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Cover Stories

From an IVA, New Blood for Insurers

by Kerry Pechter

From an IVA, New Blood for Insurers

Tue, May 18, 2010

Life insurers, advisors and consumers should embrace his immediate variable annuity (IVA) with a refund option and a death benefit, says Achaean Financial CEO Lorry Stensrud.

Mad About 401(k) Annuities

by Kerry Pechter

Mad About 401(k) Annuities

Tue, May 11, 2010

Part I: ‘Keep Your Hands Off My 401(k).’ Based on their recent e-mails to the Labor Department's RFI, some Americans think Uncle Sam wants to confiscate private savings.

The Savings Sweepstakes

by Kerry Pechter

The Savings Sweepstakes

Wed, May 05, 2010

Lottery-like savings programs aren’t widely legal in the U.S., but a Harvard Business School professor believes they could inspire more low and middle-income Americans to save.

The Goldman Touch

by Edward Jay Epstein

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.

The Decumulation Beat

A Sobering VA Outlook, Via Cerulli

A Sobering VA Outlook, Via Cerulli

"The industry is still feeling the fallout from the Great Recession," Cerulli's Lisa Plotnick tells RIJ. "But the bad news is not unaddressable."

News

Rising Flows for Active U.S. Stock Funds

Wed, May 19, 2010

Target-date funds continued to gather assets, with inflows of $20.5 billion in 2010 through April.

Regulate Ratings Agencies More or Less?

Wed, May 19, 2010

Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), the former "Saturday Night Live" comedy writer, wants an independent panel to assign Wall Street deals to rating companies.

Fidelity Launches Corporate Bond Fund

Wed, May 19, 2010

The fund will track the Barclays Capital U.S. Credit Bond Index, a value-weighted index of investment-grade, corporate fixed-rate issues with maturities of one year or more.

First Quarter Index Annuity Sales Down 3.9%: AnnuitySpecs

Wed, May 19, 2010

In the first quarter, Allianz Life again led all issuers with a 20% market share. Its MasterDex X was the top selling product for the fourth consecutive quarter.

Nervous Americans Not Flocking to Annuities

Wed, May 19, 2010

Total annuity sales for the first quarter were $47.4 billion, down 6.9% from $50.9 billion in the previous quarter, and down 27%, from $64.4 billion in the first quarter of 2009.