The Reverse Mortgage Puzzle: Part III

“There’s still a dark cloud over HECMs,” said Michael Banner, a long-time advocate of reverse mortgages who has a CE-accredited business devoted to teaching financial advisors about HECMs.

The Reverse Mortgage Puzzle, Part II

Last week we focused on the HECM product, and how it became less generous after the financial crisis. This week we examine the role of the banks—large ones and smaller ones—and their roles (or former roles) in the distribution of HECMs.

Surprise: DOL Rule Targets Indexed Annuities

The DOL may have put a crimp in the sales of the hot-selling but controversial annuity product when, without specific warning, it raised the regulatory bar for the sale of fixed indexed annuities. (This article is free today.)

The Reverse Mortgage Puzzle

With so many Boomers retiring with low average savings but high average home equity, demand for government-insured reverse mortgages, or HECMs, should be growing. Instead, it's shrinking. Here's why.
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The Case Against Helicopter Money

'Distributing largesse financed by the central bank would have dangerous systemic consequences in the long run,' writes the chief economist of Allianz SE.
News

Surprise: DOL Rule Targets Indexed Annuities

The DOL may have put a crimp in the sales of the hot-selling but controversial annuity product when, without specific warning, it raised the regulatory bar for the sale of fixed indexed annuities. (This article is free today.)

Envestnet and partners add automated retirement solutions

VMS's Retirement Revolution platform offers multiple services, including plan design and set-up, full recordkeeping and administration, and fiduciary protection that addresses the new DOL rules, the companies said in a release.

Morningstar and Redtail expand partnership

The integration expands the relationship between the two firms. In 2014, Morningstar's proprietary research and analytics were added to the Redtail CRM user interface.