Symetra Trek: The Latest Structured (or RILA) Annuity
'This product is primarily for equity investors who want to mitigate their downside risk, not people who want a safe investment that has more return potential than bonds,' said...
AIG tops annuity sales for first time since 2007: LIMRA
The top five sellers of total annuities in 2018 representing 32% of market share were AIG Companies, Jackson National Life, New York Life, Lincoln Financial Group and Allianz Life...
Fixed Annuities, Unchained!
AIG ranked as the top carrier overall for non-variable deferred annuity sales in the fourth quarter of 2018, with a 9.8% market share. Total sales of MYGAs (multi-year guaranteed-rate...
Side-by-Side Comparison: A VA Minimum Accumulation Benefit Rider vs. an Index Annuity
Which of these two types of annuity contracts was able to offer the best principal protection and upside potential over a 10-year period? CANNEX tested them over 10,000 randomly...
Honorable Mention
Global Atlantic and RiverSource complete reinsurance deal; Empower Retirement partners with advisory firms on 401(k) managed accounts; Among women, good intentions about retirement go unfulfilled: Lincoln; Life/annuity industry income...
Concord Coalition blasts Trump budget proposal
'Non-defense appropriations, which make up roughly 16% of the budget, would be reduced by more than $1 trillion over 10 years. Nothing in recent experience would suggest that cuts of this...
Financial industry mobile apps don’t measure up: JD Power
JD Power studied wealth management mobile apps from 15 of the largest financial services companies and found that high net worth investors give them low grades.
Retail investors reach for income when interest rates fall
A one percentage point drop in the federal funds rate is associated, over the following three years, with a five percent increase in the inflows to stock mutual funds...
Honorable Mention
Prudential promotes “sidecar” savings plan for emergencies; Student loan payments are eligible for partial match in Travelers 401(k) plan; Athene attributes losses to adverse interest rate, equity market conditions.
Surrender rates on some FIAs tick higher
While interest rate hikes tend to drive surrenders from fixed indexed annuity contracts, surrenders decline when a contract's lifetime income benefits are 'in the money,' studies by Ruark Consulting...
Investors fond of bonds so far in 2019
'Retail investors remain skeptical of the ferocious stock market rally early this year,' said David Santschi, director of liquidity research for TrimTabs. 'While bond mutual funds are drawing big...
Assets are concentrated among ‘mega’ advisors
“As advisors think more holistically about the nonfinancial, intangible impact they can have on their clients, mega teams well positioned to compete in this experience-centric model,” said...
Envestnet Insurance Exchange aims for June 2019 launch
The Exchange will give advisors access to variable, structured, fixed, and indexed annuities from Allianz Life, Brighthouse Financial, Global Atlantic Financial Group, Jackson National Life Insurance Company, Nationwide, and...
Honorable Mention
Nick Lane becomes president of AXA Equitable Life; MassMutual reports record revenues for 2018; 'Alexa, What's my Principal Flash Briefing?'; eMoney launches Foundational Planning; Ricki Ingalls joins Retirement Clearinghouse.
Record sales for indexed annuities in 2018
For 2018, fixed indexed annuity sales rose 27% to $69.6 billion, compared with 2017. This exceeded the previous annual fixed indexed annuity sales record by $10 billion, according to...
Public pensions suffer in 4Q2018
'For plans in which benefits paid out exceed contributions coming in, (fourth quarter losses are) difficult news, as investment returns are critical to slow the outflow of funding,' a...
Allianz Life and AIG report 2018 results
Allianz Life's fixed indexed annuity (FIA) sales reached $9.2 billion, up 23% over the previous year. AIG's Individual Retirement unit reported $1.68 billion in adjusted pre-tax profit in 2018,...
Ireland to auto-enroll workers into retirement plans
Ireland's plan also calls for auto-escalation. By 2028, the total contribution for each member would be 12% of salary a year. The government will add 2%, for a total...
Risk-sharing brings higher early payouts in Lincoln’s new VA income option
Lincoln IRA Income Plus living benefit gives the contract owner a payout rate of up to seven percent at age 70 with the caveat that the rate will drop...
Why People Should Work Longer, but Don’t
New research from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College and the National Bureau of Economic Research looks at the economic and situational factors that affect individual decisions...
