‘We Shall Never Surrender!’

At the Insured Retirement Industry's marketing conference in Orlando this week, speakers from AXA, Brighthouse Financial (formerly MetLife’s retail division), Great-West Financial, Jackson National Life, and New York Life described their companies' strategies in difficult times.

What the Divergent DOL Rulings Mean: Wagner

'Even though there is not a clear conflict among the Circuits, this case will likely be heard by the Supreme Court,' said ERISA attorney Marcia Wagner after judges in two federal appeals courts ruled differently on challenges to the DOL fiduciary rule.

‘Circuit Split’ over DOL Fiduciary Rule?

In my opinion, allowing IRA rollover money to escape the protections and restrictions that govern 401(k) plans will eventually nullify the federal government’s rationale for tax deferral—a benefit that the financial services industry, ironically, wants badly to protect.

Roger Ibbotson embraces indexed annuities over bonds

'Conventional wisdom has most investors de-risking their portfolios by allocating more heavily to bonds as they approach retirement," Ibbotson said. 'Investors should consider other alternatives such as FIAs.'

COVER STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

March 8, 2018

Allianz Life’s New FIA Aims for Accumulation

'By using volatility controlled indices, we can offer higher caps,' said Matt Gray, vp of product innovation at Allianz Life. 'In such a low-rate environment, those higher caps have been well-received.' (Image from Allianz...
March 1, 2018

A Fintech Fix for the Small Plan Cost-Crisis

'We’re offering to clean house in a very fragmented broker market,' said Shin Inoue, CEO of ForUsAll, a turnkey 401(k) provider. Founded in 2014 by three former Financial Engines executives, ForUsAll has received $34...
February 22, 2018

Building a Personal Pension, a Month at a Time

Recent filings show that Prudential plans to launch a direct-sold, auto-pay, multi-premium fixed deferred income annuity called GIFT, or Guaranteed Income for Tomorrow.