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LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 19, 2010
Annuities provide boost to investment portfolio: Study

Combining a variable annuity with a guaranteed-minimum-withdrawal benefit in conjunction with a traditional portfolio can help hike income

By Darla Mercado
LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 19, 2010
Hartford's McGee says 'never again' to annuities concentration

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

By Bloomberg
RETIREMENT PLANNING FEB 19, 2010
Vanguard? Fidelity? Retirees clueless about sellers of retirement income products

They're not up to speed about the products themselves, either

By Hilary Johnson
INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 19, 2010
CFP Board hikes requirement for certification exam

The increase in class work on how to prepare and present financial plans is intended to bridge theory and practice

By Jed Horowitz
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION FEB 19, 2010
Tax break for the bamboozled? State eyes Ponzi loss carryback

An Idaho senator says people who have lost money in fraudulent investment schemes should be able to write off more of their state income taxes.

By Associated Press
RIAS FEB 19, 2010
Cloudy with a chance of tech spending

By Davis Janowski
RIAS FEB 19, 2010
When clients and advisers become friends

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.

By Lisa Shidler
LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 19, 2010
Sales of fixed, variable annuities fell in 2009

Sales of both variable annuities and fixed annuities fell in 2009, according to the latest data from LIMRA.

By Darla Mercado
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION FEB 19, 2010
Investment adviser pleads guilty in $100M fraud case

A fund manager accused of cheating investors of more than $100 million has pleaded guilty to fraud charges, admitting he lied to hundreds of investors about the health of his business.

By Associated Press
INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 19, 2010
Eaton Vance 3Q profit fell 37%

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.

By Associated Press
INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 18, 2010
Riskier bets pay off for Goldman

Goldman Sach's value-at-risk in 2009 was more than twice what it was in 2008. The result? A $13B profit for the year — mostly from trading and investing.

By Aaron Elstein
Rashomon? SEC, Cuomo offer vastly different takes on BofA firing
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION FEB 18, 2010
Rashomon? SEC, Cuomo offer vastly different takes on BofA firing

Bank of America fired its top lawyer in December 2008 before its fateful takeover of Merrill Lynch simply to make way for another executive, and not because he had given the company legal advice it didn't want to hear, the Securities and Exchange Commission has said in a court filing.

By Associated Press
RIAS FEB 18, 2010
Compliance products exec sitting pretty with Clinton/Bush debate chairs

Ken Kaltman, chief operating officer at National Compliance Services, Inc. in Delray Beach, Fla., will soon have a lasting memento of his $15,000 donation to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. He'll be the proud owner of the wingback chairs that both former presidents actually sat in for their “debate” at the TD Ameritrade conference earlier this month.

By Hilary Johnson
INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 18, 2010
Hawaii county leis lawsuit on Merrill in ARS flap

Trouble in paradise? Apparently, as Maui Co. sues Merrill Lynch to get back its investments in auction rate securities.

By Associated Press
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION FEB 18, 2010
N.Y. investment firm boss accused of skinning investors

The president of an Albany investment firm is accused of selling fraudulent securities to investors across the country.

By Associated Press
INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 18, 2010
Ken Lewis, Joe Price named in NY AG suit over BofA/Merrill deal

The New York Attorney General's office said Thursday it is filing civil charges against Bank of America and its former CEO Ken Lewis, saying the bank misled investors about Merrill Lynch when it acquired the Wall Street bank in late 2008.

By Associated Press
LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 18, 2010
Goldman abandoning life settlements market

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has retreated even further from the life settlements arena, shutting down Longmore Capital, its life settlements provider.

By Darla Mercado
LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 18, 2010
Life settlements' annual volume to hit $13B a year soon

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.

By Bloomberg
Life settlement packagers target B-Ds
LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 18, 2010
Life settlement packagers target B-Ds

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.

By Darla Mercado
INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 18, 2010
Goldman Sachs earned $4.79B in fourth quarter

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said Thursday it earned $4.79 billion in the fourth quarter as the bank's trading business again outdistanced the rest of the financial industry.

By Bloomberg