Editorial Staff, Author at Retirement Income Journal

Published December 15, 2016

Depending on whether they pursue a fee-only or commissions model in response to the DOL rule, wealth managers may benefit or suffer, said a Fitch release.

NAFA elects new board members

Published December 15, 2016

Brian Mann of Partners Elite Advisory Group will assume the role of chairman of the board of directors, succeeding Nathan Zuidema of Imeriti Financial Network.

On New Lincoln VA, the Income Benefit Is Mandatory

By Editorial Staff Thu, Dec 8, 2016

Available in 2017, the new product is called Lincoln Core Income. Its three underlying investments are all BlackRock iShares. The income benefit comes as part of the product, not...

Income benefits attract older variable annuity buyers: LIMRA

People who purchased a variable annuity contract without the guaranteed living benefit are more than five years younger (57.3 years versus 62.5 years) on average than buyers who purchase...

Did your active fund underperform? Maybe a rich kid manages it

'Managers from families in the top quintile of wealth underperformed managers in the bottom quintile by 2.16% per year,' according to a study by economists at the University of...

In the Netherlands, DB plans said to out-deliver DC plans

Seven percentage points of the extra return produced by DB plans were due to shared investment risk between current and future generations. The remaining 13 percentage points came from...

Asset managers face five headwinds: Casey Quirk

Except in the Chinese market, the rate of organic growth in global assets will likely fall below one percent in the near future, according to a new report from...

FIA sales on pace to exceed $60 billion

By Editorial Staff Thu, Dec 1, 2016

'While most other annuity products have faltered because of falling interest rates and anticipation of the Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rule, FIAs continue to thrive,' said Todd Giesing,...

Does GOP now represent the downtrodden? Not exactly

The median net worth of members of the GOP was $525,000, or 81% higher than the Democrats’ $301,000. Ethnically, 91% of GOP voters are white, while 43% of Democrats...

Securian expands suite of annuity solutions

Securian's new SecureLink Future fixed indexed annuity offers a lifetime income benefit with an 8% annual rollup in each year with no withdrawals (or 200% after 10 years with...

Honorable Mention

Brief or late-breaking items from Allianz Life, Athene Holding, MassMutual, A.M. Best and Cogent Reports.

No reason to raise rates now, writes heterodox economist

By Editorial Staff Thu, Nov 17, 2016

In the paper, 'Normalizing the Fed Funds Rate: The Fed’s Unjustified Rationale,' economist Flavia Dantas of SUNY-Cortland, claims that the U.S. job market is much softer than the official...

Transamerica’s new living benefit offers 1% more payout for 5-year deferral

By Editorial Staff Wed, Nov 16, 2016

The payout bands for single-life contracts are 4% until age 65 and 5% until age 80, with payouts for joint-life contracts a half percentage point lower. For investors who...

Edward Jones’ 401(k) plan accused again of ERISA violations

A federal class action suit in St. Louis charges the Edward Jones 401(k) plan with offering its participants high-cost funds from asset managers that were also paying tens of...

Will pensions become subject to state income tax in Illinois?

AARP is leading an effort to prevent fiscally-challenged Illinois from taxing pension income again after a holiday of 32 years. Reinstating the tax would bring in an estimated $2...

Honorable Mention

New York Life pays dividend on deferred income annuity, Capital One Financial drops IRA commissioned sales, and Voya Financial Advisors touts its technology-led growth.

Published November 10, 2016

Federal judge rejects NAFA’s suit against DOL

By Editorial Staff Thu, Nov 10, 2016

'NAFA’s own declarations leave little doubt that those engaged in the annuities business do not simply dispense products but, rather, provide individualized investment advice,' wrote U.S. District judge Randolph...

AUM of 500 top asset managers edges down, to $76.7 trillion

Published November 10, 2016

Some of the main gainers by rank in the top 50 during the past five years include Aegon Group, New York Life Investments, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust...

17 life-annuity issuers meet Conning’s ‘multi-year success criteria’