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 on, watch the video clips, and judge for yourself.
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 O'Connor in his quarterly sales report.
401(k) Litigation: The ‘Next Asbestos’?
“The vast majority of 401(k) funds are at risk of lawsuits over excessive fees,” said James Holland, director of business development at Millennium Investment and Retirement Advisors, a fiduciary consultancy in Charlotte, NC.
Featured
Funny Money and the Super-Rich
The publisher of The Prudent Bear website blames U.S. monetary policy for empowering tasteless parvenus to leverage their way to the top—or at least onto the Forbes 400.
I’ll Let You Work Out the Details
Is it really true that if you cap a small business owner's tax-deferred retirement accounts at $3 million, he or she will stop offering a plan at all? Sounds like blackmail.
News
Vanguard to offer 401(k) services through TPAs
The move represents an expansion of the Vanguard Retirement Plan Access program, which was introduced in October 2011 to offer bundled services to sponsors of small- to mid-size 401(k) plans and to the fee-only advisors who work with those sponsors.
The Hartford hedges its VA risk in Japan
The company also announced that financial results for the first quarter of 2013 will include a deferred acquisition charge (DAC) of approximately $600 million, after tax.
Poland denies rumors that it will nationalize ‘second pillar’ assets
In spite of those denials, many observers believe the government will still attempt to access some of the assets, due to the need to reduce its deficit in line with the European Union's excessive deficit procedures.
Fitch: Puerto Rico’s bond rating (BBB-) depends on reform
Reforms signed into law in Puerto Rico last week aim to reduce future cash flow deficits in the plan both by increasing payments into the plan and reducing future cash payments out of the plan, Fitch said in a release.
ING U.S. to rebrand as Voya Financial
The operational rebranding process is expected to take approximately 24 months once it is started, and ING U.S. would not use its new name and logo commercially until the operational rebranding process has been completed.
