The Day the Gold Standard Died: 50 Years On
On August 16, 1971, I was cashing an American Express travelers check in a small bank in Melun, France. The tellers were nervous. Something huge had clearly just occurred...
Athene Takes Another Bite at Pensions Apple
In a pension risk transfer deal, Athene Holding will acquire about $4.9 bn in pension assets and liabilities from Lockheed Martin. But when do these deals become too much...
Your Dream Cabin in the Rockies
What's involved in owning a rustic retirement cabin in Colorado? Time, wealth, health, gregariousness, and a passion for the natural world. And an ability to forego cellphones and Wi-Fi...
Research Roundup
We bring you summaries of two papers on the federal debt (and why low interest rates don't justify more of it), an essay on why Biden's infrastructure spending plan...
Is a Life/Annuity Crisis Brewing?
Observers of the "Bermuda Triangle" phenomenon worry about the quantity and the quality of the assets supporting reinsured annuities in regulatory havens like Bermuda, Vermont, Arizona and elsewhere.
How The Elephant in the Room Evolved
In a new research paper, "The Evolution from Life Insurance to Financial Engineering," economists Ralph Koijen of Chicago Booth School and Motohiro Yogo of Princeton continue to describe what...
‘Double Down or Get Out’
If you haven't done so already, t's time to consider how the low interest rate environment has transformed the life/annuity business over the past ten years. And to assess...
An Insider’s Take on the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ Strategy
Willis Re, a reinsurance broker, has had an uptick in calls from life insurers hoping to execute what RIJ calls 'The Bermuda Triangle' strategy, thus removing a millstone and...
One-Stop Shops for Notes and Annuities
Luma Financial Technologies is now among the structured notes platforms that have chosen to add index-linked annuities to the products they support. It joins SIMON Markets and Halo in...
You’ve heard of RILAs, Now Meet FILAs
F&G, a leading issuer of fixed indexed annuities (FIAs), has launched an FIA that gives contract owners the option to reach for higher gains without losing principal protection. They...
(Sheryl) Moore’s Law on Annuities in 2021
RIJ talks with Sheryl Moore of Wink, Inc., the annuity data and consulting firm, about the results of her first-quarter 2021 survey of annuity sales. She shares her opinion...
Examining the Indices in Index-Linked Annuities
A mountain biker needs 18 or 21 gears to smooth a path over rocks and through arroyos. Index-linked annuities now collectively offer some 140 index choices. Hybrid indices can...
Ten Rules-of-Thumb for Choosing Indices in Annuities
Here are some heuristics, provided by experts at Milliman, Annexus and elsewhere, for selecting and blending the increasingly complex indices found inside today's top-selling index-linked annuities.
Seeking ‘An Index that Moves’
'I didn’t like the blended or hybrid indexes in annuities at first because I thought they were too complex,' said Bryan Anderson, founder of Annuity Straight Talk. 'But over...
‘Sometimes the Market Swings Your Way’
'On average, there will be no double-digit returns,” said Don Dady, co-founder of Annexus. 'But once in a while there will be. We have definitely seen some phenomenal returns...
Too Much ‘Hocus Pocus’
David Lau of DPL Financial Partners, the fee-based annuity platform, likes indexed annuities but doubts the value of the 'volatility-controlled' indexes often featured in them.
The Point of Indexing (in Annuities)
Every June, RIJ focuses on indexed annuities. Last year, we studied options in indexed annuities. This year we consider the indexes themselves, especially 'hybrid' and 'volatility-controlled' indexes. Bryan Anderson,...
The Irony of Inflation Forecasting (Research Roundup)
In this month's roundup, we learn that CEOs pay little attention to inflation. We also find out why retirees keep saving, why "centaurs" pick stocks so well, which financial...
Why Retirement Bills are a Bipartisan Slam-Dunk in Congress
Raising the contributions limits in order to encourage saving by the under-saved seems as useful as raising the height of a basketball net to encourage the participation of shorter...
If the DOL Investigates You…
Here are five FAQs about Department of Labor investigations of retirement plan advisers, and answers from attorneys at the prominent ERISA law firm Faegre Drinker. (Photo: Labor Secretary Marty...
