Honorable Mention
American Equity partners with BlackRock and Conning on its AEL 2.0 strategy; Go big (in alternative assets) or go home, KKR CIO tells insurance CIOs; Allianz Investment Management launches...
Royal Mail adopts ‘Collective’ DC; NEST to hold private equity
Royal Mail is converting its defined benefit pension plan to Britain's first "collective defined contribution" plan or CDC. In other UK news, the National Employment Savings Trust, or NEST,...
Use of bond ETFs for retirement income expected to rise: Cerulli
A new Cerulli report also explores sales of annuities to fee-only advisors; '84% of independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) sold no annuities in the last 12 months… despite significant work in...
Retirement assets total $37.2 trillion in 2Q2021
Assets in IRAs totaled $13.2 trillion at the end of 2Q2021, up 5.4% from the end of 1Q2021. Defined contribution (DC) plan assets were $10.4 trillion at the end...
Honorable Mention
Riskalyze to feature Allianz Life annuities; Great American annuities now on the Halo platform;
After a Hot 2nd Quarter, Will Annuity Sales Rise This Fall?
Except for the fourth quarter of 2008, during the Great Recession, quarterly annuity sales have never higher, according to the Secure Retirement Institute (SRI) US Individual Annuity Sales Survey.
Vanguard and RCH to offer ‘auto-portability’ service to plan participants
RIJ has been writing since 2014 about Retirement Clearinghouse and its effort, backed by the deep pockets of owner Robert L. Johnson, to bring 'auto-portability' to 401(k) plans....
Honorable Mention
Lincoln Financial to gain $1.2 billion in capital from reinsurance deal; Joanna Rotenberg to run Fidelity’s $4.1 trillion Personal Investing division; Guggenheim Life and Annuity “under review” by ratings...
Honorable Mention
Michelle Richter to lead the Institutional Retirement Income Council; AIG to distribute annuities through SIMON; Morgan Stanley and Empower partner on workplace benefits; Jackson National completes ‘demerger’ from UK...
Tax hike looms for top earners
The House Ways & Means Committee's budget reconciliation recommendations include, among other measures, increases in income taxes on individuals earning over $400,000.
Prudential Sells $31bn Annuity Block to Bermuda Reinsurer
Fortitude Re will assume the assets and liabilities of a $31 billion block of Prudential annuities, and pay Prudential $1.5 billion. The block consists mainly of variable annuities with...
Progress for retirement provision in ‘Build Back Better’ bill
'Among other things, the legislation would require employers without employer-sponsored retirement plans to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs or 401(k)-type plans,' according to a report today in the...
Honorable Mention
Jackson National enhances retirement income gap calculator; Ubiquity introduces 401(k) for ‘solopreneurs’; 'Income Lab' adds $1.7 million in seed financing; Many women prefer goal-based investing: Cerulli and Schwab; FIG...
Luma adds annuity comparison tool to its distribution platform
The new feature allows advisers to compare variable annuities, fixed index annuities and registered index linked annuities, fostering compliance with Regulation Best Interest, Luma said.
Boomers will bequeath $51 trillion over next two decades: Cerulli
Cerulli said advisors should be aware that the Biden administration's tax proposals would greatly hike the top-line capital gains tax rate on earnings exceeding $1 million, affecting almost one...
Honorable Mention
Button succeeds Morris as Pacific Life CEO; Net income up, total income down for life/annuity industry in 1H2021; Athene Holding acquires £3 billion UK mortgage loan originator.
Lincoln adds untested vol-controlled BlackRock index to its OptiBlend FIAs
Launched in July, the BlackRock Dynamic Allocation Index consists of about 50% stocks or real estate and 50% Treasury or investment-grade fixed income instruments at any given time. It...
SEC hires Barbara Roper, aggressive consumer advocate
Roper will focus on issues relating to retail investor protection, including broker-dealer oversight, investment adviser oversight, and examinations, an SEC release said.
Honorable Mention
Two senior promotions at AIG Life & Retirement; Allianz Life annuity to be offered in Morningstar 401(k) managed account; Multiemployer plan funding reaches highest level since 2007: Milliman.
Large US life/annuity insurers continue to de-leverage: AM Best
Total debt outstanding decreased by approximately $8 billion (or 8.1%) to $91.4 billion at year-end 2020. Prudential Financial reduced its total debt obligations by $6.3 billion in 2020, the...
