Raymond James adjusts the bar for index annuities
Broker-dealer Raymond James said it will no longer approve the sale of FIA contracts that have "monthly average and monthly cap strategies that investors often misunderstood or rarely use."...
New MetLife indexed variable annuity has shorter surrender period
“We heard feedback from advisors that their clients the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions,” said MetLife executive Elizabeth Forget in a release.
Record buyouts and buyback bode ill: TrimTabs
“The merger boom is a longer-term negative signal for U.S. equities,” said David Santschi, chief executive officer at TrimTabs.
More Boomers + fewer advisors = robo-advice?
There were roughly 285,000 financial advisers in 2014, a 1.9% drop from 2013, according to Cerulli Associates. The industry has lost more than 39,000 advisers, roughly 12%, since peaking...
Vanguard keeps dominating fund flows
Through Nov. 30, Vanguard mutual funds received more net inflows than the next nine fund companies combined, according to Cerulli Associates. (Photo of Vanguard founder Jack Bogle.)
Here come the new Boomers (sans Beatles)
Millennials have replaced Boomers as the big demo group, and Northwestern Mutual has been studying them. Just like the Boomers of the 60s and 70s, they will stay in...
Stick to a Plan? Few Retirees Do: Hearts & Wallets
'Many retirees practice a “chunk or nothing” spending pattern, consuming from 0% to 9% or more of principal annually rather than drawing down savings at sustainable rates,' according to...
American Financial sells LTCI book to focus on FIAs
HC2, the buyer, paid approximately $15 million in proceeds. AFG may also receive up to $13 million of additional proceeds from HC2 based on the release of certain statutory...
Schlichter law firm sues Insperity over high plan fees
The complaint alleges that “Insperity breached its fiduciary duties by causing the plan participants to pay millions of dollars in excessive recordkeeping fees to Insperity’s proprietary subsidiary, Insperity Retirement...
Retirement assets dip to $23.5 trillion in 3Q2015: ICI
IRAs, since 2007 the largest component of US retirement savings, held $7.3 trillion in assets at the end of the third quarter of 2015, down 4.8% from the previous...
Fed hike will have “no immediate impact” on insurers: A.M. Best
'Overall, a continued measured rise in rates is a net positive for the life/annuity industry as product spreads improve, investment portfolio yields increase, and other side benefits accrue to...
Seniors’ home equity reaches $5.76 trillion
Mortgage debt held by seniors increased slightly, to $1.46 trillion from $1.45 trillion, between the second and third quarters of this year.
New ERISA Advisory Council members appointed
Three represent the public, three represent employers, and three represent employee organizations. The fields of insurance, corporate trust, actuarial counseling, investment counseling, and investment management and accounting have one...
Fed raises target overnight rate by quarter-percent
'Were the FOMC to delay the start of policy normalization for too long, we would likely end up having to tighten policy relatively abruptly at some point,' Janet Yellen...
A near-retirement breakup calls for financial advice: MacroMonitor
There are significantly more divorced women age 50+ (7.1 million) than men age 50+ (4.5 million), according to the demographics research newsletter from Strategic Business Insights.
Cash-outs, loans and rollovers fuel the flood from 401(k)s: Cerulli
Liquidity is the defining characteristic of 401k plans. If participants couldn't borrow, cash out, rollover or take hardship withdrawals, they might not join in the first place. But with...
Significantly, pension risk-transfer goes Dutch
“Globalization is just beginning, with activity spreading quickly from the US, the UK, Canada and the Netherlands to France, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and beyond,” Prudential's Amy Kessler...
Unsolved mystery: Where are the missing participants?
Whichever set of data you believe, no more than 61% of full-time, full-year wage and salary workers are covered by an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan.
Jackson National Has a Growing Share of a Shrinking VA Market
Historically, third-quarter sales have been soft for variable annuities. Declines from the second quarter have occurred in each of the last ten years and declines from the previous third...
“In the moneyness” drives VA policyholder behavior: Ruark
'A bit less than half of annual withdrawals are at the maximum amount,' a Ruark study found. Maximum withdrawals are most efficient for...
