The Annuity That Pays for Itself
The deferred income annuity, aka longevity insurance, is favored by academics and is mandatory in Germany and Singapore. Here's a compelling new way to explain its value to clients,...
Retiring (Temporarily) to Paradise
An old friend who retired early to a hacienda by the sea in Nicaragua sent me an e-mail recently, responding to my question about his life there. His answer...
We Believe What We Like to Believe
In another of our occasional Research Roundups, we survey papers that explore how we like to fool ourselves, how debt keeps women working, why it's better to grow up...
Two Definitions of ‘Best Interest’
The gap between what advisors can deliver and what clients feel that the DOL rule promises them is exactly where the plaintiff’s attorneys may focus their litigation efforts.
One Step Ahead of a Rolling Boulder
In Colorado Springs this week, members of the Insured Retirement Institute met to discuss the impact of the DOL fiduciary rule. 'It's not all doom and gloom,' said one...
President ‘Id’ or President ‘Super-Ego’?
About Monday's presidential debate: It’s irresponsible for a candidate to stoke anxieties, to inflate them like toy balloons and leave them hanging in the air, without demonstrating a grasp...
Anecdotal Evidence
In this week's opinion piece: The possibility that the DOL rule will extend to taxable accounts; Vanguard's formula for calculating a safe withdrawal rate; thoughts on recent news coverage...
Could You Be Sued Under the New DOL Rule?
'If you’re trying to get things right, our aim is to help you, and that will be true for some time after December 2017,' said attorney Tim Hauser of...
Guiding Clients Through the Medicare Maze
Medicare counseling can be an excellent marketing tool for advisors, especially those who are positioning themselves as retirement specialists. Just ask Ash Toumayants of State College, Pa.
The Cost of Retirement Age Uncertainty
At age 23, Americans would give up as much as $1 out of every $25 of future personal spending to know exactly what year they would retire, a new...
The Essence of Goal-Based Investing
Goal-based investing is more than just mental accounting that assigns labels like “house,” “college” or “retirement” to different pots of money. It's ultimately about risk management, as we learned...
AIG Tops Annuity Sales Chart Again
Eight years after collapsing under the weight of CDS losses and four years after emerging from federal ownership, AIG is again atop the annuity sales charts, with $9.78 billion...
Yale, MIT and NYU Sued over Retirement Plan Fees
The universities' retirement plans were the latest to be sued by the law firm of Jerome Schlichter (pictured at his office in St. Louis) for violations of fiduciary duty....
Great American Offers No-Commission Indexed Annuity
'The DOL gave it some impetus, but the real issue is that the markets are pretty much topping out,' said Great American senior vice president Malott Nyhart.
Advisors: Give this ‘Tilt’ a Whirl
Last month, we reported on John Walton's "tilt" method of fine-tuning systematic withdrawals in retirement. New research by the Texas hydrologist-turned-retirement income specialist combines tilting and income annuities. ...
Inside the Flight from Active Management
Nine-tenths of new fund flows are going to passive strategies, helped by a desire for low costs, the DOL fiduciary rule, and robo-advice. There's still a ton of money...
The Great Woodstock Festival in the Sky
Sure, there will be stresses to federal and state budgets as the Boomers—with their titanium hips, Van Morrison CDs and organic green tea supplements—push the envelope of human longevity....
With ‘Fidelity Go,’ Fido Goes Robo
Although Schwab and Vanguard have a head start in this space, “I don’t think Fidelity has lost anything by waiting,” William Boland, an analyst with Aite Group, told RIJ....
The Least Bad Choice for President
At a time when the country needs a smart young technocrat without baggage, we must choose between two oldsters who together carry more baggage than all the major airlines...
