The Borzi Ballet
In this 3-min. video, Assistant Sec. of Labor Phyllis Borzi responds to IRI CEO Cathy Weatherford's question about Borzi's anticipated re-proposal of a "fiduciary rule" for retirement plan advisors....
Don’t Call Them Investments
It’s not rational self-interest that makes retirees avoid life annuities. It’s how we ‘frame’ life annuities that puts them at a disadvantage.
Sign of the Times
A 'grey market' phenomenon in more ways than one, Airbnb’s lodging website allows Boomers and others to boost their retirement incomes and, conversely, to afford their dreams of retirement...
A DIA with Dividends
The distinctive aspect of Northwestern Mutual's Select Portfolio deferred income annuity is that the contract owner can earn income-enhancing, inflation-protecting dividends over the life of the contract. (Photo: Northwestern...
The Efficient Frontier for SPIAs
Traditionally, planners like income annuities as much as Sky Masterson likes church bingo. Wade Pfau’s ability to draw a crowd at the “Paris” resort may have been a leading...
The FIA ‘Loophole’
At the Society of Actuaries Life & Annuity Symposium in Toronto this week, the invasion of the fixed indexed annuity market by private equity firms was of keen interest....
Buenos DIAs
It’s morning in America for manufacturers of deferred income annuities, or DIAs. Are they a passing fancy, or do they offer the perfect balance between risk and reward?
Beware of Pension-Buying Funds
Pension-buyout deals, which rip off veterans and others with certain types of pensions, are often financed by investors who are looking for higher yields on their savings. Don't let...
Roll Over, Rollovers: ‘Roll-Ins’ Have Arrived
Retirement Clearinghouse (formerly RolloverSystems) CEO Spencer Williams wants people to consolidate (roll in) their retirement accounts in their current 401(k)s. It would mean fewer ‘stranded’ retirement accounts and less...
A Man of Conviction
How did Matthew Hutcheson, once a poster boy for fiduciary rectitude, turn into the wanted-poster man for fiduciary misconduct? But his ill-fated deal for the Osprey Meadows golf course...
Dialing the Right Withdrawal Rate
The 4% withdrawal rate (adjusted annually for inflation) is the basic chassis that advisor/researcher Michael Kitces builds his income strategies on. But that's just the beginning.
Obama’s Budget Too Austere for Retirement Industry
There’s outrage and indignation over the administration’s call for a $3 million cap on lifetime accumulations in tax-favored accounts, but only a tiny number of accounts would be affected.
Pick and Roll(over)
Hundreds of TV ads for financial services have appeared during the 2013 NCAA men's basketball tournament so far. None was an absolute slam dunk, but all were good. Read...
VA Net Flows ‘Grim’ in 4Q 2012: Morningstar
“A spike in outflows from group contracts and continued large outflows from companies that have exited the business were the major components of the precipitous drop," wrote Morningstar's Frank...
Where the Wealth Is
Do you build and wholesale financial products? Cerulli reports that the giant wirehouse channel shrank slightly last year, to the benefit of the fast-growing RIA and dually-registered advisor channels.
Cutting Longevity Tail Risk Down to Size
In a white paper published last month, Milliman actuaries describe a design for a mini defined benefit plan that a plan sponsor could tuck inside a defined contribution plan...
The Best Retirement Research of 2012
For the second consecutive year, we bring you the most intriguing, influential and useful retirement-related academic research that came to our attention in the prior year.
A Busload of Tools for Assessing Annuities
Cannex, distributor of real-time annuity pricing data to broker-dealers and life insurers in the U.S. and Canada, has added analytic and educational tools to its website. The tools help...
Sorry to Burst Your Bubble
A look at the way bond funds recover from rate hikes and a review of the effect of rate hikes in the 1970s and 1980s on bond funds shows...
The Retirement Income Paradox
In a survey of advisors on the topic of retirement income, GDC Research and Practical Perspectives found the firm that certain "contradictions" are making it hard for firms to...
