Making Annuities Easier for RIAs

It's no longer a minority report. We talk to executives at Envestnet, DPL Financial, RetireOne, Allianz Life and United Capital about new platforms for helping registered investment advisors integrate insurance products into retirement plans for clients. Has a long-awaited tipping point arrived?
Guest column

Trump’s Policies Will Displace the Dollar

By Jeffrey D. Sachs
Donald Trump’s 'profligate fiscal policies and reckless trade and sanctions policies will undermine America’s economy and the role of the dollar in global finance,' writes our guest columnist, an economist at Columbia University.

Asset managers focus on advisor behavior: Cerulli

By Editorial Staff
'Just 53% of practices with assets under management (AUM) between $50 million and $100 million in-source their investment decision making,' said Ed Louis, a senior analyst at Cerulli, in a release.

A bit of recovery in variable annuity sales

By Michael Manetta
'2012- and 2013-vintage contracts remain the best-sellers both by average sales volume and total sales volume by year. Of the top 100 selling VAs in Q2 2018, 25 were first issued in 2012 or 2013,' writes Morningstar's VA analyst.
Robo Watch

Personal Capital launches tax-efficient drawdown tool

By Editorial Staff
To arrive at personalized recommendations, the service integrates account level tax status, household tax filing status, and the latest state-by-state and federal tax date with a goal of extending the life client portfolios.

Honorable Mention

By Editorial Staff
New Jackson National campaign depicts aging as beginning, not an end; T. Rowe Price’s new ad campaign explains its active management philosophy; Global Atlantic announces annuity product ‘overhaul.'

COVER STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

August 30, 2018

Meet the First ‘Structured Outcome’ ETF

By Kerry Pechter
Innovator Capital Management and Milliman have built the first structured outcome product on an exchange-traded fund (ETF) chassis, challenging the annuity monopoly in this category.
August 9, 2018

The Science (Not Sci-Fi) of Social Security

By Kerry Pechter
The overlap of Social Security policy and behavioral finance was the subject of several papers aired at the Retirement Research Consortium’s 20th annual meeting last week. Economists are trying to figure out the best...
August 2, 2018

‘PEP’ Talk

By Kerry Pechter
In this sixth installment of our series on "pooled employer plans" or PEPs (also known as "open multiple employer plans" or MEPs), we asked 401(k) experts if this new type of workplace savings plan...