On Second Thought, Make That a Single-Dip
Vanguard analysts put the chance of a double-dip recession at about 20%. The bond yield curve suggests only a 6% risk, but the yield curve isn't as reliably predictive as it used to be, they say.
Is a ‘Two-Cylinder’ VA Better Than a Single?
Dual-account products offer the best of both worlds: low-cost tax-deferral with the option to move assets dynamically into a guaranteed lifetime payout vehicle over time.
How Many VA Owners Will Bail Out?
Issuers of variable annuities with income benefits could face lower-than-expected lapse rates and higher reserve requirements over the next 18 months, says Oliver Wyman.
Plugging Leaks in VA Guarantees
VA issuers can’t keep bearing so many of the contract risks. Milliman's Ken Mungan (above) and Deep Patel suggest three ways to make VA manufacturing more sustainable.
Featured
Are Stocks Really Cheap?
Cash levels as a percent of assets reached a cyclical high of 12% in 1991. Today, that ratio is less than 4%. With mutual funds already nearly fully invested, where will the money come from to take stocks higher?
How Social Security Can Make Up for Lost Pensions
Under my plan, the SSA would tell people their benefit at a specific retirement age (either an earliest age or a "normal" age). Then it would show a simple set of penalties or bonuses for withdrawing money or depositing it with Social Security.
News
D.C. Appeals Court Rules Against 151A
“Most likely this means that the SEC will drop efforts to regulate this product,” said Eric Marhoun, general counsel of the Old Mutual Insurance Company.
Investors Talk the Talk, But Ignore Walk: Allianz Global Investors
The majority of investors 65-plus (57%) have less than 25% of their portfolios in bonds and/or bond mutual funds, according to a survey of Americans in households with at least $250,000 in investments.
LPL to buy National Retirement Partners
Over the past decade, LPL has become the largest independent contractor broker-dealer in the industry. In 2000, the firm had 3,569 advisers. It had 12,026 as of March 31.
To Shrink Medical Costs, Make Them Visible: SOA
Consumers feel they could make more informed decisions if they had more information on medical procedures and options for care, the SOA found.
PIMCO Unveils Sovereign Bond Benchmarks
Instead of giving the highest weights to countries with the most debt, PIMCO's new indices will give the highest weights to countries with the highest income based on GDP.
Correction
Last week, an article in RIJ misdescribed Axa Equitable's Retirement Cornerstone variable annuity.
Annuity Issuers Embracing Social Media One Tweet At A Time
A growing number of annuity issuers are using creative approaches on Twitter to reach new audiences online.
