‘Decumulation is Like a Rubik’s Cube’
The Money Management Institute has identified 34 financial services firms that have created what it calls Personal Retirement Income Solution Management (PRISM) tools or programs.
In Denim or in Suits, New Yorkers Want Market Reform
An 'Occupy Wall Street' protester at New York's Zuccotti Park expresses her opinion. The same day, at the NY Athletic Club, Wall Streeters themselves criticized their own industry.
RSQ-y Business at John Hancock B/D
John Hancock Financial Network will offer its advisors the Retirement Sustainability Quotient, an income planning tool that Moshe Milevsky (pictured) developed for ManuLife Financial, JHFN's Canadian parent.
‘Boom Time’ for Variable Annuities?
Guest speakers Fareed Zakaria (pictured) urged more fiscal stimulus for the economy while Andrew Friedman warned of looming tax hikes at the Insured Retirement Institute's conference in Boston. "Boom Time" was the conference theme this year.
Featured
A Closer Look at the Wealth of the Wealthiest
This excerpt from a new Congressional Budget Office report on wealth inequality in the U.S. shows that "highly compensated workers have replaced people whose income is from property or securities at the top of the income distribution."
News
Academics propose solution to “annuity puzzle”
Low sales of individual income annuities "should not be viewed as an indicator of underlying preferences but rather as a consequence of institutional factors about the availability and framing of annuity options,” Shlomo Benartzi and Richard Thaler asserted.
Money trumps sports in the hearts of men, survey shows
A plurality of men (40%) preferred to deposit an extra $1,000 into the emergency fund instead of contributing to their retirement fund or spending it on themselves or a significant other, according to a survey by ING DIRECT USA and Men's Health magazine.
In Netherlands, industry-wide pension plans struggle
Dutch pension officials ruled out Inflation-related increases in benefits and suggested that cuts were likely.
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from Transamerica, JD Mellberg Financial, Allianz Life, Security Benefit and ING DIRECT USA.
“Income” Funds with High Price Tags
Unless I’ve missed something, the three Putnam Retirement Income Lifestyle Funds, as “income funds,” seem long on promises and short on delivery—particularly in light of the costs.
