salary per participant. By contrast, defined benefit (DB) plan members receive contributions totaling...
Honorable Mention
Former Wells Fargo managers take posts at Principal; Frank ‘Chip’ Gillis, Athene Holding’s co-founder, will retire at year-end; Vanguard outsources variable annuity administration to Transamerica.
AIG and CUNA Mutual enhance variable annuities
AIG's Polaris Income Plus Daily Flex and Polaris Income Plus Flex riders will have higher lifetime income rates. CUNA Mutual's Horizon II will have variable and indexed-variable investment...
Honorable Mention
Wink to provide insured product sales data by index; Participants are new to (and naïve about) investing: Schwab; iPipeline partners with Atidot, a data mining firm; Fidelity and asset...
Annuities Need More Positive ‘Positioning’
'Consumer sentiment about annuities also appears to fluctuate based on the prevailing market environment,' according to a new study from CANNEX and Greenwald & Associates.
Integrity Life issues flexible-premium longevity annuity
A 25-year-old who purchased this contract today with a single payment of $10,000 could expect a lifetime income of $2,377 a year for life starting at age 65, according...
