Measuring You for an ERISA Suit
There are “people out there” who are “running algorithms to spot good targets for excessive fees lawsuits,” said Jason Roberts, CEO of Pension Resource Institute in Manhattan Beach, Calif.
View ArticleWhere to Get Old Variable Annuities Appraised
Advisor Mark Cortazzo’s new business, Annuity Review, is aimed at alerting VA owners to the hidden value in contracts that they might otherwise surrender or misuse.
View ArticleMetLife not 'too big to fail': CEO Steven Kandarian
“To be clear, I support prudent regulation of the life insurance industry. After all, we are financially liable for insolvencies through the state-based guaranty funds. What I do not support is a...
View ArticleAverage IRA balances at Fidelity reach five-year high of $81,100
Total contributions to IRAs have increased every year since 2008, with a 3.1% increase over last year and a 7.5% increase over 2008, according to Fidelity.
View ArticleLegal Deception: The M&E Fee
To make variable annuities more transparent and rehabilitate their reputation, start by not hiding commission recovery behind the so-called “mortality and expense risk” fee.
View ArticleThe Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, Lincoln Financial, Transamerica, Employee Fiduciary, The Principal and NEST.
View ArticleReverse mortgage program under stress
Instead of eliminating another popular product for older Americans, the Federal Housing Administration would prefer to detect and screen out applicants who are likely default on their reverse mortgage...
View ArticleThe Future of Variable Annuities
Ken Mungan and Casey Malone of Milliman, Chad Slawner and Guillaume de Gantes of McKinsey, Tim Paris of Ruark Consulting, Jerry Golden and Moshe Milevsky share their visions of the future of the...
View ArticleLower-than-expected lapse rates led to VA charges: Moody’s
“Companies have some flexibility in deciding when to account for a change [in lapse assumptions] and when to take a charge,” said Neil Strauss of Moody's. “It’s a ball that can be kicked down the...
View ArticleAllstate to sell Lincoln Benefit Life, exit fixed annuity business
"This action also advances Allstate's key priorities, including reducing exposure to spread-based business and interest rates,” said Thomas J. Wilson, chairman, president and chief executive officer...
View ArticleNew report from Fitch Ratings on interest rate climate
This news item, which summarizes Fitch's "Good, Bad and Ugly" scenarios for future interest rate movements, contains a link to a copy of a new Fitch report, "Heightened Interest Rate Risk for U.S....
View ArticleFinancial / Retirement Planning Software Directory
See the detail on financial planning software including vendors, scopes, costs, and contacts.
View ArticleMeasuring You for an ERISA Suit
There are “people out there” who are “running algorithms to spot good targets for excessive fees lawsuits,” said Jason Roberts, CEO of Pension Resource Institute in Manhattan Beach, Calif.
View ArticleWhere to Get Old Variable Annuities Appraised
Advisor Mark Cortazzo’s new business, Annuity Review, is aimed at alerting VA owners to the hidden value in contracts that they might otherwise surrender or misuse.
View ArticleThe Future of Variable Annuities
Ken Mungan and Casey Malone of Milliman, Chad Slawner and Guillaume de Gantes of McKinsey, Tim Paris of Ruark Consulting, Jerry Golden and Moshe Milevsky share their visions of the future of the...
View ArticleCloser to Where You Belong
Whither the variable annuity business? We asked Bruce Ferris of Prudential, Liz Forget of MetLife, Eric Henderson of Nationwide Financial, Dan Herr of Lincoln Financial Group, Richard Moran, formerly...
View ArticleSPIAs Are Slow to Pay Off: Kitces and Pfau
New research from Michael Kitces and Wade Pfau suggests that many people—especially if they don’t live longer than average—would be better off starting out with half their money in stocks and half in...
View ArticleLaw Professor Goes Postal
Yale law professor Ian Ayres sent a provocative letter to thousands of plan sponsors. But his research is more temperate than his mail.
View ArticleUK ponders ‘Defined Ambition,’ a path from DB to DC
A centrally-managed pool of defined benefit funds would aim for a target participant benefit of 1/80th of salary per year of service, based on a combined employer/employee contribution of 20% of...
View ArticleTwo senior SEC attorneys join Kirkland & Ellis
Robert Khuzami was Enforcement Director at the Securities and Exchange Commission and Kenneth Lench was chief of the Structured and New Products Unit.
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