Editorial Staff, Author at Retirement Income Journal

Published September 11, 2015

Sumedh Mehta joins Putnam from Fidelity Investments, where he most recently served as senior vice president, Fidelity Investment Management Technology.

Jackson National adds income rider to indexed annuity

By Editorial Staff Thu, Sep 3, 2015

While Jackson dominated the variable annuity business in the first half of this year, with $11.8 billion in sales and an 18.4% market share, it isn’t among the 20...

Annuity sales up in second quarter, but down for first half of 2015: LIMRA

In the first half of the year, total annuity sales reached $114.6 billion, 5% lower than prior year. LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute's second quarter U.S. Individual Annuities Sales Survey...

After nine years, Boeing settles 401(k) fiduciary suit

The suit, filed on behalf of 190,000 Boeing employees and retirees, had accused the aircraft builder of charging excessive investment fees to participants in its $44 billion 401(k) plan....

Pensions should fear longevity gains more than low rates: Fitch

The ratings agency said expected increases in interest rates and longevity could offset each other, with its impact on funding depending on the timing of the change, the discount...

The Bucket

Brief or late-breaking items from Insured Retirement Institute, Beacon Research, Morningstar, Nationwide, Northern Trust, Lincoln Financial, Cerulli Associates, AXA, The Principal, and Allianz Life.

Summer issue of Journal of Retirement is released

By Editorial Staff Thu, Aug 13, 2015

The current issue includes articles by David Blanchett, Moshe Milevsky, Olivia Mitchell and Mark Warshawsky, among others.

Sumitomo Life buys Symetra for $3.8 billion, a 32% premium

Symetra's current management team, led by CEO Tom Marra, will continue to run the business from Bellevue, Washington. Symetra will maintain its current brand, employees, distribution channels and product...

Tax-efficient fund management pays off, study shows

A hypothetical investment of $10,000 in mutual funds in 1990 was shown to grow to $37,800 after 22 years in the most tax-inefficient funds and to $48,800 in the...

Study alleges fund “favoritism” in bundled 401(k) plans

“Plans remove just 13.7% of affiliated funds in the lowest performance decile, 25.5% deletion rate for unaffiliated funds in the lowest performance decile,” said a new...

BlackRock now manages $123 billion in Japanese savings

BlackRock is now Japan’s second-largest manager of DB assets after Sumitomo Mitsui Trust, according to the Japan Pensions Industry Database.

Edward Jones to pay $20 million SEC fine

Instead of offering bonds to customers at the initial offering price, Edward Jones and Stina R. Wishman took new municipal bonds into the firm's own inventory and improperly offered...

How to Build an ‘Income-Oriented’ Portfolio

By Editorial Staff Wed, Aug 5, 2015

In this research roundup, we summarize six important new research papers, including analyses of retirement income strategies by experts from Morningstar and The American College. Story includes links to...

John Hancock Retirement to offer HelloWallet robo-advisor

HelloWallet, which is owned by Morningstar, "uses findings from behavioral finance and industry experts to help guide people toward making smart financial choices in easy and incremental steps,” John...

Symetra rides new FIAs to record quarterly sales

Sales were driven by the March 2015 introduction of the Symetra Edge Plus Fixed Indexed Annuity and the Symetra Edge Premier Fixed Indexed Annuity, the company said.

Guardian enhances 401(k) portal

A key enhancement is the Guardian IncomeConnect Calculator. If it detects a shortfall in projected savings, the calculator will suggest educational tools and resources to help the plan participant...

Published July 30, 2015

Price-fixing suit names Goldman, 21 other primary Treasury dealers

By Editorial Staff Thu, Jul 30, 2015

The suit by Boston's public employees' pension accuses traders at the 22 prominent firms of conspiring via Internet chatrooms and text messages to widen the spreads, or profit margins,...

Switcheroo: New FIA credits benefit base, not account value

Published July 30, 2015

In most annuities with living benefits, the notional "benefit base" grows by a guaranteed "roll-up" amount each year, while the contract's account value depends on market performance. In Fidelity...

The SoA’s new logo is “impossible”