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
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...
Price-fixing suit names Goldman, 21 other primary Treasury dealers
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
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”
"The Penrose triangle (impossible triangle), among other mathematical related symbols, served as inspiration. The logo is blue, a color of trust,” said the SOA, in a release about its...
Time for Boomers to rebalance: Fidelity
Many older 401(k) account holders, including Baby Boomers close to retirement age, had stock allocations higher than those recommended for their age group, Fidelity found in an analysis of...
MetLife launches retail QLAC
Like several other insurers, MetLife is positioning its qualified longevity annuity contract in part as a way for IRA owners to exclude 25% of their tax-deferred savings (up to...
Lockheed Martin’s $62 million ERISA settlement approved
“The settlement is the largest ever for a case of this kind against a single employer,” said Thomas E. Clark Jr. of the Wagner Law Group.
Fred Reish et al comment on DOL proposal’s impact
Attorneys at the Drinker Biddle law firm note that, under the proposal, commissioned sales of variable annuities to IRA owners would be held to a higher standard of conduct...
Participants still not focused on income: Cerulli
Cerulli also asked asset managers, broker-dealers and insurance companies what income product they thought will appeal most to plan sponsors. Forty-one percent said “asset management-only” products.
Financial Engines, Betterment will leverage new Social Security data
At the White House Conference on Aging this week, the Social Security Administration announced that it would make benefit information available through transferable data files for use in robo-advice...
AXA’s UK pension fund uses longevity swap
Insurers will be subject to additional capital requirements when Solvency II kicks in later this year, requiring companies to shore up longevity within their books and their own pension...
Conversions of pensions to lump sum payments are banned
“If a participant has the ability to accelerate distributions at any time, then the actuarial cost associated with that acceleration right would result in smaller initial benefits," the IRS...
Northwestern Mutual offers dividend-paying QLAC
Northwestern Mutual’s actuaries have reproduced some of the attractive features of the variable-annuity-with-guaranteed-lifetime-withdrawal-benefit rider, but on a fixed income annuity chassis instead of a mutual fund chassis.
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from MassMutual, Prudential, BlackRock and British pension funds.
DOL proposal could “revamp” advisor business practices: Fitch
Fitch analysts suggested in a new report that the DOL proposals “could curb the willingness of agents to promote complex and higher fee products to market,”...
Offshore AUM to exceed US AUM by 2019: Cerulli
Global AUM is expected reach US$106 trillion by 2019, but “managers need to be realistic about the efforts required to win business in high-growth markets,” said a Cerulli release...
