'While the DC industry continues to wonder how best to structure in-plan retirement income solutions..., managed accounts are quietly making progress as a less controversial option for plan sponsors...
ADP and Financial Engines in financial advice deal
The Financial Engines advisory service offering, on the ADP platform, will launch in the summer of 2018. The deal expands FE's reach to thousands of small and mid-sized firms...
Honorable Mention
Lori Lucas is named CEO of Employee Benefit Research Institute, Prudential inks $1.8 billion pension risk transfer deal, DPL to bring no-load annuities to RIAs, Nuveen bolsters DCIO sales...
US States with the Most Income Annuity Sales, 2017
Source: Cannex, January 2018
‘Missing’ group annuitants give MetLife a share shock
“It's not just embarrassing, it could cost MetLife future business,” wrote Canadian pension blogger Leo Kolivakis, who follows global pension issues and insurance companies. A.M. Best affirmed MetLife's A+...
Prudential plays the ‘index card’
The PruSecure fixed indexed annuity offers one-, three-, and five-year index term options. Initial cap rates provide “up to a 32% return” based on the chosen index, credit term,...
High demand for bond mutual funds is ‘concerning’: TrimTabs
The inflow of $38.2 billion into bond mutual funds (MFs) and ETFs this month through Thursday, January 25 is on track to be the highest since October 2009, driven...
Outsourcing will persist in management of insurer general account assets: Cerulli
The 'pause that refreshes,' said the old Coca-Cola tagline. That's also how Cerulli characterizes the recent slowdown in the practice of assigning management of insurance carrier general account assets...
ISO seeks to support opportunities of aging
Dementia, preventative care, ageing workforces, technologies and accessibility are just some of the areas of standardization that the committee proposes to work on, said ISO/TC 314 Secretary Nele Zgavc...
Why DC Plan Sponsors Don’t Offer In-Plan Annuities
As reported in Callan's 2018 Defined Contribution Trends Survey, many sponsors either believe they're unnecessary or are uncertain on the fiduciary implications.
What’s in the latest issue of Journal of Retirement?
The Winter 2018 issue features a mix of articles by familiar authors, including Mark Warshawsky, David Blanchette, John Turner, Michael Kitces, and others.
2017 was another big year for Vanguard funds: Cerulli
Vanguard’s total flows for year were over $207 billion (DFA was second with $31 billion).
Blooom surpasses $2 billion in advised assets
The company, which helps 401(k) participants manage their accounts more effectively, claims that its median client will save $41,456 in investment fees over his or her working career.
Book on mandatory ‘Guaranteed Retirement Accounts’ is reissued
The book is 'Rescuing Retirement,' by economist Teresa Ghilarducci of the New School and Hamilton James of BlackRock. Rush Limbaugh once called Ghilarducci 'the most dangerous woman in America'...
New Security Benefit deferred annuity offers floating interest rate and income rider
At purchase, Security Benefit assigns an interest rate to the contract and guarantees that rate for five years. The contract owner receives that rate plus a floating rate, the...
IRAs now account for 25% of retirement savings: EBRI
The average balance for all IRAs grew by about 50% during the 2010-2015 time frame, to about $146,000. People 70 years old and older had the highest average ($229,000)...
Quote of the Week
'Anything can make or break a market,' Tighe explained in his delicate brogue, 'from the failure of a bank to the rumor that your second cousin's grandmother has a...
New DIY decumulation software from team of Meyer and Reichenstein
'Incorporating the latest tax code and social security calculations, Income Strategy goes far beyond currently available retirement calculators,' claims William Meyer (pictured) about his new income planning software.