Don’t look for another boom year for life/annuity stocks: A.M. Best
“Further underperformance is expected as stocks are trading at historically high valuations,” the ratings agency said in a release.
View ArticleCerulli offers data on growth of index funds
Mutual funds saw net inflows of $27.8 billion in April. For a second consecutive month, taxable bond mutual funds topped all other asset classes with monthly net inflows of $8 billion in April.
View ArticleThe Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, The Guardian Life, and Morgan Stanley.
View ArticleFinancial / Retirement Planning Software Directory
See the detail on financial planning software including vendors, scopes, costs, and contacts.
View ArticleMetLife’s New DIA, and Its Competition
This story includes a handy chart that can help you compare the features of the deferred income annuity contracts currently offered by eleven U.S. life insurers. MetLife’s is the newest and most...
View ArticleMerrill Lynch’s Intentions are "Clear"
"I want to be careful not to call it a product or a service. It’s an approach,” said David Tyrie, head of Personal Wealth and Retirement at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, in describing Merrill Lynch...
View ArticleShort on Shares, Women Share Homes
Single, divorced and widowed older women are reducing their expenses by sharing a home or apartment with similarly situated women. A new website helps them find each other.
View ArticleAn Algorithm That Loves Annuities
PrARI, the retirement product allocation calculator that Cannex recently acquired with its purchase of the Qwema Group, shows advisers how to maximize retirement income (or legacy) using a blend of...
View ArticleBritish pension industry wary of “collective” DC
The UK's retirement system is a work in progress. With private DB plans expected to vanish in 2016, the government is promoting Danish-style DB/DC hybrids (not US.-style DC) as their replacements. The...
View ArticleVoya hires Milliman to hedge its closed VA block
In 2010, Voya Financial stopped actively writing new retail variable annuity products with substantial guarantee features and separated its closed block of VA business from its ongoing businesses,...
View ArticleThe Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from Great-West Financial, Transamerica Retirement Solutions, the Insured Retirement Institute and Security Benefit.
View ArticleMorningstar buys HelloWallet, bolsters participant advice business
HelloWallet allows plan participants to create dashboards on their computers or smartphones where they can monitor all of their financial information in one place.
View ArticleHungry for rollover data? This pricey report might help
“Retirement is a significant lifestyle change and it may take many individuals extra time to come to a decision, especially if a spouse is still working," write the authors of a new research report...
View ArticlePerformance of life insurer stocks cools in 2014: A.M. Best
Repurchase activity doubled in the first quarter of 2014. Life/annuity companies spent $2 billion repurchasing their shares, with Aflac ($405 million), Prudential ($250 million) and Voya ($250...
View ArticleTen ‘emerging developments’ in FIAs: Oliver Wyman
Several charts in Oliver Wyman's brief but informative new report on fixed indexed annuities provide useful overviews and snapshots of the evolving FIA market and the companies that populate it.
View ArticleFinancial / Retirement Planning Software Directory
See the detail on financial planning software including vendors, scopes, costs, and contacts.
View ArticleMerrill Lynch’s Intentions are "Clear"
"I want to be careful not to call it a product or a service. It’s an approach,” said David Tyrie, head of Personal Wealth and Retirement at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, in describing Merrill Lynch...
View ArticleShort on Shares, Women Share Homes
Single, divorced and widowed older women are reducing their expenses by sharing a home or apartment with similarly situated women. A new website helps them find each other.
View Article