Annuities Aim for Spot in ‘Starting Lineup’
Annuity issuers want—and need—their products to be included as a matter of course in the model portfolios or asset allocation software tools that more advisors are expected to rely...
Of Black Walnut Trees and ‘the Debt’
'Now tell me again,' said my neighbor, who works as a public health administrator, 'why I shouldn’t worry about the size of the federal debt.' So I did.
Apple Stock, Bourbon and Cigars
Every summer, I try to spend a weekend with two old friends. We used to talk about our spouses and children. Now we talk most about retirement and money....
Why Are Stocks So High?
Because corporations have been returning more of their profits over to shareholders and less to workers, especially over the past 30 years, according to authoritative recent research. The implication...
Of ‘Thrillers, Spillers, and Fillers,’ Plus the Mueller Hearings
Like every decorative pot of plants, every retirement income plan needs a 'thriller, a spiller and a filler.' We also deconstruct this week's Mueller hearings.
‘APIs’ and the Future of Annuities
Catching up with the 'application programming interface' technology train is essential for annuity issuers. APIs integrate annuities into advisor platforms, reduce NIGO applications, and give clients a fluid online...
Athene offers ‘Amplify,’ its first structured index annuity
The contract's current caps on one-year credited interest range from 15.25% to 17% (for the buffer option) and from 13.5% to 15.5% (for the floor option), depending on the...
T. Rowe Price Launches Retirement Payout Vehicle
'Retirement 2020’s managed payout program is not a 5% withdrawal annually; rather, it pays 5% of the rolling 60-month NAV,” a T. Rowe Price spokesperson told RIJ. 'The participant...
Where’s the Nuance in News about Annuities?
In stories about annuities, even in the Wall Street Journal, writers seem to assume that annuities are a single product, and not five or six financial products with overlapping...
Envestnet’s Big Annuities Play
Envestnet, with the help of six major annuity issuers, has built a platform where advisors from broker-dealers, banks and RIAs can blend insurance products and investments in the same...
MMT Isn’t a Joke
Modern Monetary Theory's enemies have been trying to discredit it either by equating it with something stupid (printing money willy-nilly) or by making jokes about it. But MMT isn't...
FIAs for Retirement Income (Why Not?)
In this last article in our series on fixed indexed annuities, we consider the potential role of FIAs in providing retirees with guaranteed lifetime income. We find FIAs to...
Making a Case for the COLA-SPIA
'First optimize Social Security. If that ‘paycheck’ isn't enough, buy a SPIA. An inflation-indexed SPIA would be ideal. A COLA-SPIA may be the next best alternative,' Joe Tomlinson told...
The Derivatives that Power Index Annuities
FIA owners can pick from an array of choices as cryptic as those on a roulette table. But if they don't understand options, how can they evaluate these safe...
Part II: Allianz Life’s Marketing and Distribution Strategy
In this second part of today's cover story, we look at the long-standing distribution and marketing strategies that have kept Allianz Life atop the index annuity sales charts.
Allianz Life’s Index Annuity Winning Streak
In this second article in a four-part series on the fixed index annuity (FIA) business, we profile Allianz Life, the top issuer of FIAs in the US in 18...
The Index Annuity Story, Part I
'Zero is the hero' in fixed index annuities, which offer upside without risk of loss. In this first article of a four-part series on FIAs, presented by Retirement Income...
A New Flavor of Variable Indexed Annuity
“You can write this concept out on a cocktail napkin, and ask someone, ‘Are you comfortable with half the downside and more of the upside?’," said Thomas Layton, vice...
Honorable Mention
Generational views of retirement differ: TIAA; Stress on the Bank of Mom and Dad: Legal & General Group.
Is the SECURE Act Too Weak to Make a Difference?
Yes, there's a new 'safe harbor' for selecting an annuity provider for a 401(k) plan in legislation that appears headed for the president's signature. But there's no sign that...
