Don’t Go Overboard with TIPS

"TIPS can play an important role in most retirement portfolios," writes this Tokyo-based economics professor. "... Like other assets, "TIPS have risks and do not eliminate the need for broad diversification." This article first appeared in Advisor Perspectives.

Running Lapse around Variable Annuities

As the living benefits of variable annuities became more valuable during the financial crisis, contract owners astutely held on to them, according to a presentation by Ruark Consulting at a recent Society of Actuaries meeting in Chicago.

The “Evolution of the Annuity Industry”

Like the Ford Mustang in 1965, the variable annuity with a lifetime income rider seemed like the right Boomer product at the right time in 2006. Then came the Crisis. A new survey by Cogent Research and the Insured Retirement Institute looks at where the VA is today and where it's headed.

Airbag-Equipped Annuities

VA issuers may be able to offer rich living benefits safely and inexpensively by embedding a futures-based hedging strategy inside their investment options. That's what Ohio National seems to have done. (Image by Spectrumphotofile.)
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Sun Sets on Sun Life’s U.S. Annuity Business

New CEO Dean Connor decided to cut Sun Life's losses in the U.S. annuity business after a third quarter that negatively impacted many U.S. annuity issuers. The Canadian firm will focus on its employee benefit and MFS Investment Management businesses in the U.S.
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MassMutual introduces Pension Funding Scorecard

The Scorecard provides a quarter-by-quarter performance comparison for a liability-driven investing (LDI) portfolio vs. a traditional 60% equity/40% fixed income portfolio against the MassMutual Pension Liability Index (MMPLI).

Barclays Wealth and Securian announce new executives

Christopher M. Hilger has been appointed the 16th president of the 131-year-old Securian Financial Group, Inc., and Joseph Danowsky has been hired by Barclays Wealth as a Managing Director and Head of Solutions for the Americas.

Passive Equity Strategies Are Still Valid

A true passive strategy, history shows, was never meant to be limited to the S&P 500 or to any other single asset class, writes the owner of Strategic Distribution Institute LLC.

Envestnet acquires FundQuest

Timothy Clift, formerly chief investment officer and chairman of the investment committee at FundQuest, Inc., will join Envestnet|PMC as chief investment strategist, responsible for the development of investment strategies for client portfolios.