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 Conference on Consumer Financial Decision-Making last June.

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 courtesy of Whimsicalwhisk.com.

‘Financial Services for the Greater Good’

Andrew Carnegie, founder of the non-profit Teacher's Insurance & Annuity Association, now TIAA-CREF, could not possibly have foreseen how his group annuity would lead to today's profitable trillion-dollar variable annuity industry.

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? JNL EVP Clifford Jack tells RIJ all that he can...
Featured

Happy Ants, Struggling Grasshoppers

SunAmerica's 'Retirement Re-Set' study showed why some retirees are happier than others. Jana Greer, president and CEO of SunAmerica Retirement Markets, explains. The company was the sixth biggest VA-seller in 1Q 2011.
News

Going with the regulatory flow

In announcing new fund offerings for DC plans, Securian and BlackRock noted that they're trying to meet plan sponsor demand for greater fiduciary responsibility and lower investment costs.

Fed to keep rates very low through mid-2013

In an apparent bid to calm equity investors, the Federal Reserve announced that it won't raise its benchmark interest rate until the middle of 2013, at the earliest.

The Bucket

Brief or late-breaking items from Security Benefit, Allianz Life, Lincoln Financial, MassMutual and Prudential Retirement.

They Know Not What They Do

The equity sell-off and rush to Treasuries didn't happen because Congress failed to cut the deficit or the debt aggressively enough. In my humble opinion, it happened for the opposite reason.