‘Auto-portability’ undergoes its first test
Retirement Clearinghouse, which hopes to launch auto-portability as a business, claims that it will help staunch the “leakage” of savings from 401(k) plans. RCH piloted the technology at a...
AIG indexed annuities to offer PIMCO custom index
'The Index aims for a high equity allocation in up markets and has the ability to allocate up to 100% equities. In down markets, allocations can be quickly shifted...
Jackson issues new IOVA for private wealth and trust market
'Many of these entities haven’t traditionally utilized annuities in their practices,' said Justin Fitzpatrick, head of Private Wealth & Trust at Jackson National Life Distributors LLC. 'We’re hoping to...
Honorable Mention
Nationwide enters the exchange-traded funds arena, The Principal sells a group annuity to NCR in a pension risk transfer deal, Fidelity reports record 401(k) balances.
Trump expected to name Powell as Fed chair today
Powell, an attorney, joined the central bank's board of governors in 2012 under President Barack Obama and was renominated in 2014.
The 80/20 rule (more or less) applies to Registered Investment Advisors
'Billion-dollar RIAs are becoming formidable competitors for B/Ds,' according to new research from Cerulli Associates.
New Morningstar tool supports “best interest” rollover recommendations
Using the tool, advisors can determine, demonstrate, and document whether a proposal is in the investor's best interest, according to Morningstar.
NAFA partners with message encryption provider
'Our members and their clients should have access to a private and secure channel for sharing documents and sending messages,' said Chip Anderson, executive director of NAFA, in a...
How pricey is your managed account? Check it out
In a new report, 'Beneath the Surface: What Americans are Paying in Advisory Fees,' the robo-advisor Personal Capital does its best to embarrass the wirehouses and big brokerages.
Ruark tracks variable annuity living benefit utilization habits
For life insurers, the long-range profitability of variable annuity living benefit riders depends on policyholder behavior around surrenders, withdrawals and annuitization. Ruark Consulting tracks that behavior and reports on...
U.S. life expectancy declines slightly: SoA
Using the MP-2017 improvement scale could reduce a pension plan's obligations by 0.7% to 1.0%, based on a 4% discount rate, the Society of Actuaries' latest estimates suggest.
Honorable Mention
Edward Jones reaches $1 trillion is assets "under care," Milliman study shows MEPs funding status has improved, Concord Coalition criticizes Senate budget proposal, Jonathan Matta joins MassMutual DCIO sales...
Follow the Money: Vanguard’s new REIT II Index Fund draws $6.3 billion in September
Despite expectations of another interest rate hike this year, taxable bond remained the leading category group in September with $34.9 billion in flows overall, up from $27.5 billion in...
GAO and CBO publish major retirement analyses
You can find links to these reports here.
Goldman Sach’s workplace IRA will waive wrap fee in 2017
Workers who enroll in Goldman's Honest Dollar IRA will pay only fund fees (9 to 13 bps) and custodial fees until 2019.
A Western & Southern Group income annuity joins Fidelity online platform
Western & Southern Group's IncomeSource immediate annuity joins comparable products from Guardian, MassMutual, New York Life and The Principal on the Fidelity Insurance Network, an online direct-to-consumer sales platform.
Retirement research from the CFA Institute etc.
Experts at the CFA Institute, PIMCO, Alliance Bernstein, Standard & Poors', IMCA (now the Investment and Wealth Institute), State Street Global Advisors and elsewhere produced a lot of great...
Honorable Mention
Stash has a new banking app, Cerulli reports higher CIT sales, David Blanchett's prize-winning paper, and new hirings/promotions at Voya Financial and MassMutual.
