A few big IBD deals, lots of smaller RIA deals: Fidelity
The ten largest independent broker-dealers manage 65% of all b/d assets and 48% of all b/d advisors, according to a new report from Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions, a...
Honorable Mention
Brief or late-breaking items from Nuveen, Ubiquity Retirement + Savings, and Conning.
Trend toward centralized investment advice will continue: Cerulli
Advisors at wirehouses and national broker-dealers will be do less investment management and focus more on client relationship-building and financial planning, explains Tom O'Shea, associate director at Cerulli.
Goodbye HelloWallet. Hello, United Income
Matt Fellowes, who sold HelloWallet to Morningstar for $52.5 million, is introducing United Income, a digital advisor that promises even to help clients sign up for Social Security and...
Fixed annuities outsell variable in second quarter: IRI
'While total variable annuity sales rose slightly,' said John McCarthy, Senior Product Manager at Morningstar, “the largest increases were in non-qualified sales. We are also seeing growth in newer...
A heads-up from Wagner Law on the fiduciary rule
In a new posting, ERISA expert Marcia Wagner helps financial advisers and financial institutions answer the question, 'What do I do during the Transition Period?'
Honorable Mention
Consumer research from Jackson National and Insured Retirement Institute, Bitcoins for your IRA, Aite's growth projections for robo-advisors, AXA hires gerontologist Sandra Timmerman and MassMutual finds that Venusians worry...
Today at 4:15 p.m. ET: Hegna and Rostad debate the DOL rule
Tom Hegna, the retirement guru (anti the rule), and Knut Rostad, president of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard (pro the rule) will engage in a 'Munk-style' debate, hosted...
Roth accounts mystify most participants: Cerulli
Partial 'Rothification' of the 401(k) system might be on the Republican tax reform agenda this fall. If passed, it could lead to lower contribution levels, analysts at the global...
First-half annuity sales drop to 16-year low: LIMRA SRI
'Qualified VA sales have experienced a more significant decline than non-qualified VAs,' said Todd Giesing, director, Annuity Research, LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute.
Lower expenses and lower taxes put life/annuity industry in the black
Total income dropped 7% to $348.9 billion, as large reinsurance agreements undertaken in 2016 and 2017 drove the results, a spokesman for A.M. Best said.
Two retirement journalists accept new posts
Tamiko Toland, an annuity product analyst, has moved to CANNEX from Strategic Insight. Bob Powell, a retirement writer for USA Today and former MarketWatch columnist, will begin writing a...
RIJ Takes a Two-Week Holiday
Everybody needs an occasional break from the daily grind. RIJ will be taking the second half of August off, returning with the September 7 issue. See you after Labor...
Fed leaves rates unchanged at 1% to 1.25%
The Open Market Committee said it will keep reinvesting principal payments from holdings of agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities in agency mortgage-backed securities and rolling over maturing Treasury...
ERISA lawyers explain latest DOL moves
'The most interesting change is that... the adviser can avoid calling itself a fiduciary during the transition period, even if it is providing fiduciary advice,' said the Client Alert...
Annuity issuers need to innovate: A.M. Best
Many post-election signs in the U.S. appear favorable for life insurers, but it may be 'a little too early to lock in this enthusiasm,' said the ratings agency in...
Brighthouse offers fee-based indexed variable annuity
Brighthouse Financial reported $570 million in sales of its Shield portfolio in the second quarter of 2017, up 28% year-over-year. The products were previously sold under the MetLife brand.
Fiduciary rule delayed until July 1, 2019: DOL
'The delay is really more about giving the DOL time to rework the rule rather than companies really needing more time to prepare,' said Jamie Hopkins, co-director of the...
