Insider selling contrasts with share buybacks: TrimTabs
"Insiders are spending loads of shareholders’ money on takeovers and buybacks, but they’re selling hard with their own money,” said David Santschi, CEO of TrimTabs.
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from MetLife, Genworth, New York Life, TIAA-CREF, MassMutual, AARP and the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems.
Third-quarter FIA sales up 13%
Total third quarter sales of indexed annuities were $13.8 billion, up 13% from the previous quarter, and up nearly 21% from the same period last year.
ICI releases first-half DC participant activity study
Only 1.8% of DC plan participants stopped contributing in the first half of 2015, compared with 2.1% in the first half of 2014.
EY releases ‘ US life-annuity insurance outlook’
"After years of bolstering their balance sheets, life-annuity firms are in a strong position to invest in the innovations and technologies needed to fuel growth," said Doug French, principal,...
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from Genworth, DTCC, John Hancock, and Voya.
Vanguard captures 82.5% of 2015 fund flows through October
Investors returned to high-yield bonds in November after preferring government bonds for several months. “Investors might be trying to anticipate the potential December interest-rate raise,” wrote Morningstar analyst Alina...
Indexed Annuity Sales Reach New Highs: LIMRA
'VA sales make up 54% of the overall annuity business, down from 67% just in 2012. This decline in VA market share has certainly contributed to the growth...
MassMutual’s new VA offers exposure to alternatives
Besides MassMutual funds, contract owners can invest in BlackRock, Fidelity, Ivy and Oppenheimer funds.
LIMRA launches AnnuityCompass database (for members only)
AnnuityCompass will allow LIMRA members to “query data via a state-of-the-art online system” in order to “mine, filter, and analyze the data anytime from anywhere,” the LIMRA website said....
Happy Thanksgiving!
Retirement Income Journal will take a break next week for the Thanksgiving holiday. We're grateful to all of our subscribers, advertisers and vendors for helping to keep old-fashioned journalism...
Fidelity, Vanguard and Schwab are the top-of-mind ‘robo-advisors’
Seventeen percent of investors are using robo-advisor services from familiar direct providers like Fidelity, Vanguard or Charles Schwab while 10% are using one of nearly two dozen upstarts.
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from MassMutual, Cerulli Associates, Thrivent, Strategic Business Insights and LIMRA.
Two settlements of 401(k) excessive fee cases, for a combined $89 million
The settlements, by Boeing and Novant Health, mean over $30 million in fees and expense for the firm of Schlichter, Bogart & Denton, which specializes in federal class action...
Big life insurers boost gains with Schedule BA investments: Conning
Schedule BA assets, which include private equity and hedge funds, mineral rights, aircraft leases, surplus notes, secured and unsecured loans to corporations and individuals, and housing tax credits, can...
‘myRA.gov’ steals its webpage design from the robo’s
The federal government's "myRA" program offers a portable Roth IRA to Americans with no other retirement plan at work. The first $15,000 in savings goes into U.S. Treasuries. Participants...
Financial Engines acquires The Mutual Fund Store
Financial Engines has been an innovator in the retirement income space. Its Income+ service “is designed to manage your investments to create payouts that can last into your...
Third quarter for S&P500 was worst in four years: fi360
The S&P 500 had a return of minus 6.44% in the quarter and is minus 5.29% year-to-date. That was better than global equity performance, as the MSCI All Country...
Women are better savers, but men save more: Vanguard
In its investigation of the “substantial imbalance” in wealth accumulation for men and women in Vanguard-administered retirement plans, Vanguard reviewed participation rates, savings rates and investment choices.
Spike in cash takeovers could be bad omen: TrimTabs
“Merger activity tends to swell around market tops as confident corporate leaders turn to deal-making to boost earnings and revenue late in the economic cycle,” said David Santschi, CEO...
