You need to be prepared to reassure nervous clients with sound advice and analysis.
For most investors, not having access to their money is a drawback.
The Senate this week begins debate on its version of a financial-reform bill.
A bill has been introduced in the Washington state legislature that would double estate taxes for residents.
Nationwide Financial Services Inc. yesterday bumped up its variable annuity living benefits, signaling a return — for some carriers — to the generous benefits that backfired on insurers when the stock market imploded in 2008.
The Labor Department will host a public hearing in the next few months to discuss concerns about including annuities in retirement plans. But addressing plan sponsors' concerns about carrier stability continues to bedevil the regulator.
First-quarter fixed-annuity sales in the U.S. were down 52% from the year-ago period, falling to an estimated $16.7 billion.
A period of fierce competition to build annuity premiums awaits life insurers as they contend with industry consolidation and the difficulties of standing out from rivals
Hint: they think the retirement products attract customers who are frightened by the market
Life insurers, whose capital buffers shrank during 2008's downturn, emerged from 2009 with a rebound in capital. The reasons? Regulatory changes and a climbing equities market, according to Moody's
Legislators are still tied up with health care issues, leaving retirement initiatives to flounder. Tax proposals may be the exception
Polls show that employees want an annuity option in their pension plan menu. But they also prefer a lump sum to an income stream when they hit retirement age
Combining a variable annuity with a guaranteed-minimum-withdrawal benefit in conjunction with a traditional portfolio can help hike income
Insurer's new boss said the Connecticut company will avoid focusing on any one product after VAs contributed mightily to two straight years of losses
They're not up to speed about the products themselves, either
The increase in class work on how to prepare and present financial plans is intended to bridge theory and practice
While practice management experts said advisers must maintain a fine line between finances and personal issues, it's not uncommon for advisers to forge close friendships with their clients.
Sales of both variable annuities and fixed annuities fell in 2009, according to the latest data from LIMRA.
Asset manager Eaton Vance Corp. said Wednesday its profit for its fiscal third quarter fell 37 percent as it recorded lower fund inflows than a year ago.
