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...
New whitepaper attacks DOL conflict-of-interest proposal
“If the rule is enacted as written,” write Jack Marrion and Kim O'Brien, “it will cause a severe disruption for many securities brokers and dealers but will be devastating...
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from Cetera, Broadridge, kasina (DST), New York Life and John Hancock, Prudential Financial, Wells Fargo, Raymond James, LPL Financial and Dutch pension funds.
OneAmerica buys BMO’s U.S. retirement business
According to NAPAnet, OneAmerica serves more than 11,000 plans in the mid-sized market and has over $30 billion in retirement assets under administration.
John Hancock and LPL in participant advice pact
Launched by LPL in 2014, the Employee Advice Solution tool can deliver personalized participant advice through an online service that collects financial information about a participant.
Bank of International Settlements expresses doubts about low rates
"Unless the underlying problems are addressed head-on, short-term gain may be purchased at the price of long-term pain," warn the authors of the bank's 85th annual report on the...
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from Cerulli, Broadridge, Cogent Research, Transamerica, Willis Towers Watson, and Prudential Annuities.
Public comments on DOL are now available; hearing to start August 10
A portion of the hearing will focus on the Department’s Regulatory Impact Analysis, which addresses the potential or anticipated economic effects of the proposal, and the relative merits of...
“MACS” are poised to lead an active-management comeback: Citi
Sales of bespoke funds will rebound on the wings of new three-pronged “dynamically managed multi-asset class solutions” (MACS), according to Citi’s just published 6th Annual Industry Evolution Survey.
