Security Benefit offers floating-rate fixed annuity
Contract owners receive a guaranteed base rate of interest that is set for the contract’s Guarantee Period, plus the 3-Month ICE LIBOR USD Rate (subject to a cap), which...
Robert W. Cook, attorney and former SEC official, to lead FINRA
Cook has been a partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. From 2010 to 2013, he served as the director of the Trading...
Honorable Mention
Brief or late-breaking items, including announcements of personnel developments at AIG, MetLife and the Retirement Security Initiative.
Vanguard publishes ‘How America Saves,’ its 401(k) almanac
Among participants entering Vanguard plans for the first time in 2015, about 80% were invested entirely in a professionally managed allocation. By 2020, the average will be about 68%...
Here’s your copy of NAFA’s suit against the DOL
The National Association of Fixed Annuities' suit asks the federal court in the District of Columbia to vacate the DOL’s new fiduciary or conflict-of-interest rule, which could make it...
Social Security, still designed for ladies who’ve vanished
Two proposed changes to Social Security would help the program meet the needs of divorced women and single-mothers--needs that weren't considered when the program was created, according to...
Was that a zig (or a zag) on interest rate policy?
“I know market participants really want to know exactly what’s going to happen,” Fed chair Janet Yellen said in a speech in Philadelphia this week. “There is, as I...
Honorable Mention
Brief or late-breaking items from E*Trade, Personal Capital, MassMutual, Northwestern Mutual, State Street Global Advisors, and Pershing/BNY Mellon.
To make small advisory accounts cost-efficient, Voya uses white-label technology
“We’ve been watching assets migrate to the mutual fund complexes and away from our broker dealer. We wanted to create a product to help capture those accounts,” Voya's Andre...
Chinese bid to acquire Fidelity & Guaranty Life delayed
Anbang withdrew its application to acquire the company with the New York State Department of Financial Services, Fidelity & Guaranty said in a filing on Tuesday with the Securities...
Indexed annuity industry sets sales record in 1Q2016: Wink
Allianz Life was the dominant carrier, with an 18.4% share of the indexed market. Its Allianz 222 Annuity was the top-selling indexed annuity for the fifth consecutive quarter.
Pension buy-out volume up 21% in first quarter
At $1.084 billion, first quarter sales exceeded $1 billion for the first time since 2008 on 68 transactions, according to the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute.
First quarter annuity sales: Better for fixed than variable
Jackson National was again the top seller of variable annuities, Allianz Life the leader in indexed annuities and New York Life led fixed-annuity sales. But AIG issued the most...
In UK, Aegon shifts focus from annuities to web-mediated advice
In 2010, Aegon decided to start withdrawing from the UK annuity market, believing that annuities wouldn’t meet its long-term risk adjusted return requirements.
Pace of share buybacks, a plus for equity prices, slows
In a research note, TrimTabs reports that stock buyback announcements have totaled $261.5 billion this year through Thursday, May 19. This volume is down 35% from $399.4 billion in...
Former AARP brand strategist moves to Jackson National Life
Emilio Pardo will be based in Nashville, reporting to Barry Stowe, chairman and chief executive officer of Prudential plc’s North American Business Unit.
Changes to reverse mortgage rules proposed
The proposed rule will reinforce and codify recent HECM reforms that FHA has implemented in the past several years, and will also add new consumer protections.
UBS to partner with SigFig, a robo-advisor
The technology will allow the advisers to spend more time talking to clients and less time constructing investment portfolios and other activities that can be automated, said Tom Naratil,...
