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MassMutual sues alleged Ponzi schemer over life insurance
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has taken alleged Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein to court in an attempt to rescind a $15 million life insurance policy.
Slimmer variable annuities attract thin following
Despite the market's lukewarm reception to John Hancock's slimmed-down variable annuity, other insurers continue to introduce competing products aimed at financial advisers who have usually sidestepped such VAs.
ING to sell stripped-down VA with stripped-down commission
ING plans to replace its traditional variable annuity offering with a simplified VA product that comes with a scaled-back commission.
Guggenheim adds to collection
Guggenheim Partners LLC, an investment firm founded by the famous family for which it is named, said last week that it is acquiring Security Benefit Corp. — and with it Rydex SGI.
Spotlight on VAs
The humble variable annuity is gaining in popularity
The last laugh
For most investors, not having access to their money is a drawback.
Will ramped-up annuities come back to bite insurers – again?
Nationwide Financial Services Inc. yesterday bumped up its variable annuity living benefits, signaling a return — for some carriers — to the generous benefits that backfired on insurers when the stock market imploded in 2008.
Market rally cuts into sales of fixed annuities in 1Q
First-quarter fixed-annuity sales in the U.S. were down 52% from the year-ago period, falling to an estimated $16.7 billion.
Life insurers facing annuity squeeze
A period of fierce competition to build annuity premiums awaits life insurers as they contend with industry consolidation and the difficulties of standing out from rivals
What advisers really think of income annuities
Hint: they think the retirement products attract customers who are frightened by the market
Accounting changes plumped up insurers’ capital ratios
Life insurers, whose capital buffers shrank during 2008's downturn, emerged from 2009 with a rebound in capital. The reasons? Regulatory changes and a climbing equities market, according to Moody's
Officials: Annuitizing 401(k)s won’t be easy
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
New York Legislature OKs bill regulating life settlements
New York’s state Legislature has passed a bill that would to regulate life settlements, requiring brokers and intermediaries…
Insurers start stronger and leaner, but face tighter regulation
Tighter regulation of sales, more mergers and continued capital building are three developments insurance carriers are likely to experience in 2010.