Quote of the Week
“We’re not doing anything really fancy or sexy, it’s really basic stuff. The fund business is so different than banking. One, it is an agency business so you as...
What happens when ‘the Fed yields’?
'We would prefer to see the Fed depart from its zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) sooner rather than later,' say analysts at BlackRock Investment Institute.
Beware equity bubble in Europe: Cerulli
"Asset managers should enjoy the QE bonus flows while they last. But the pattern is unlikely to be different from previous cycles, and the end may already be in...
FIAs on pace for record sales year: Wink
Allianz Life maintained its sales leadership position with a market share of 20.3%. American Equity Companies was again the second-ranked carrier, while Security Benefit Life, Great American Insurance Group,...
Cannex releases new version of its product allocation software
Moshe Milevsky and the QWeMA group developed the PrARI service in 2008. It is used by a variety of financial institutions in support of their retirement income programs and...
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from John Hancock, Broadridge, Prudential and MassMutual.
Question: Is ‘File and Suspend’ a Loophole?
Should a high-earning, two-income couple be able to claim an extra $48,000 from Social Security? Or should a law be passed to eliminate that possibility?
First quarter annuity sales rankings, from LIMRA
"Total annuity sales have been lower in the first quarter than the prior quarter eight out of the last nine years,” said Todd Giesing, senior business analyst at the...
U.S. DC plans are leakier than those abroad, study shows
In a new paper, a group of researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research point out that it’s a lot harder for plan participants in Australia, Canada, Germany,...
Share buyback trend isn’t matched by insider purchases: TrimTabs
“There’s a huge disparity between what corporate insiders are doing with shareholders’ money and what they’re doing with their own money,” said David Santschi, chief executive officer of TrimTabs.
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from Lincoln Financial, New York Life, Armstrong International, Pershing, DTCC, Northwestern Mutual and the Department of Labor.
Nationwide Life fined $8 million for pricing violations
'For more than a 15-year period, Nationwide intentionally delayed the delivery of untracked mail containing orders from customers and processed them at the next day’s prices in violation of...
A.M. Best comments on insurer stock buybacks and dividend payments
'In an environment of low interest rates and low industry premium growth, those with substantial cashflow may find they have little other choice of deploying that capital besides returning...
Managed accounts gain ground against TDFs as default investment: Cogent
'This increased usage of managed accounts among Mega plans signals a growing desire in the industry to offer a more personalized solution for plan participants,' said Linda York, vice...
LPL to pay at least $11.7 million for range of abuses
LPL, which had revenues of $1.1 billion in the first quarter of 2015, was charged with “broad supervisory failures in a number of key areas.” The broker-dealer consented to...
Wells Fargo used “pernicious” and “illegal” sales tactics: LA city attorney
The company, as part of its “Gr-eight” growth initiative, pressured its employees to sell each customer eight 'solutions,' ranging from credit card services to savings accounts to insurance products,...
Dutch gov’t to drop forced DC annuitization—but not this year
The Dutch Parliament and the pensions industry urged the state secretary to introduce legislation soon, because low interest rates are leading to low pension incomes for retiring workers as...
Retirement Clearinghouse reaches $3 billion in ‘roll-ins’
"More plan sponsors are promoting and facilitating roll-ins of accounts as a cost-effective way to improve plan performance metrics, as well as retirement outcomes for participants,” said Spencer Williams,...
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from LIMRA-LOMA, Wintergreen Advisers and Transamerica.
