RIJ’s Top Ten List for 2010
Letterman, look out. Retirement Income Journal offers its own list of the year's highlights in the retirement income industry (or in one person's small corner of it).
Rep. Ryan’s Express Could Save—or Derail—Public Pensions
Perhaps the most pointed aspect of the bill, H.R. 6484, is its requirement that states use Treasury rates, which are historically low, to discount pension obligations and calculate funding requirements.
Why Prudential Sells the Most VAs
Constant proportion portfolio insurance, or CPPI, has helped Prudential attract crowds to its Highest Daily VA. Now other insurers are wondering if they should employ CPPI.
AllianceBernstein’s Multi-Insurer In-Plan Annuity
To make sure that the glide paths of plan participants' TDFs lead to a 'safe landing,' asset manager AllianceBernstein has enlisted three insurers--AXA Equitable, Lincoln and Nationwide--to equip them with stand-alone living benefits.
Featured
Unmet Expectations
Here’s one observer's somewhat disappointed reaction to the special section on Retirement Income Planning in the December 2010 issue of the Journal of Financial Planning.
Moral Hazard and the Roots of the Financial Crisis
Which caused the financial crisis? A minority report from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission and a forthcoming book from economists at NYU try to explain.
News
HR 4337 modernizes tax code treatment of investment firms
A new white paper from Wolters Kluwer Law & Business details the elements of the law.
New Tax Relief Bill Summarized by FPA, CCH
The payroll tax holiday alone is estimated to inject $120 billion into the economy in 2011.
An alert from SPARK Institute on participant fee disclosure
Plan sponsors are required to provide participants with information about all of their plans’ investment options in a single chart or similar format, said SPARK general counsel Larry Goldbrum.
Fees vs. commissions: a rebuttal
After Iowa advisor Curtis Cloke wrote to RIJ about our article, “Singing from the Fee-Only Song Book” (November 17, 2010), advisor Glenn Daily commented on Cloke’s letter. Cloke sent this letter in rebuttal of Daily's comment.
Pimco allows equities investments in Total Return bond fund
The move follows concern that the long running bull market in bonds is in bubble territory and that inflation and economic growth will damage future returns, according to a report in IPE.com.
The Bucket
Late-breaking items from AXA Equitable, Lincoln Financial, MFS, Transamerica, Aon Hewitt, Principal Financial, Ernst & Young and more...
