‘Boom Time’ for Variable Annuities?
Guest speakers Fareed Zakaria (pictured) urged more fiscal stimulus for the economy while Andrew Friedman warned of looming tax hikes at the Insured Retirement Institute's conference in Boston. "Boom...
Introducing the Virtual RIA
Internet start-up Personal Capital is out to prove that mutual funds and face-to-face financial advice are obsolete. (At center, CEO Bill Harris, with Jim Del Favero, VP, product management...
Political Football
The Dept. of Labor's bid to strengthen the fiduciary standard for advisers to retirement plans and IRAs became a political football. Now the DoL has agreed to revise and...
Fishing for Trout, and for the Perfect Retirement
While vacationing in the upper Rio Grande Valley this summer, I caught two good-sized trout and a glimpse of my fantasy retirement. (Photo of the author by Lisa Higgins).
Actuaries Without Borders… Why Not?
Experts from Aegon Global Pensions, De Nederlandsche Bank and other Dutch pension and financial consulting firms are helping the Amsterdam-based P&D Network plant the seeds for "micropension" programs in...
Micro-Pensions in Central America
You've heard of micro-credit: those mini-loans to female entrepreneurs in emerging markets. Now a micro-pension movement is underway, and one of the first pilot projects starts next month in...
A Reference Work Built for You
The Society of Actuaries' recent book (available here in pdf form) puts the reader at the center of a web of hundreds of articles, research studies, other resources relevant...
Breakthroughs in Behavioral Finance
As an advisor, you can actually put clients in an annuity 'frame of mind.' These and other findings from behavioral finance research were presented at the 2011 Boulder Summer...
Do VA ‘Roll-Ups’ Have the Desired Effect?
Deferral bonuses, a key feature of many VAs, may not prevent contract owners from taking withdrawals, according to Milliman’s latest survey of issuers of VA guaranteed living benefits. Photo...
Dark Horse Candidate
How did upstart Jackson National Life get near the top of the VA heap? And why are so many advisors nervous that it may 'de-risk' its popular Perspective contract?...
The Stag Brings Back GLWBs
In an about-face on VAs, The Hartford has gone back to the GLWB, tempering its risks with a CPPI fund. The arrival of Steve Kluever from Jackson National in...
VAs: In Search of a Winning Formula
VA issuers should take a cue from Michael Jordan, and realize that team players win more championships than individual stars, advises Bing Waldert of Cerulli Associates.
Putnam, A Work in Progress
With the announcement of a retirement research center, Putnam Investments joins the "thought-leadership" game. It's all part of CEO Bob Reynolds' campaign to rebuild a tarnished brand--and to change...
At SPARK conference, a Plug for In-Plan Annuities
In touting his firm's LifePath TDF-based deferred income option, Chip Castille of BlackRock emphasized that insurers should position in-plan annuities as retirement income enhancers rather than longevity risk mitigators....
At Your Service: Courting the Affluent Tennis Fan
Prudential Financial, Raymond James, ING, Fidelity Investments and E*Trade all advertised during the French Open final between Rafael Nadal (above) and Roger Federer on NBC TV last Sunday--all vying...
Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Debt?
Not Warren Mosler, bond trader, racecar dabbler, Senatorial candidate and recent author of “The Seven Deadly Innocent Frauds.”
How to End ‘Annuicide’
Compensation-wise, income annuities can backfire for many advisors. An industry committee wants to solve the problem, but it’s not easy.
MassMutual Rediscovers the Immediate Annuity
A few years ago, MassMutual mothballed Jerry Golden’s SPIA tool for advisors. Now, post-crisis, the company has re-embraced SPIAs, and sales are up.
Channel Surfing for Low-Cost SPIAs
Where can you find lowest SPIA prices on the web? RIJ compared prices at Immediateannuites, Income Solutions, Fidelity and (as a benchmark) Cannex. And the winner was...
A $100 Billion Market for SPIAs?
Income annuities aren't a good product fit for every insurance company. But for New York Life, a mutual company with tons of reserves and a big book of life...
