Buenos DIAs
It’s morning in America for manufacturers of deferred income annuities, or DIAs. Are they a passing fancy, or do they offer the perfect balance between risk and reward?
Roll Over, Rollovers: ‘Roll-Ins’ Have Arrived
Retirement Clearinghouse (formerly RolloverSystems) CEO Spencer Williams wants people to consolidate (roll in) their retirement accounts in their current 401(k)s. It would mean fewer ‘stranded’ retirement accounts and less ‘leakage,’ he claims.
A Man of Conviction
How did Matthew Hutcheson, once a poster boy for fiduciary rectitude, turn into the wanted-poster man for fiduciary misconduct? But his ill-fated deal for the Osprey Meadows golf course (pictured) in Idaho was just a subplot within a subplot of the 2008 real estate bust.
Obama’s Budget Too Austere for Retirement Industry
There’s outrage and indignation over the administration’s call for a $3 million cap on lifetime accumulations in tax-favored accounts, but only a tiny number of accounts would be affected.
Featured
The Trapdoors at the Fed’s Exit
The exit from the Fed’s QE and zero-interest-rate policies will be treacherous, writes this NYU Stern School of Business economist. Exiting too fast will crash the real economy, while exiting too slowly will first create a huge bubble and then crash the financial system.
Nine Insurers Now Offer DIAs
Here are thumbnail descriptions of deferred income annuities from American General, Guardian Life, MassMutual, MetLife, New York Life, Northwestern Mutual, The Principal, Prudential and Symetra.
News
‘Fiduciary duty’ remains under-defined, says UK law professor
“This is all about what you do with other people's money – you can't get more political than that. It’s very difficult to lay down a hard and fast rule that will work for decades to come,” said Roger McCormick.
Which is better for Ireland: Auto-enrollment or mandatory participation?
A report by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development says compulsory participation in national defined contribution plans is more effective and less expensive than auto-enrollment programs.
Small is beautiful, say these plan providers
Transamerica launches a new service for small-plan sponsors, The Online 401(k) jumps into the auto-IRA business, and Fidelity announces that small-plan balances have rebounded 64% since the nadir of the financial crisis.
Securian, Nationwide add managed-vol funds to VAs
The trend toward embedding risk-management mechanisms inside variable annuity portfolios continues.
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from MassMutual, Nationwide and ASPire.
