Under Putnam’s Hood, A Fidelity Engine Roars

By Kerry Pechter
In the past year, Putnam Investments owner Great-West Lifeco has recruited (l-r) Fidelity veterans Robert L. Reynolds, Jeffrey R. Carney and Edmund F. Murphy III, among others, perhaps to capitalize on Obama's plan for universal retirement savings coverage.

A Smarter Form of SWiP

By Kerry Pechter
Financial advisor Larry Frank Sr. of Rocklin, Calif., a small town in the arid foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, has fine-tuned the classic 4% "SWiP" approach to drawing down retirement income.

Making More Than Peanuts at MetLife

By Kerry Pechter
The financially fit, well-diversified insurer collected almost twice as much in annuity premiums as its closest competitor in the first quarter of 2009, benefiting from a “flight to quality” in the wake of last year’s economic meltdown.

Can Retirees “Thrive” On Deferred Income Annuities?

By Kerry Pechter
Iowa insurance man Curtis Cloke thinks he has solved the "annuity puzzle" by building ladders of deferred income annuities for his clients. Now he and his partners are scaling up his "Thrive" system and taking it national.
Featured

Obama Calls for ‘Office of National Insurance’

By Editor Test
While the administration's June 18 report, "Financial Regulatory Reform," did not offer the “optional federal charter” that large insurance companies support as an alternative to state-by-state regulation, it did not rule one out.

Target Date Funds: A QDIA That’s DOA?

By Editor Test
Last week, federal officials tried to locate the blame for 2008 TDF losses: Was it marketing hype by TDF makers, a flawed concept, Americans' weak financial literacy, regulatory lapses, or merely the caprice of the markets?
News

For Many, Bear Market May Delay Retirement

By Editor Test
The decline in the value of their 401(k) accounts was cited by 76% of workers aged 50 to 64 as the most important reason they plan to postpone retirement.

CPAs Tell All About Their HNW Clients

By Editor Test
A survey of top CPAs reveals that the wealthy are watching their pennies because of the recession. The survey also reveals the financial advice that accountants are giving their HNW clients.