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Structured product from AXA Equitable blends upside potential, downside protection
Wed, Jun 01, 2011
Called Structured Capital Strategies ADV, the product will be distributed at first to fee-based advisors in the Commonwealth Financial Network.
Industry Views
$300 Billion, Up for Grabs
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.
Burton Malkiel Talks About Efficient Markets
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.
New Income Solutions for Long Retirements
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 Slowly Enter The Digital Age
Annuity issuers are making a concerted effort to implement and promote paperless document delivery services.
401(k)s: They’re Not (Necessarily) Just for Employees Any More
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.
The Future Of Online Customer Feedback Has Arrived
TIAA-CREF’s TC Listens website is an innovative new medium for obtaining client feedback online.
TIPS for Retirement Investing in the ‘New Normal’
TIPS can preserve purchasing power, provide systematic income and offer the assurance of a government guarantee for retirees depending on income from their investments.
Firms Back Variable Annuity Product Launches With Aggressive Online Marketing Campaigns
With variable annuity sales down, firms are intensifying online product marketing campaigns to reach more prospective investors.
Found in Translation
Annuity issuers are reaching out to non-English-speaking investors through websites written in Spanish and Asian languages, according to Corporate Insight.
Behavioral Economics and Retirement Investing
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.
Annuity Issuers Embracing Social Media One Tweet At A Time
A growing number of annuity issuers are using creative approaches on Twitter to reach new audiences online.
Roth IRA Conversion Promotions Are All The Rage Online
Many firms have launched engaging online sales campaigns focusing on the Roth IRA conversion opportunities that will be available in 2010.
Annuity Firms Turn Their Focus To Online Client Security
Annuity firms introduced enhanced online security measures in 2009, but they remain laggards in the financial service industry.
Should Annuity Firms Care About Social Media?
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."
Marketing Online Education To Advisors
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.
DATA CONNECTION
Structured Products
BMO 'Lifetime Cash Flow' Product Critiqued
Wed, Jan 26, 2011
Garth Bernard responds to last week's RIJ article on the Bank of Montreal's Lifetime Cash Flow product, saying the product has 'room for improvement.'
BMO Offers Non-Insured Lifetime Income Product
Wed, Jan 19, 2011
The Bank of Montreal's Lifetime Cash Flow product pays out 6% of principal per year for life after a 10-year deferral period. After-tax principal is paid out tax-free for 15 years, followed by taxable payments.
Why Prudential Sells the Most VAs
Wed, Dec 08, 2010
Constant proportion portfolio insurance, or CPPI, has helped Prudential attract crowds to its Highest Daily VA. Now other insurers are wondering if they should employ CPPI.
AXA Equitable Introduces Structured VA Product
Thu, Oct 21, 2010
AXA Equitable has put structured notes inside a variable annuity, giving investors tax-deferred exposure to small-cap, gold and oil indices for specific periods while capping their upside and buffering their downside.
Inflation-Indexed and Level Payout Funds from Barclays Bank
Wed, Aug 04, 2010
“It's marketed as a gap product, such as between early retirement and pension benefits or to bridge until longevity insurance kicks in,” said Tamiko Toland, an annuity industry analyst at Strategic Insight, Inc.
Consensus Emerges on Derivatives Market Structure: BNY Mellon
Wed, May 26, 2010
Nearly two-thirds of market participants say they have already implemented changes in advance of regulatory reform, with 79% expecting central clearing to become standard.
The Goldman Touch
Wed, Apr 28, 2010
The complex deal at the heart of the SEC’s case against Goldman Sachs may reveal Wall Street to be a labyrinth or casino, but it doesn’t necessarily establish fraud.
“Outcome-Driven Investing” Is The Future, DWS Exec Says
Tue, Jun 02, 2009
The financial world has left the “Harry Markowitz” era where Modern Portfolio Theory and Monte Carlo projections reigned, says Philipp Hensler, CEO of U.S. distribution for DWS Investments.
EIAs Work Best During Worst Markets
Mon, Jun 01, 2009
“Selling guarantees is like smoking Cuban cigars while driving a dynamite truck. You better do it carefully,” a Journal of Financial Planning article observes.
Regulatory Cloud Stifles EIA Market
Thu, May 21, 2009
Only two new EIA contracts were issued in the first quarter of 2009, both with bonuses and both with mandatory GLWBs. They were Forethought Life’s single-premium Income 125 and American Equity’s flexible-premium Retirement Gold.
