Meet the Newest Platform in the 401(k) Annuity Space
'We’re a product design firm,' ALEXIncome co-founder E. Graham Clark told RIJ. 'We feel we’ve built the best process for integrating annuities into retirement accounts.'
NAIC Urged to Limit ‘Bermuda Triangle’ Strategy
'The ability of insurers to significantly lower the total asset requirement for long-duration blocks of business that rely heavily on asset returns appears to be one of the drivers of the significant increase in reinsurance transactions,” wrote a New Jersey and an Iowa insurance regulator. 'A stunning development,' said one federal official.
Of Athene, Pension Risk Transfers, and Fiduciaries
The ERISA Advisory Council recently heard comments on changing the criteria that fiduciaries use when vetting annuity providers in pension risk transfer deals. Athene's vice chairman defended his company's practices.
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Nominal SPIAs Beat Nominal DIAs—But Perhaps Not for Long
“DIAs may represent a more palatable hedge against longevity risk for retirees than traditional annuities, because they are cheaper and therefore provide more liquidity to retirees,” writes Morningstar's David Blanchett in a Journal of Financial Planning article.
‘Changing of the Guard’ Continues in VA Sales
MetLife is selling one-third of what it was two years ago. Prudential is selling half of what it did in the first two quarters of 2012. The biggest gainers since then include Transamerica, SunAmerica, and Lincoln. (This piece was written by Morningstar's annuity product manager.)
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NAIC Urged to Limit ‘Bermuda Triangle’ Strategy
'The ability of insurers to significantly lower the total asset requirement for long-duration blocks of business that rely heavily on asset returns appears to be one of the drivers of the significant increase in reinsurance transactions,” wrote a New Jersey and an Iowa insurance regulator. 'A stunning development,' said one federal official.
Of Athene, Pension Risk Transfers, and Fiduciaries
The ERISA Advisory Council recently heard comments on changing the criteria that fiduciaries use when vetting annuity providers in pension risk transfer deals. Athene's vice chairman defended his company's practices.
This is your brain on money
Public television will turn its inquisitive light on the topic of behavioral finance next October 16.
M&A speculation drove life/annuity stocks in 2Q2014
A.M. Best attributed much of the quarterly gains for L/A stocks to the merger fever that followed Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co.'s $5.7 billion bid for Protective Life.
Debt service can crowd out savings: LIMRA
Advisors with clients in their 40s need to know how heavy a debt load they are carrying, LIMRA said in a release.
Deloitte publishes annual DC benchmarking survey
There continues to be limited interest in in-plan annuities, with 6% of plans offering this option in 2013, up from 4% in 2012. Ten percent of plan sponsors indicated they are looking into adding an accumulation annuity to their current plan.
