The bond insurers are also facing downgrades from Moody's Investors Service.
This year through April, just seven deals for RIAs were struck, in contrast to last year, when there were 58 deals.
The bond insurers are also facing downgrades from Moody's Investors Service.
The Current Conditions Index shed nearly 17 points to fall to a reading of 40.5, down from a reading of 57.4 last month.
Alternative asset allocations increased to 28%, compared with 23% in the previous year.
The SEC has not decided if synthetic guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits should be be treated as securities.
Orders for factory-made goods unexpectedly rose 1.1% in April, due to a strong increase across several industries.
Washington Mutual board chairman Kerry Killinger and Marsh & McLennan CFO and VP Matthew B. Bartley will leave their jobs.
Plaintiff’s attorneys are going to have a tougher time seeking class action status in alleging the improper sale of an annuity.
MassMutual announced that it had completed its purchase of First Mercantile Trust Co. from SunTrust Banks Inc. of Atlanta.
The first income guarantee wrap-per around a managed-account portfolio hasn't even been sold yet, but its mere existence has sparked growing interest in retirement income products within the managed-accounts industry.
A mantra of tax-efficient investing is to harvest capital losses and defer all gains.
Fidelity Investments' recent launch of an emerging-markets fund may signal the next frontier, but emerging markets' reputation for risk will likely lead investors to keep exposure to a minimum.
Estimated sales of fixed annuities were $18.1 billion in the first quarter, a 35% increase from the level a year earlier.
Open architecture has been slow to come to the structured products market.
Fix the dollar, and a lot of other problems will disappear — or at least be eased.
Like Goldilocks, financial advisers can't seem to find many new retirement income products that are "just right."
A group of single-premium annuity pension plan brokers who allegedly took kickbacks from insurance carriers is under investigation by the state of Connecticut and may face steep penalties, according to Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.
The Wall Street Wizards, the financial literacy program founded four years ago for minority students in the San Francisco Bay Area, is gearing up to go national.
Two key economic indicators, consumer spending and personal income growth, both slowed in April.
