A Chat with Jackson’s Cliff Jack

The executive vice president and head of retail at Jackson National Life (and former chairman of the National Association of Variable Annuities) spoke with RIJ about the two kinds of advisers, about fixed indexed annuities and about being the top annuity seller.

Probing the Minds of Advisers

Manufacturers trying to build retirement income solutions for advisers face the fact that advisers vary widely in their approaches to retirement planning, says Howard Schneider of Practical Perspectives, which has co-produced a new survey with GDC Research.

A Liquidity Option for DIAs?

The desirability and feasibility of allowing owners of deferred income annuities to convert income streams to lump sums was discussed at the American Law Institute's Continuing Legal Education Conference on Life Insurance Company Products in November.

Comment: Goodbye, Mature Market Institute

Last spring, MetLife pulled the plug on its popular, respected thought-leadership unit after a 15-year run. Did the decision signify a loss of faith in the Boomer retirement opportunity?
Featured

Fidelity sued again over plan fees

The same plaintiff's attorneys are after Fidelity again--for overcharging its own plan for recordkeeping. The alleged overcharge--about $90 million over five years--amounts to less than 20 basis points (about $300 per participant) per year from the plan.

Take Me to Your Leader

The retirement movement needs more focus. There are lots of strong voices, but they're not singing in the same language from the same hymn book at the same time.
News

Guardian Life’s new VA offers alternatives

Guardian may have been inspired by the success of Jackson National’s Elite Access variable annuity, which has sold well among advisers who in the past were unlikely to buy variable annuities.

Metrics of the 2013 bull market

“One area of intriguing promise is actively managed ETFs, a segment of intense innovation activity for the coming years,” said Ari Nachmany, research director at Strategic Insight.

Beware of seeds, stems and scams

Marijuana stock hustles tend to use the same techniques as “pump and dump” stock ploys, says FINRA, which is warning investors about dodgy securities of firms selling the psychoactive herb in states like Colorado, where it is now largely legal.

Architect of immortality dies at 72

The artist/architect Madeline Arakawa Gins believed that houses with unconventional colors and planes could extend the lives of their inhabitants indefinitely.

The Bucket

Brief or late-breaking items from Voya Financial (ING U.S.), T. Rowe Price, Towers Watson, Symetra, Sun Life and Northwestern Mutual.