Obama Gives ‘Auto-IRA’ a Shout Out—and a New Name
Mr. Obama has ordered the creation (on a pilot basis) of a "myRA" program, bringing closer to fruition a multi-year effort by liberal policymakers to expand access to workplace...
“Do you believe in the American Dream?”
“American dream” means different things to different people. About 80% of older Boomers consider it to mean home ownership and financial independence, while younger people “focus on developing a...
The system is working: EBRI
For many, the achievement of an adequate income replacement rate in retirement may require having 30 years' access to a 401(k) plan and undiminished Social Security benefits, according to...
Vanguard partners with HelloWallet
Washington, D.C.-based HelloWallet, provides automated, Internet-mediated financial guidance. Founded and led by 38-year-old political scientist Matt Fellowes, it has financial backing from Morningstar, Inc., TD Fund, Grotech Ventures, and...
Where do the wealthiest Americans buy their financial services?
The three biggest types of providers of financial services to the wealthy are the so-called wirehouses, with $2.4 trillion, private client groups, with $1.4 trillion, and state-registered trust companies,...
Leave Retirement to the Professionals, Actuaries Say
A new report from the American Academy of Actuaries posits four basic principles that, if followed, it believes will lead to better pension plans and more secure retirements for...
BlackRock declares itself the retirement leader, hires Bruce Wolfe
This week, BlackRock has created a combined United States Retirement Group (USRG) to coordinate and grow its sales into the DC and IRA markets. Chip Castille will be CEO...
A Physician Heals Himself (Financially)
Baltimore radiologist Dimitri Merine hopes to retire in seven years, at age 63. So he created a do-it-yourself retirement income plan, using systematic withdrawals, dividends, a bond ladder and...
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from Voya Financial (ING U.S.), T. Rowe Price, Towers Watson, Symetra, Sun Life and Northwestern Mutual.
Architect of immortality dies at 72
The artist/architect Madeline Arakawa Gins believed that houses with unconventional colors and planes could extend the lives of their inhabitants indefinitely.
Beware of seeds, stems and scams
Marijuana stock hustles tend to use the same techniques as “pump and dump” stock ploys, says FINRA, which is warning investors about dodgy securities of firms selling the psychoactive...
Metrics of the 2013 bull market
“One area of intriguing promise is actively managed ETFs, a segment of intense innovation activity for the coming years,” said Ari Nachmany, research director at Strategic Insight.
Guardian Life’s new VA offers alternatives
Guardian may have been inspired by the success of Jackson National’s Elite Access variable annuity, which has sold well among advisers who in the past were unlikely to buy...
Fidelity sued again over plan fees
The same plaintiff's attorneys are after Fidelity again--for overcharging its own plan for recordkeeping. The alleged overcharge--about $90 million over five years--amounts to less than 20 basis points (about...
Take Me to Your Leader
The retirement movement needs more focus. There are lots of strong voices, but they're not singing in the same language from the same hymn book at the same time.
A Chat with Jackson’s Cliff Jack
The executive vice president and head of retail at Jackson National Life (and former chairman of the National Association of Variable Annuities) spoke with RIJ about the two kinds...
In TPA merger, Retirement LLC–Series Two acquires Capella
“This is our third merger in the last 12 months and we have no plans to slow down in 2014," said Robert Krypel, CEO of Retirement LLC–Series Two.
Broadridge unit signs DCIO service deal with The Standard
The new portal allows firms offering funds on The Standard recordkeeping platform to monitor sales across retirement plans and to understand the advisors selling those plans, according to a...
