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
Sales of both variable annuities and fixed annuities fell in 2009, according to the latest data from LIMRA.
Shares of asset management companies fell with the broader market in afternoon trading Thursday even after several reported big earnings gains to close out 2009.
Bruce Bond is stepping down as chief executive of Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC, the exchange-traded-fund provider he founded in 2003.
Although actively managed exchange-traded funds are just in their infancy, many financial advisers and even some ETF providers have already written them off.
Eaton Vance Management and Invesco PowerShares on Tuesday announced new investment products offering exposure to the government's Build America Bonds stimulus program, which seeks to spur construction and repair projects by state and local governments.
It's only a modest boost in the emergency lending rate. But the Fed's small hike in the discount rate speaks volumes about the big picture.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has retreated even further from the life settlements arena, shutting down Longmore Capital, its life settlements provider.
Volume from life settlements transactions is expected to reach $13 billion in face amount annually over the next three years, according to research from Aite Group.
For the first time they can recall, several independent broker-dealers have been solicited by life settlement companies to sell private placements of securities based on life insurance policies.
Rumors have been flying of late that Fidelity Investments may be looking to expand its proprietary exchange-traded-fund lineup. Now sources say the firm has been ramping up talks with index providers and other partners to do just that.
Tighter regulation of sales, more mergers and continued capital building are three developments insurance carriers are likely to experience in 2010.
Sales of fixed annuities fell during the third quarter to $21.9 billion, a 21% decline from a year earlier, according to data from Beacon Research Publications Inc.
Listen to Kevin Mahn, chief investment officer with Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc., offer predictions for stock market returns in this one-on-one podcast interview with InvestmentNews senior editor Jeff Benjamin.
A stalled proposal hammered out last year to permit exchange traded funds to operate without having to obtain individual exemptive orders may finally see the light of day -- and soon.
This month's Featured Fund of the Month is the Vanguard Growth Index Fund (VUG, $54.90 at close of business on March 11, 2010), which carries Standard & Poor's highest ETF ranking of “Overweight.”
That's good news for advisers, many of whom are on the lookout for exchange-traded funds that aren't passively managed
