Honorable Mention
Late-breaking news: MetLife launches its spin-off Brighthouse Financial retail brand, A.M. Best reports on U.S. life/annuity industry's capital losses, Jackson National Life survey shows that a third of investors...
Auto-enrollment promotes debt as well as savings, study shows
Lower-income employees had the biggest wealth increases from auto-enrollment, but they offset their gains—by as much as 75%—with new installment debt and credit card debt, according to a four-year...
Sales of non-variable fixed annuities neared $100 billion in 2016: Wink’s
The Allianz 222 Annuity was the overall best-selling indexed annuity for the tenth consecutive quarter, according to Wink’s Sales & Market Report for the fourth quarter of 2016.
Transamerica hires Salesforce’s “Einstein” to make distribution smarter
Transamerica Financial Network will use Saleforce's “Cloud Einstein's intelligence and machine-learning capabilities to better understand and predict customer behaviors,” according to a release this week.
Genworth’s medically underwritten income annuity now quoted on CANNEX
A medically underwritten annuity contract offers higher monthly payments than a traditional immediate annuity if the beneficiary has a certifiable health condition that shortens his or her life expectancy
Fixed Annuities Outsold Variable in 2016: LIMRA SRI
The final quarter of 2016 was a bloodbath. Fixed annuity sales fell 13% to $25.7 billion, after strong results in the first three quarters. Variable annuity sales totaled $25.3...
Assets flowed to fixed income and passive equity funds in February
U.S. equity has been in positive-flow territory for four consecutive months, a feat not witnessed since late 2014, according to Morningstar's fund asset flow report for February.
T. Rowe Price launches its version of a hybrid robo-advisory solution
IRA investors can get a model portfolio of actively managed T. Rowe Price funds, digital services and access to a live phone rep. All costs are built into the...
Retirees confident about retirement; workers not so much: EBRI
“Debt, lack of a retirement plan at work, and low savings,” are the three main contributors to low retirement confidence, said Craig Copeland, EBRI senior research associate and co-author...
For many, marriage and lack of debt define ‘middle class’: LIMRA study
Oddly, 81% of the upper class, as defined by Pew Research, describe themselves as middle class, according to a survey by LIMRA and Maddock Douglas.
As expected, Fed nudges target rate higher
'In view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation, the Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 0.75%...
The Fiduciary Rule Delay and Legal Exposure: One Law Firm’s Opinion
This bulletin, written by attorneys at the DrinkerBiddle law firm, interprets the DOL's latest Field Assistance Bulletin regarding the likely delay in the applicability date of the fiduciary rule....
DC plans deliver less income than DB plans, study shows
Expansion of DC coverage, wider use of auto-enrollment and auto-escalation of contributions, and reduced leakage would help turn the situation around, according to the Center for Retirement Research at...
Older, poorer Americans take a hit under Ryan health plan
“The increase would be disproportionately larger among older people with lower income... People between 50 and 64 years old with income under 200% of the federal poverty level would...
AIG looks for new CEO
The AIG Companies are among the largest issuers of fixed and variable annuities, with $13.6 billion in total annuities sales through the first three-quarters of 2016.
Honorable Mention
Brief or late-breaking items from Voya Financial, The Retirement Equity Laboratory at the New School, and Kehrer-Bielan consultants.
Netting $317 billion, Vanguard dominated fund flows in 2016: Morningstar
'2016 was more filled with uncertainty than other years, particularly in light of a few extraordinary political events that nobody believed would happen until they did,' said Morningstar in...
Consumers want safe income but don’t understand annuities, study shows
A survey by CANNEX and Greenwald & Associates shows once again that Americans want guaranteed retirement income but don't know much about annuities that provide guaranteed income.
Jefferson National strengthened by its new owner, Nationwide
A.M. Best said it expects Jefferson National’s management to remain in place, but the insurer 'will be transitioning to the Nationwide brand.'
Nobody knows you when you’re down and out (and single and old): AARP
Lonely older adults are much more likely to have an annual household income of less than $25,000 and assets under $10,000, and are more likely overall to be in...
