With BluePrint Income, AARP Ups its Ante on Annuity Sales

AARP's 38 million members can now buy income annuities and fixed-rate annuities on a platform powered by fintech firm Blueprint Income. Buyers get a complimentary annual 'retirement income check-up' from a salaried, insurance-licensed adviser. 
Macroeconomics

Why the World Has a Dollar Shortage, Despite Massive Fed Action

By Daniel Lacalle
'The Federal Reserve can be criticized, and rightly so, for its monetary madness, but at least it is the only central bank that truly analyzes the global demand for US dollars,' writes our guest columnist, a Madrid-based economist and fund manager.

Government Purchases Might Speed the Recovery: Steuerle

By Eugene Steuerle
'When government simply puts a dollar of tax cut or transfer increase in our hands, but without purchasing anything, we often simply tuck that dollar under the mattress, so to speak, in which case there is no increase either in demand or supply,' writes our guest columnist, a fellow at the Urban Institute.
Anecdotal Evidence

A Marvel of Financial Engineering

By Kerry Pechter
Like a tough cut of beef that becomes fit for a king if you cook it for a long time at a low temperature, this new fixed indexed annuity from AIG and Annexus aims to turn the little that the market offers right now into a feast for everyone involved. It’s a marvel of financial engineering.

Honorable Mention

By Editorial Staff
DPL Financial Partners will distribute no-commission VA from Transamerica; NextCapital to provide 'managed advice' to MassMutual plan participants; Great American enhances its Index Frontier contracts; Equitable enhances its flagship Structured Capital Strategies registered index-linked annuity.

COVER STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

May 7, 2020

We Could Use Some Inflation

By Kerry Pechter
The Treasury said this week that it will borrow (and spend) about $3 trillion this quarter, to cover its stimulus promises. Where does that money come from and where does it go? 'The capital...
April 30, 2020

Look Homeward, Seeker of Liquidity

By Kerry Pechter
During a market crisis, a reverse mortgage home equity line of credit (ReLOC) can be a lifeline of ready cash for homeowners ages 62 and older. Don Graves of HECM Advisors Group explains.
April 23, 2020

Portfolio Rebound: How Long Should It Take?

By Jim Otar
Using his proprietary 'aftcasting' technique instead of Monte Carlo simulations, the author shows how long it will probably take different portfolios to recover after a negative market shock.