Research Roundup

By Editorial Staff
Enjoy these summaries of six recent research papers that illuminate issues in retirement today. We include work by leading retirement researchers at Harvard Law School, schools of business at Stanford and Duke Universities, and other major academic institutions.

Bermuda Short-Sellers

By Kerry Pechter
Short-sellers, including hedge funds, sense that the bespoke loans that asset managers have sold to life insurers could fail in the next financial crisis. They may not know it, but the shorts are responding in part to the growth of what RIJ calls the 'Bermuda Triangle' strategy.

CITs: Private Credit’s Pathway into 401(k) Plans

By Kerry Pechter
'Everybody—all the asset managers—are trying to pick CIT dance partners so that they can have product in 401(k) plans,' said Chris Randall at SEI Trust Company. CITs—less regulated, cheaper, and more easily-customized than mutual funds—now house 42% of 401(k) investments.
Featured

A Chat with the President of Prudential Annuities

By Editor Test
Bob O'Donnell talked to RIJ about sustaining VA guarantees in an uncertain rate environment, and about the public's ability to understand VA riders. MetLife, AXA Equitable, and Jackson National also comment here on limiting new contributions to older, richer contracts.

‘The Future of Lifetime Income’

By Editor Test
Symetra Life and Russell Investments have teamed up to build a low-cost variable annuity with a lifetime income feature that doesn't involve costly hedging, insurance charges or commissions.
News

Can layoffs shorten lifespans?

By Editor Test
Unemployment shocks at ages 57 to 61 have the biggest long-term effect on survival, while shocks at earlier (ages 55 to 56) or later (ages 62 to 65) ages have no significant long-term effect, economists at Wellesley College found.

Living benefit buyers live longer: Ruark

By Editor Test
Mortality levels among purchasers of guaranteed living benefits are lower than among variable annuity purchasers who did not buy a guaranteed living benefit, according to the 2012 Variable Annuity Mortality Study from Ruark Consulting.

Bullish sentiments follow central bank easing

By Editor Test
"While there is a debate about the effectiveness of QE measures in stimulating the economy, there is little doubt that they have provided a boost to equity markets," writes John Praveen of Prudential International Investments Advisors.