Jackson National switches to DoubleLine from PIMCO for a VA subaccount
Pimco's flagship Total Return investment strategy had been one of Jackson National’s variable annuity subaccount options since 1998.
BlackRock enhances iRetire platform for advisors
iRetire is an “end-to-end retirement planning framework that financial advisors can use to take clients to and through retirement,” a BlackRock release said.
To attract youth, TIAA’s new robo offers socially-responsible investments
The service requires a minimum account balance of $5,000 and charges annual advisory fees of just 30 basis points (0.3%).
Honorable Mention
Brief or late-breaking items from T. Rowe Price, The American College, Nationwide and Natixis.
Life/health insurers see net quarterly operating income more the double
Bonds remains the industry's top invested asset class, but the proportion held in bonds declined as more money was invested in mortgage loans, which made up more than 11%...
Lincoln Financial’s new VA income rider offers rich benefits—with a catch
There are 51 investment subaccounts, 25 asset allocation options and five asset allocation models. Within certain restrictions, the equity allocation can be as high as 80%.
Aspen Institute and LendUp sponsor events on ‘income volatility’
Columbia, SC, will host the first event on June 1, 2017 at the South Carolina Bar Conference Center.
For big asset managers, average margins are down but AUM is up: DST
Cumulative assets under management (AUM) for 15 large publicly-held firms grew 3.8% quarter-over-quarter, and 4.8% year-over-year to an all-time high of nearly $11 trillion ($10.999 trillion). BlackRock accounts for...
Indexed annuity sales fall in first quarter: Wink
New York Life was the overall top seller of non-variable deferred annuities, with a market share of 9.6%. Allianz Life retained its top ranking in indexed annuity sales with...
ETFs and alternatives offer hope amid soft variable annuity sales
Despite the negative effect of the DOL fiduciary rule on VA sales to rollover IRA clients, “VAs will still represent an area of opportunity for liquid alternative asset managers,”...
High-profile dealmakers acquire Fidelity & Guaranty Life
Harbinger Group sells indexed annuity issuer FGL to Chinh Chu and William P. Foley II.
Danes reject six-month increase in retirement age
Danes born between 1956 and 1962 are entitled to receive a state pension at the age of 67. Under the plan that has now been dropped, this age would...
Bogoian to lead product development at Prudential Annuities
Bogoian joins Prudential from Voya Financial (the former ING U.S.), where she was senior vice president of Retirement Products.
Roll Over and Play Fair
The LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute's study of participant behavior around rollovers comes at a time when financial advisors need to talk about rollovers more carefully than in the past....
Fidelity expands 401k managed account business
Fidelity announced this week that it will offer fiduciary managed account services to retirement plans that Fidelity is not the recordkeeper for--and where it will compete with managed account...
A mixed picture of life/annuity industry from A.M. Best
'Earnings from individual annuities business were strong, up 63% from 2015, due mainly to the Federal Reserve’s 25-basis-point interest rate increase during the fourth quarter and the decline in...
Average 401(k) balances up 27% in five years: Fidelity
The post-election equities rally and higher contributions drove the average Fidelity 401(k) balance to a record $95,500 and the average IRA balance to a record $98,100 the end of...
