Happy Fifth Anniversary, RIJ
Today’s issue of RIJ, which represents our 250th issue and marks our five-year anniversary as a publication, seems like an appropriate vehicle for a brief message about how we’re “doing” and our plans...
View ArticleFinancial / Retirement Planning Software Directory
See the detail on financial planning software including vendors, scopes, costs, and contacts.
View ArticleBill Sharpe's New Retirement Blog
On the verge of his 80th birthday, Sharpe, who won the 1990 Nobel Prize for his Capital Asset Pricing Model, has been writing a blog that documents his work on an open-source software tool that can...
View ArticleWhose Retirement Crisis Is It, Anyway?
The thrust of last week’s ICI Retirement Summit was that there’s no broad retirement savings crisis needing government action. But that doesn’t mean Boomers won’t need help with decumulation.
View ArticleWith New Indexed Annuity, Nationwide Takes a Walk on the Wild Side
In February, Nationwide introduced New Heights, a fixed indexed annuity with an enticing "uncapped" crediting strategy and a novel living benefit rider for the b/d and independent agent channels. It's...
View ArticleThe Retirement Industry Conference
Want lots of 2013 data on annuity sales and VA rider use? You’ll find it—plus Richard Thaler’s crowd-stumping riddle—in this roundup of news from the recent LIMRA/LOMA/SoA conference in Chicago.
View ArticleWaiting for the Fiduciary Train
Don't hold your breath waiting for the second draft of the Department of Labor's fiduciary proposal. That's one takeaway from a four-hour meeting at the Practicing Law Institute in New York on...
View ArticleLosing Interest
"Central banks should set a higher inflation target, which would give them more room to cut nominal interest rates in response to a future slowdown," writes economist Barry Eichengreen, who believes...
View ArticleAIG and nine IMOs launch income-oriented FIA
The "Power Select Plus Income" fixed indexed annuity's income rider allows contract owners to receive roll-up credits even if they take withdrawals during the deferral period. The initiative is led by...
View ArticleSymetra doubles its YOY sales of deferred and immediate annuities in 1Q2014
Higher interest rates and wider distribution of Symetra Financial's annuity products through banks and broker-dealers helped improve sales of fixed index and traditional fixed annuities, the company...
View ArticleOnly 6% of DC plan participants contribute the max: GAO
An update of a GAO report shows that few retirement plan participants defer as much salary as they can, and that higher limits on contributions in recent years have not prevented a net decline in the...
View ArticleGrowth of Fidelity’s ETF partnership with BlackRock described
The BlackRock Diversified Income Portfolio is an ETF managed account that will be available to all eligible retail investors through Fidelity’s managed accounts service beginning May 1.
View ArticleFinancial / Retirement Planning Software Directory
See the detail on financial planning software including vendors, scopes, costs, and contacts.
View ArticleWhose Retirement Crisis Is It, Anyway?
The thrust of last week’s ICI Retirement Summit was that there’s no broad retirement savings crisis needing government action. But that doesn’t mean Boomers won’t need help with decumulation.
View ArticleWith New Indexed Annuity, Nationwide Takes a Walk on the Wild Side
In February, Nationwide introduced New Heights, a fixed indexed annuity with an enticing "uncapped" crediting strategy and a novel living benefit rider for the b/d and independent agent channels. It's...
View ArticleThe Retirement Industry Conference
Want lots of 2013 data on annuity sales and VA rider use? You’ll find it—plus Richard Thaler’s crowd-stumping riddle—in this roundup of news from the recent LIMRA/LOMA/SoA conference in Chicago.
View ArticleRetirePreneur: Stan Haithcock
‘Stan the Annuity Man’ Haithcock sells fixed annuities purely for protection, not growth. A long-time critic of his own industry’s sales practices, he’s been called ‘the walking middle finger of...
View ArticleTen Images that Explain Retirement
No, this image isn't one of them! A while ago, we asked retirement advisers what images they use to illustrate complex financial principles. The frequent response: “When you find some, let us know!”...
View ArticlePrudential adds an accumulation VA
The new Premier Investment VA contract will be offered in B-shares and no-surrender-period C shares, with insurance charges of 110 and 135 basis points, respectively. Contract owners can choose among...
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