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RIAS FEB 28, 2010
Budget, health care bill changes starting to add up

Financial planners and accountants are in for a busy year or two if President Barack Obama gets his way on the budget and a health care reform bill.

By MFXFeeder
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION FEB 28, 2010
Morgan Keegan's legal fees are piling up

Facing intense pressure from securities regulators and investors, Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc.'s legal fees have skyrocketed during the past two years to $251 million, leaving some industry observers shocked.

By Bruce Kelly
IRA ALERT FEB 28, 2010
Check those beneficiary forms

The beneficiary form is the single most important estate-planning document of individual retirement accounts and Roth IRAs, determining the ultimate value of the accounts, who ends up with the money and for how long.

By Ed Slott
RIAS FEB 28, 2010
Advisers look for ways to squeeze money from their tech budgets

Many financial advisers who attended the Technology Tools for Today conference last week are looking to squeeze as much money as they can from their precious technology budgets.

By Davis Janowski
RETIREMENT PLANNING FEB 28, 2010
Brokers push to put annuities into planning framework

In an attempt to pull further away from the transactional nature of annuity sales, brokerage executives are using tools to help their financial advisers fit product sales into a planning context.

By Darla Mercado
LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 26, 2010
AIG agrees to sell Alico to MetLife for $15.5B

Last week, AIG announced it was unloading its Asia-based operations. On Monday, the embattled insurer agreed to sell its Alico unit to MetLife for $15.5B. Is Nan Shan next?

By Associated Press
LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 26, 2010
Deconstructing AIG: Insurer to sell its Asian ops to Prudential PLC for $35.5B

The quest for cash continues, as the besieged company agrees to sell off its Asian unit to Prudential PLC for $35.5B. The next to go? Ask MetLife.

By John Goff
INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 26, 2010
Five things investors can learn from Olympic athletes

By John Goff
LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 26, 2010
VA assets surged in 4Q – but sales dwindled

Variable annuity assets climbed to $1.35 trillion in the fourth quarter — thanks in large part to the recovery in the stock market.

By Darla Mercado
LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 26, 2010
Little life in individual-life-insurance sales in 2009

New annualized premiums for individual-life-insurance policies were down in the fourth quarter and for the full year of 2009, with the most dramatic declines hitting variable universal life, according to LIMRA.

By Darla Mercado
FIXED INCOME FEB 26, 2010
Does Citizens United ruling spell the end for pay-to-play laws? Attorneys disagree

The recent Supreme Court decision makes pay-to-play regulations unconstitutional — or at least, that's the take of one securities attorney. Others don't see it that way.

By Dan Jamieson
Insurers dead set against life settlement securitization
LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 26, 2010
Insurers dead set against life settlement securitization

Industry group worried that securitization would encourage promoters to entice seniors to sell their life insurance policies, even when it's not in their best interests to do so.

By John Goff
LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 26, 2010
Brokers push to put annuities into planning framework

In an attempt to pull further away from the transactional nature of annuity sales, brokerage executives are using tools to help their advisers fit product sales into a planning context.

By Darla Mercado
RETIREMENT PLANNING FEB 26, 2010
The 150%-return investment vehicle? Your 401(k)

If you had money in the stock market over the past decade, you probably agree that it was one bumpy experience. It might lead you to think your retirement account didn't fare too well. A new study by Fidelity Investments shows consistent contributions and staying in the market paid off for many, but the gain was due more to a commitment to saving than stellar market performance.

By Associated Press
MUTUAL FUNDS FEB 26, 2010
Citing adviser frustration, TFS Fund backs away from performance-based fee

After nearly four years of linking its management fee directly to its investment performance, TFS Small Cap Fund (TFSSX) is raising the white flag and reverting to a more traditional static expense ratio.

By Jeff Benjamin
Advisers need to get their clients back in the game
INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 26, 2010
Advisers need to get their clients back in the game

Despite double-digit unemployment, big deficits and a raft of other looming concerns, the economy isn't bad enough to justify the more than $9 trillion sitting on the sidelines in various low-yielding bank instruments.

By Jeff Benjamin
Price of five gold rings hikes '12 days of Xmas' bill to $87K
INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 26, 2010
Price of five gold rings hikes '12 days of Xmas' bill to $87K

Making one's true love happy will cost a whopping $87,403 this year, a minuscule increase from last year, according to the latest cost analysis of the items in the carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

By Associated Press
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION FEB 26, 2010
SEC appeals case against former Amex chief

The Securities and Exchange Commission is appealing a ruling that prevents it from sanctioning former officials of self-regulatory organizations.

By Bloomberg
LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 25, 2010
Allianz Life's MasterDex X still top of the indexed-annuity heap

Sales of the popular indexed annuity helped Allianz maintain its place as the top seller of IAs.

By Darla Mercado
RETIREMENT PLANNING FEB 25, 2010
So what do advisers really think about 529 plans?

The financial crisis took a toll on 529 college savings plans, but plan participants are for the most part staying put and looking to the future, according to the results of an exclusive InvestmentNews survey, conducted for and presented today at the College Savings Foundation conference.

By Hilary Johnson