Morningstar’s ‘Secret Sauce’
Speaking at the 2011 Morningstar/Ibbotson Conference in Orlando, Roger Ibbotson (above) described low-liquidity as a largely unrecognized source of alpha in stocks and mutual funds.
Wedding Bells for TIPS and ALDA
Together, PIMCO's TIPS-based managed payout funds and MetLife's longevity insurance mitigate two big retirement risks: inflation risk and the risk of outliving one’s savings.
LPL Taps Five Insurers for New VA Platform
Advisors who use LPL Financial’s new Fee-Based Variable Annuity platform can manage VA subaccounts just like mutual funds. (Photo at LPL’s San Diego office.)
A Guide for the Perplexed Participant
GuidedChoice is the latest 401(k) advice provider to announce a platform that helps participants turn their savings into income—with or without a rollover to an IRA. (Above: CEO Sherrie Grabot.)
Featured
In 2010, VA Industry Thrived and Consolidated
Of $136.6 billion in total sales, $21.5 billion represented new cash flow, up from $17 billion in 2009. But the net cash flow was the third lowest in 12 years, after 2005’s net flow of $20.4 billion.
News
Rising oil prices, vanishing stimulus worry hedge fund managers
The level of the S&P 500 and the size of the Fed’s balance sheet have a plus-88.4% correlation since QE1 started in March 2009, said TrimTabs.
New Barclays Capital index enables policy arbitrage
“The spread between European and US short-term rates... presents the possibility of extracting value,” said Jose Mazoy, Director, Index Portfolio and Risk Solutions at Barclays Capital.
Security Benefit issues first post-crisis annuity
The new FIA's optional GLWB provides a compounded roll-up in the benefit base of 8.2% for each year the client defers income, for 10 years or until age 85, whichever comes first.
FIAs and SPIAs shine in a let-down year for fixed annuities: Beacon Research
“Consumer demand for conservative investments with guarantees continues to be strong,” Beacon Research CEO Jeremy Alexander said. “We expect fixed annuity sales growth to resume when the rate environment becomes more favorable.”
No sex please, we’re British
A high court in Britain has apparently barred U.K. insurers from using gender as a factor in calculating insurance rates, including payout rates for retail income annuities. One expert observer predicted "unintended consequences."
The Bucket
Late-breaking items and briefs from Ernst & Young, Charles Schwab, Scarborough, Symetra, MassMutual, Lincoln Financial, Fidelity and Jackson National.
New Income Solutions for Long Retirements
With the numbers of people over age 100 growing rapidly, there is an equally growing need for advisors to consider an array of retirement income solutions.
Why the Government Should Not Issue Annuities
Jeffrey Brown, Ph.D., disagrees with Henry T.C. Hu and Terrrance Odean's proposal for a government-sponsored, inflation-indexed individual annuity. The proposal was reported in last week's issue of RIJ.
