No Quick End to Fiduciary Rule Story
The DOL wants your comments again. It wants to know how much companies have spent on adapting to the rule, and whether it would be cheaper to abandon the sunk costs. Or maybe it's all a charade,...
View ArticleThe Best of Recent Economic Research
The six academic papers cited here identify several points where, even when we don’t realize it, macroeconomics and personal finance intersect.
View ArticleThe Dollar as Reserve Currency: Benefit or Burden?
Should the dollar abdicate its role as the lingua franca of money? In this exclusive interview, economist Barry Eichengreen of the University of California, Berkeley offers some much-needed perspective.
View ArticleDOL Hears Public Comments on Fiduciary Rule (Again)
Brokers and insurance agents told the Department of Labor to kill the fiduciary rule, but robo-advisors such as Financial Engines and Betterment still favored it, as did private citizens, in over 200...
View ArticleNetting $317 billion, Vanguard dominated fund flows in 2016: Morningstar
'2016 was more filled with uncertainty than other years, particularly in light of a few extraordinary political events that nobody believed would happen until they did,' said Morningstar in its...
View ArticleNobody knows you when you’re down and out (and single and old): AARP
Lonely older adults are much more likely to have an annual household income of less than $25,000 and assets under $10,000, and are more likely overall to be in the lowest income group.
View ArticleJefferson National strengthened by its new owner, Nationwide
A.M. Best said it expects Jefferson National’s management to remain in place, but the insurer 'will be transitioning to the Nationwide brand.'
View ArticleConsumers want safe income but don’t understand annuities, study shows
A survey by CANNEX and Greenwald & Associates shows once again that Americans want guaranteed retirement income but don't know much about annuities that provide guaranteed income.
View ArticleClearFit, a turnkey retirement plan from Morgan Stanley and Ascensus
The investment menu will use a multi-manager approach and non-proprietary funds. ClearFit’s target date models will use Morgan Stanley’s proprietary retirement glidepaths.
View ArticleFinancial / Retirement Planning Software Directory
See the detail on financial planning software including vendors, scopes, costs, and contacts.
View ArticleSocial Security Maximizer
The Social Security Maximizer is an integral tool for a retirement planner's comprehensive financial planning calculations.
View ArticleLincoln and BlackRock Launch No-Commission Variable Annuity
'Lincoln Core Income' offers 4% guaranteed lifetime income with a 2% COLA, plus a choice of three iShare exchange-traded funds and a death benefit for an all-in cost of about 190 basis points.
View ArticleNo Quick End to Fiduciary Rule Story
The DOL wants your comments again. It wants to know how much companies have spent on adapting to the rule, and whether it would be cheaper to abandon the sunk costs. Or maybe it's all a charade,...
View ArticleThe Best of Recent Economic Research
The six academic papers cited here identify several points where, even when we don’t realize it, macroeconomics and personal finance intersect.
View ArticleFIA Yields That Clients May Never See
The new no-commission indexed annuities, a response to the now-endangered Obama fiduciary rule, could be much richer for clients than commissioned products. But advisor fees are likely to consume the...
View ArticleDC plans deliver less income than DB plans, study shows
Expansion of DC coverage, wider use of auto-enrollment and auto-escalation of contributions, and reduced leakage would help turn the situation around, according to the Center for Retirement Research...
View ArticleHonorable Mention
Brief or late-breaking items from Voya Financial, The Retirement Equity Laboratory at the New School, and Kehrer-Bielan consultants.
View ArticleAIG looks for new CEO
The AIG Companies are among the largest issuers of fixed and variable annuities, with $13.6 billion in total annuities sales through the first three-quarters of 2016.
View ArticleOlder, poorer Americans take a hit under Ryan health plan
“The increase would be disproportionately larger among older people with lower income... People between 50 and 64 years old with income under 200% of the federal poverty level would make up a larger...
View ArticleAnecdotal Evidence: What Fee-based Indexed Annuities Reveal
Advisors who recommend the purchase of a no-commission FIA should split the yield advantage more or less evenly with the client. As a fiduciary, how could the advisor justify doing anything less?
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