‘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.

Introducing the Virtual RIA

Internet start-up Personal Capital is out to prove that mutual funds and face-to-face financial advice are obsolete. (At center, CEO Bill Harris, with Jim Del Favero, VP, product management (seated) and Ehsan Lavassani, engineering director.

Political Football

The Dept. of Labor's bid to strengthen the fiduciary standard for advisers to retirement plans and IRAs became a political football. Now the DoL has agreed to revise and "re-propose" its proposal. Was the football fumbled... or stripped?
Featured

Our Debt Won’t Bankrupt Our Grandkids

Deficit hawks say that federal debts and deficits put our progeny in a hole. Indeed, they've said it for decades. But some economists, starting as far back as 75 years ago, have said that's poppycock. The latter may be right.

United Technologies Adopts In-Plan Annuity

After overhauling its huge retirement plans, this Fortune 50 firm selected AllianceBernstein's stand-alone living benefit as its in-plan 401(k) income option. AXA Equitable, Nationwide, and Lincoln Financial were expected to support the lifetime guarantee.
News

U.S. pension deficit largest since WWII—Mercer

“The end of September marks the largest deficit since we have been tracking this information,” said Jonathan Barry, a partner in Mercer’s Retirement Risk and Finance business.

The Bucket

Brief or late-breaking items from Allianz Life, Lincoln Benefit Life, LPL Financial, Russell Investments, Cannex, Windham Capital Management, Fidelity Investments and The Principal.