Bank of Montreal introduces Smart Folio, a robo-advice solution
Disruption of the financial advice market is occurring in Canada too, with the same drivers: technology, demographics and regulation.
Better times ahead for U.S. active equity funds: Cerulli
The prospect of a rising dollar should make U.S. equities attractive to Europeans, and investors will expect active strategies to perform better than passive funds in volatile markets, Cerulli...
Five lessons for advisors from Vanguard CEO
"Financial advice is having a moment," Vanguard CEO Bill McNabb said in a release. "The best advisors are seizing this moment to tell their story."
Fed to roll over Treasuries as they mature
'Market participants desire certainty, but in the uncertain world in which we live, that desire is not consistent with the policy that would best achieve our objectives,' said William...
Danish bank offers retail robo-investing in ETF portfolios
'It is paramount that are delivered to investors in a way that complements their digital habits,” said Michael Gruener, co-head of iShares EMEA Sales at BlackRock.
Bank annuity sales dip 2.5% in first three-quarters of 2015
Over two-thirds (68.4%) of BHCs with over $10 billion in assets earned third quarter year-to-date annuity commissions of $2.49 billion, constituting 94.8% of total annuity commissions reported.
Christie nixes state-run IRA in favor of private marketplace
The marketplace will offer three options: a SIMPLE IRA, a payroll deduction IRA and a MyRA. Firms participating in the marketplace will have to offer at least two investment...
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from or regarding MetLife, Voya Financial, Canadian pension funds, Protective Life and Liberty Mutual.
The Principal offers “simpler” indexed annuity
At a time when other indexed annuity issuers are experimenting with custom indices, this product links its performance only to the S&P 500, according to the issuer.
Asset managers will face fee pressure in 2016: Cerulli
Europe currently accounts for just 18% of the world's ETF market, compared with the U.S.'s 70% slice, according to Cerulli analyst Barbara Wall. But she believes that big change...
Now pitching for Voya: Allison ‘Mom’ Janney
In one of the commercials already on the air, an acorn-saving origami squirrel, fashioned from U.S. currency, teaches Ms. Janney about the importance of planning for retirement. The squirrel...
How “streamlining” a retirement plan pays off
A team of Wharton School professors documented the positive effects of reducing the number of investment options at a large non-profit institution's retirement plan to 39 from about 90...
“Roll-in” deal signed by Retirement Clearinghouse
Several years of effort by Retirement Clearinghouse (formerly RolloverSystems) to refine and popularize the automatic transfer of assets from 401k to 401k appear to be bearing fruit.
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...
