How Equitable Invented the Structured Annuity
Indexed or "structured" variable annuities are on track to be a $20 billion business this year. The product, born of necessity, emerged from AXA's Innovation Hub ten...
These Hedges (Probably) Won’t Clip You
Listen to an actuary who put $50k into a five-year indexed variable annuity four years ago as an alternative to CDs. We explain how IVAs are priced, and we...
Is Employer-Sponsorship of Plans Suboptimal?
'In the wake of the pandemic, retirement and health insurance coverage are likely to be delinked from employer-provided plans in many countries,' writes Olivia Mitchell, executive director of the...
Does Your Suffering Need Buffering?
Buffered or structured variable annuities 'are the new shining star of the annuity market,' said Sheryl Moore, CEO of Wink, Inc., which tracks annuity sales. 'This is where life...
June is Index Month at RIJ
In June, Retirement Income Journal dedicates most of its coverage to the world of indexed annuities. This year we’re concentrating on the indexed variable annuity, for two reasons. Its...
A buffet of buffered ETFs for jittery investors
Allianz Life will compete in the structured ETF space against Innovator Capital Management, which invented this type of investment in 2018, First Trust, and New York Life Investments,...
A Primer for Annuity Newbies
Here, by popular demand, I offer a 10-minute tour of annuity products, using the same classification system that I used when writing Annuities for Dummies.
BlackRock Makes a Bundle (with Annuities)
BlackRock, the giant asset manager, is adding a lifetime income dimension to its LifePath target date funds by partnering with Brighthouse, Equitable and Voya on a service that will...
Research Roundup
For weeks, interesting studies have been gushing from the National Bureau of Economic Research and elsewhere on the economic implications of COVID-19. We've selected and summarized seven of them...
With BluePrint Income, AARP Ups its Ante on Annuity Sales
AARP's 38 million members can now buy income annuities and fixed-rate annuities on a platform powered by fintech firm Blueprint Income. Buyers get a complimentary annual 'retirement income check-up'...
A Marvel of Financial Engineering
Like a tough cut of beef that becomes fit for a king if you cook it for a long time at a low temperature, this new fixed indexed annuity...
We Could Use Some Inflation
The Treasury said this week that it will borrow (and spend) about $3 trillion this quarter, to cover its stimulus promises. Where does that money come from and where...
Fed chairman promises to do ‘whatever it takes’
'A wave of unnecessary insolvencies could do long-term damage to the productive capacity of the economy. That’s a risk,' Fed chairman Jerome Powell (in photo) said Wednesday.
Look Homeward, Seeker of Liquidity
During a market crisis, a reverse mortgage home equity line of credit (ReLOC) can be a lifeline of ready cash for homeowners ages 62 and older. Don Graves of...
Please Don’t Raid Your Retirement Account
It would be smart, not paternalistic, to ease today’s financial pain without contributing to an even bigger retirement funding crisis down the road.
Stormy Weather for Life Insurers
Life insurers are buffeted by a perfect storm of falling interest rates, falling share prices and falling sales of annuities. But, according to David Paul of ALIRT Insurance Research,...
The Shape-Shifting ‘Equity Risk Premium’
Investors buy stocks because they believe they will outperform risk-free bonds by five or six percentage points per year over the long-term. But the risk-free rate, equity returns, and...
The Big Sick Leave: How Bad Will The Economy Get?
Economists don't expect the crisis to resolve before the summer. Assuming that no effective vaccine or treatment appears suddenly, we’re probably in for a long campaign.
The ‘Fed Put’ Hurts Annuities—and Retirees
Low rates encourage excessive risk-taking. But the Fed keeps accommodating market sell-offs, which sets up a new round of boom and bust. Retirees (and the annuity issuers who serve...
Another Tough Decade for Annuities?
“With zero rates, I get a ‘shrinking iceberg’ feeling,” said Tim Paris, president of Ruark Consulting. He tracks annuity contract owner behavior and sees danger for life insurers at...
