Industry News

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NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS MAY 18, 2009
Housing, banking news drives market up

By Rick Baert, Pensions & Investments
NEWS LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES MAY 18, 2009
Hartford to keep life and property/casualty units

Chief executive Ramani Ayer today told employees in an internal memorandum that the insurance juggernaut, which has limped its way through dismal financial results and devastating investment losses, has decided to hold on to both units.

By Darla Mercado
NEWS LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES MAY 18, 2009
National Planning Holdings’ revenue fell 15% in the first quarter

National Planning Holdings Inc., the Santa Monica, Calif. independent broker-dealer network, saw its revenue slip 15% during the first quarter, to $136 million from $159.9 million a year earlier.

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS MAY 18, 2009
Geithner: Economy stabilizing, still pain ahead

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the economy is stabilizing but that unemployment will continue to rise.

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS MAY 18, 2009
Up to 30% of clients will change advisers, consultant predicts

It took only a matter of months for the markets to lose nearly half their value, but advisers will feel the ripple effects of this economic crisis for years, predicts a prominent consultant.

By Mark Bruno
NEWS LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES MAY 18, 2009
Index annuity sales for first quarter up from a year ago

First-quarter sales of index annuities hit $7 billion — down 2.1% from the fourth quarter but up 22.8% from a year earlier, according to research from AnnuitySpecs.com.

By Darla Mercado
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS MAY 18, 2009
Interbank lending rates drop further

The cost of three-month dollar loans between banks fell to a new record low Monday in a further sign that credit markets are recovering after being paralyzed during the financial crisis.

By Bloomberg
NEWS RIAS MAY 17, 2009
MassMutual weighs future in VA marketplace

Following the departure of a major annuities expert and the elimination of some variable annuity riders, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. is mulling the future of its role in the VA marketplace.

By Darla Mercado
NEWS RIAS MAY 17, 2009
Let's rebuild retirement's three legs

For decades, the U.S. retirement system was described as a three-legged stool.

By MFXFeeder
NEWS RIAS MAY 17, 2009
Schwab edges Fidelity in breakaway broker race

The Charles Schwab Corp. edged out Fidelity Investments during the first quarter in the battle to service the small but growing number of stockbrokers who are leaving their Series 7 licenses behind to become independent investment advisers.

By Jed Horowitz
NEWS RETIREMENT PLANNING MAY 17, 2009
Obama seeks $1B to fund auto-IRA agency

President Obama wants as much as $1 billion to establish a federal organization to oversee his proposed automatic-IRA plan.

By Mark Bruno
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS MAY 17, 2009
Saving for college is still a priority, survey shows

Worries about saving for college haven't stopped parents from continuing to set money aside for higher-education costs.

By Charles Paikert
NEWS RIAS MAY 17, 2009
Financial advisers face a crisis of confidence

Many financial advisers are suffering a crisis of confidence that is hurting their relationships with existing clients and hampering their abilities to recruit new clients.

By Dan Jamieson
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS MAY 17, 2009
Growth potential seen for managed accounts

The global economic crisis could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the ever-expanding managed-accounts industry.

By Jeff Benjamin
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS MAY 17, 2009
Earning an F in thrift

Although the majority of consumers who participated in the National Financial Literacy Survey gave themselves good grades for their knowledge of personal finance, many admitted that they aren't saving money for the future.

By Sue Asci
NEWS REGULATION AND LEGISLATION MAY 17, 2009
Finra walks fiduciary/suitability tightrope

Finra chief Richard Ketchum's call for a fiduciary standard for all advisers, even as he indicated that he would not want to significantly alter suitability rules for broker-dealers, highlights the difficulties inherent in harmonizing the two regulatory standards as the strife-torn industry moves towards establishing a single self-regulatory organization for advisers.

By Sara Hansard
NEWS LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES MAY 17, 2009
Agent fingerprinting seen as gap in state insurance regulation

The lack of a uniform fingerprinting requirement for insurance agents and brokers may serve as new ammunition in the battle over federal regulation of the insurance industry.

By Darla Mercado
NEWS RETIREMENT PLANNING MAY 17, 2009
More workers move 401(k) savings to stable-fund investments

Stable-value funds are the safest investment option available to 401(k) plan participants, but recent problems at two funds illustrate why sponsors should exercise caution in selecting them, according to observers.

By Judy Greenwald
NEWS RIAS MAY 17, 2009
Bank customers urged to come clean on offshore accounts

Wealthy Americans who have offshore bank accounts may be sweating more than usual this summer.

By Charles Paikert
At the bell
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS MAY 17, 2009
At the bell

Ameriprise Financial Inc. on Friday stepped back from receiving TARP money, less than 24 hours after the Department of the Treasury cleared it to participate in the program.

By Investment News Team