Honorable Mention
Principal Financial to purchase more shares, Prudential inks longevity transfer deal and publishes financial wellness study, FedEx buys group annuity from MetLife, Piwowar resigns from the SEC, and Nationwide...
Fiduciary rule litigation isn’t over
AARP wants the entire panel of Fifth Circuit judges to review the ruling by the three-judge panel, which ruled 2 to 1 against the DOL fiduciary rule.
Financial Engines purchased by private equity firm
There were 208 M&A deals involving asset management firms worth $21 billion in 2017, according to Sandler O’Neill & Partners. Combined deal values were up about 23% from the...
Undersaved? Work a little longer
A 66-year-old worker who works one year longer and claims Social Security one year later could see a 7.75% rise in his inflation-adjusted retirement income, according to new research....
Honorable Mention
Principal Financial will partner with ARAG to provide financial wellness programs; Lincoln Financial completed its purchase of Liberty Life Assurance.
The link between 401(k) litigation and in-plan annuities
Fear of litigation has made 401(k) plan sponsors leery of innovation, including the adoption of annuities as investment options, these authors suggest.
Fund flows bounce back in March: Morningstar
The Morningstar Categories with the highest inflows in March were foreign large-blend, ultra-short bond, and intermediate bond funds, respectively.
Broker-dealers will need scale or specialization: Cerulli
'As advisors have adopted passive strategies, ETF structures, and institutional share classes, revenue-sharing to B/Ds has decreased,' a Cerulli analyst writes.
Principal Financial to join Washington State ‘Retirement Marketplace’
Providers already on the Marketplace include Finhabits, which offers individual IRAs, and Saturna Trust, which offers a solo 401(k) for the self-employed.
Insurers should be wary of sharp rate hike: A.M. Best
Disintermediation risk, increases in hedging costs and capital strain due to reversal of unrealized gains could strain insurers, the rating agency warned.
MassMutual to publish commentary for DB plan sponsors
MassMutual’s Defined Benefit Market Update and Commentary is designed to support its DB plan sponsors and potential clients in the ongoing management of their plans.
AXA Equitable Holdings to go public
The IPO price is currently expected to be between $24.00 and $27.00 per share. The shares are expected to trade on the NYSE under the symbol “EQH”.
High-level hirings at AXA, Jackson, John Hancock and Lincoln
People in motion include Aaron Sarfatti, Scott Romine, Greg Masucci, Tim Munsie, Patrick Murphy and Chris Neczypor.
Great-West to distribute its new indexed VA to RIAs on the RetireOne platform
RIAs hate annuities--unless they can exchange a client's existing contract for something cheaper and more suitable. Great-West sees opportunity there.
People with pensions conserve their savings: EBRI
'Instead of spending down, a large number of retirees are continuing to accumulate assets throughout retirement,' writes Sudipto Banerjee of T. Rowe Price, who prepared the report on decumulation...
Total revenue for public life insurers rises in 2017
The industry garnered a year-over-year $9.5 billion tax benefit in 2017 due to the impact of tax reform. Nearly three-quarters of that went to Prudential, MetLife and Aflac.
A ‘SideCar’ Account for UK Plan Participants
NEST, Britain's public-option defined contribution plan wants to let participants people access some of their retirement money for emergencies more easily.
Two new reports analyze advisor needs and job switching
Advisors are switching firms, Fidelity says, and broker-dealers with more tech and resources are best able to attract them, according to Cerulli.
Voya creates a Chinese brand name for use in US
Although Voya has stopped issuing annuities, it continues to position itself as 'America's retirement company.'
New research on interest rates, bitcoin, etc.
Thrivent's Tanweer Akram on the effects of Fed tightening, Roger Farmer on Milton Friedman and inflation since 1979, plus research on crypto-currency and on the average age of entrepreneurs....
