Is There a Retirement Crisis or Not?
Two recent reports from different organizations paint very different portraits of retirement readiness in the U.S.
The Ghost of VA Contracts Past
Insurers and asset managers love managed-vol funds and VA portfolios, whose sales are climbing. But in a low-vol bull market, advisors wonder about their value.
RetiremEntrepreneur: Lou Harvey
Louis S. Harvey is president and CEO of Dalbar, Inc., a Boston-based research firm that performs a variety of evaluations and quality ratings of financial services practices and communications.
VA Issuers Limit Inflows in 3Q: Morningstar
During 3Q 2013, carriers filed 84 annuity product changes. AXA Equitable made a buyout offer, several carriers limited new payments to contracts, and Jackson National made living benefits available on joint life products again, according to Morningstar's quarterly update.
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What Fools These Mortals Be
E*Trade, TD Ameritrade and Merrill Edge all dangle a $600 signing bonus to people who open new brokerage accounts with cash--lots and lots of cash, it turns out.
RetiremEntrepreneur: Robert Klein
West Coast CFP, CPA and RICP Robert Klein has jumped on the retirement bandwagon, recasting his business as the Retirement Income Center, becoming a MarketWatch RetireMentor and putting fixed indexed annuities at the center of his practice.
News
Time, money, age and advice: They’re all connected
At any given life stage, a new research paper says, people tend to manage their investments in one of three ways: by doing nothing (“inertia”), by doing it themselves (“self-management”) or by consulting a financial advisor (“delegation”).
Czechmate: New government will end auto-enrolled DC plan
The Czech experiment with a voluntary, auto-enrolled national defined contribution plan (a "second pillar" plan to supplement the primary pay-as-you-go plan) will end. Balances will be rolled into the optional "third pillar" supplemental pension. Confusing? Czech!
W&S FGD introduces managed-risk investment strategy to GLWB rider
By using the managed-volatility funds, VA contract owners can get a lifetime withdrawal benefit rider without having to put at least 30% of their assets in fixed income investments.
Fitch sees stability for life insurers in 2014
Overall, Fitch’s near-term outlook for the life insurance industry was “stable,” assuming no major interest rate spikes, no international crises and a continuation of the weak recovery, modest GDP growth and high unemployment.
IRI publishes a look back at 2013 and look forward to 2014
In a linguistic gesture that may dismay some fund companies, the report refers to “volatility funds" when describing managed-volatility funds.
