Cogent Research's new 2012 Assets in Motion study can help you understand and benefit from the rising flow of money from qualified plans to rollover IRAs.
In this video sponsored by Vanguard, Burton Malkiel, Princeton professor and author of "A Random Walk Down Wall Street," talks with RIJ editor Kerry Pechter about what "efficient market" means to him. The 10th edition of "A Random Walk" has just been published.
With the numbers of people over age 100 growing rapidly, there is an equally growing need for advisors to consider an array of retirement income solutions.
Annuity issuers are making a concerted effort to implement and promote paperless document delivery services.
A growing number of 401(k) plan sponsors, retirees, record keepers and regulators want retirees to stay in their plans well into, or even straight through, retirement, PIMCO has found.
TIAA-CREF’s TC Listens website is an innovative new medium for obtaining client feedback online.
TIPS can preserve purchasing power, provide systematic income and offer the assurance of a government guarantee for retirees depending on income from their investments.
With variable annuity sales down, firms are intensifying online product marketing campaigns to reach more prospective investors.
Annuity issuers are reaching out to non-English-speaking investors through websites written in Spanish and Asian languages, according to Corporate Insight.
PIMCO and its Allianz affiliates recently sponsored a new study, “Behavioral Finance and the Post-Retirement Crisis.” PIMCO Retirement Product Manager Tom Streiff explains how the study’s findings can foster the development of successful retirement income products.
A growing number of annuity issuers are using creative approaches on Twitter to reach new audiences online.
Many firms have launched engaging online sales campaigns focusing on the Roth IRA conversion opportunities that will be available in 2010.
Annuity firms introduced enhanced online security measures in 2009, but they remain laggards in the financial service industry.
The annuity industry has been slow to adopt social media. But given the industry’s target audiences, does it matter? Download an excerpt from the report "Social Media: Trends and Tactics in the Financial Services Industry."
Our latest research shows that dynamic displays, such as Flash interfaces, offer firms engaging new ways to present and market online educational content to advisors.
Industry Views are special reports that are sponsored and independent from RIJ's editorial content.
Source: "When to Commence Income Annuities," Jeffrey K. Dellinger, Retirement Income Solutions Enterprise, Inc., 2011
Wed, Feb 01, 2012
"We want to help clients employ different strategies that go beyond the simple, 60/40 equity-and-fixed income portfolio rule of the past,” said the head of BlackRock’s U.S. retail business.
Wed, Feb 01, 2012
SunAmerica has also introduced a new investment portfolio – the SunAmerica Dynamic Allocation Portfolio –as an underlying investment in their variable annuity products.
Wed, Jan 25, 2012
The company reorganized itself into two basic divisions, an Insurance Group run by Chris Blunt and an Investments Group run by John Y. Kim. Kim will succeed Blunt as head of the Retirement Income Security (RIS) business.
Tue, Jan 24, 2012
Pacific Index Choice now has an optional lifetime income benefit for 75 basis points and the Pacific Destinations VA comes in a new and cheaper share class.
Thu, Jan 19, 2012
More than half of all investors surveyed said they expect to be in a better position financially two years from now compared with today.
Wed, Jan 18, 2012
ING U.S. Retirement will combine its own target date funds with the AllianceBernstein three-insurer annuity platform to offer a lifetime income option to its 52,000 small and mid-sized plans.
Wed, Jan 11, 2012
Three service providers stood out in PLANSPONSOR's annual Defined Contribution Survey this year: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Diversified Retirement Corporation, and BMO Institutional Trust Services.
Wed, Jan 11, 2012
"Going forward, I think the only sustainable product designs will be in the context of risk-levered funds,” said Steve Murphy, FSA, a senior vice president at the Cincinnati-based mutual insurer.
Wed, Jan 11, 2012
SALBs are back in the news. The RetireOne Transamerica solution is the first of what Aria Retirement Services CEO David Stone said will be several income solutions provided by Aria in partnership with major insurance carriers.
Wed, Jan 11, 2012
Emily Pachuta will lead the team, as head of Consumer Insights group within Lincoln’s Insurance Solutions/Retirement Solutions division.
Wed, Jan 04, 2012
A trusted source for information on a wide array of products, Consumer Reports decided to investigate online and full-service brokerage services by polling their readers and sending mystery shoppers to brokerages. Here's how 13 services measured up.
Wed, Dec 14, 2011
The Scorecard provides a quarter-by-quarter performance comparison for a liability-driven investing (LDI) portfolio vs. a traditional 60% equity/40% fixed income portfolio against the MassMutual Pension Liability Index (MMPLI).
Wed, Dec 14, 2011
Thomas Sargent, winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences and professor of economics and business at New York University, will deliver the keynote address.
Wed, Dec 14, 2011
Timothy Clift, formerly chief investment officer and chairman of the investment committee at FundQuest, Inc., will join Envestnet|PMC as chief investment strategist, responsible for the development of investment strategies for client portfolios.
Wed, Dec 14, 2011
New CEO Dean Connor decided to cut Sun Life's losses in the U.S. annuity business after a third quarter that negatively impacted many U.S. annuity issuers. The Canadian firm will focus on its employee benefit and MFS Investment Management businesses in the U.S.
Wed, Nov 23, 2011
MetLife's three new business regions, each of which will have its own president, are the Americas, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), and Asia.
Wed, Nov 16, 2011
The Future6 Death Benefit allows for income withdrawals that do not reduce the death benefit, unlike most VA death benefits, according to Steve Kluever, vice president of product and marketing for Global Annuities at The Hartford.
Tue, Nov 15, 2011
Built for the 403(b) market, the Total Interest Annuity can be funded with contributions up to $16,500 annually or with IRA contributions or rollovers.
Wed, Nov 09, 2011
"White, more highly educated, higher-income, and married workers are more likely to participate than their counterparts," the EBRI's October 2011 Issue Brief said.
Wed, Nov 02, 2011
MetLife's reduction of the deferral bonus on its hot-selling GMIB Max VA rider by a half-percent and news that Sun Life's strength rating is under review are symptoms of the impact of ultra-low interest rates on VA issuers.
Wed, Nov 02, 2011
Purchasers of the product can choose among three modules—Extra access, Extra care and protection, or Extra assurance.
Thu, Oct 20, 2011
Each TDF is “designed to adjust its equity allocation in response to prevailing market conditions,” the company said in a release.
Thu, Oct 20, 2011
The rider is issued is by Monumental Life Insurance Company, and costs 95 basis points a year in addition to the cost of the no-load VA, which ranges from 36 to 81 basis points, depending on the investment options chosen.
Wed, Oct 19, 2011
With United Technologies' recent adoption of an in-plan annuity, it now appears more likely that guaranteed income will eventually become commonplace in the defined contribution space. The Hartford, after a false start, has jumped back in that game.
Wed, Oct 12, 2011
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.
Wed, Oct 12, 2011
Income for Life Model, a time-segmentation retirement income planning tool from Wealth2k, will be integrated into the NetX360 advisor web platform offered by Pershing, the clearing firm owned by BNY Mellon.
Wed, Oct 12, 2011
The Accumulator Series, introduced in 1995, now has a higher deferral bonus roll-up.
Thu, Oct 06, 2011
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.
Wed, Oct 05, 2011
In addition to global equities and global fixed-income securities, the fund may invest in commodities and real estate investment trusts, and use leverage.
Wed, Oct 05, 2011
“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.
Wed, Oct 05, 2011
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.
Tue, Sep 27, 2011
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.
Wed, Sep 21, 2011
Fidelity, ING, TIAA-CREF and VALIC continued to solidify their positions in the marketplace, according to a new report on the 403(b) retirement plan market from Retirement Research Inc.
Wed, Sep 14, 2011
Beginning with the third contract year, the roll-up rates of the Retirement Cornerstone variable annuity will be tied to the current 10-year Treasury rate plus 1.5% and will renew annually, AXA Equitable Life said.
Wed, Sep 14, 2011
Vanguard pulled ahead of the group of 36 leading DC investment managers to score the highest in overall favorability. Fidelity was rated first in overall awareness.
Tue, Sep 06, 2011
The research arm of the non-profit retirement plan for educators has just published the results of a forum it hosted last December on best practices and potential improvements in the design of defined contribution plans.
Wed, Aug 24, 2011
Plan participants who dropped to zero equities but then returned to some equities after the 2008 crisis saw an average account balance increase of 25% by June 30, 2011, compared to 50% for those who stuck with their equities.
Tue, Aug 16, 2011
“This was one of the top-five best-selling quarters for indexed annuity sales,” said Sheryl J. Moore, president and CEO of AnnuitySpecs.com.
Fri, Aug 12, 2011
The Society of Actuaries' recent book (available here in pdf form) puts the reader at the center of a web of hundreds of articles, research studies, other resources relevant to the risks and opportunities of Boomer retirement.
Wed, Aug 10, 2011
The guaranteed lifetime income rider features an income base that is guaranteed to grow at no less than six percent compounded annually for up 20 years.
Tue, Aug 09, 2011
SunAmerica's 'Retirement Re-Set' study showed why some retirees are happier than others. Jana Greer, president and CEO of SunAmerica Retirement Markets, explains. The company was the sixth biggest VA-seller in 1Q 2011.
Tue, Jul 26, 2011
Andrew Carnegie, founder of the non-profit Teacher's Insurance & Annuity Association, now TIAA-CREF, could not possibly have foreseen how his group annuity would lead to today's profitable trillion-dollar variable annuity industry.
Tue, Jul 26, 2011
Big deferral bonuses and safer investment options characterize the income riders of Nationwide and Sun Life, both of which aim to be among the leading sellers of VAs.
Wed, Jul 20, 2011
What "story" helps you sell VAs? Mark Caner of Western & Southern describes his firm's contract as a safe, nimble, fuel-efficient vehicle for cruising through retirement.
Tue, Jul 19, 2011
How did upstart Jackson National Life get near the top of the VA heap? And why are so many advisors nervous that it may 'de-risk' its popular Perspective contract? JNL EVP Clifford Jack tells RIJ all that he can...
Mon, Jul 18, 2011
But nearly one in 10 corporate defined contribution participants increased their contribution rate during the first quarter of 2011, the largest percentage to do so since Fidelity started tracking the figure in 2006.
Mon, Jul 18, 2011
Ten large bank holding companies accounted for about $563 million or more than 64% of the $748.2 million in bank annuity income in the first quarter.
Wed, Jul 13, 2011
The new multi-premium contract allows a person to build a personal pension with a series of contributions leading to lifetime income beginning at a pre-determined but flexible start date.
Tue, Jul 12, 2011
In an about-face on VAs, The Hartford has gone back to the GLWB, tempering its risks with a CPPI fund. The arrival of Steve Kluever from Jackson National in March reflects the new thinking.
Wed, Jul 06, 2011
The value of annuity assets held outside retirement plans was $1.637 trillion in 1Q 2011, its highest point since the third quarter of 2007, according to the ICI Retirement Industry Report.
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RIJ Publishing, 4340 Knollwood Dr., Emmaus, PA 18049, 610-965-3103
Retirement Income Journal is a new online magazine dedicated to writing for and about the industry that has coalesced around the challenge of helping Americans turn their savings into secure lifetime incomes. This industry includes members of the insurance, asset management, banking, pension, structured products, reverse mortgage, information technology, financial planning and academic communities and the professional organizations that serve them.
Send editorial queries to kerry.pechter@retirementincomejournal.com.
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