Results for "variable annuities"
Displaying 433 results
Meet the annuity 'robo' looking to undercut insurance agents
April 1, 2016
Websites like Orbitz, Priceline and Expedia helped do-it-yourself-minded travelers undercut travel agents, putting price and value comparison at the hands of the consumer right in their own home. Sign onto a computer or mobile device, fire up...
The DOL fiduciary rule could push these firms' variable annuity sales even lower
March 31, 2016
Many of the top variable annuity companies saw sales figures drop off last year, and the pain is only expected to continue, or even accelerate, this year given the Labor Department's looming fiduciary rule, market volatility and cannibalization...
Former MetLife, Prudential broker accused of deceptive variable annuity sales practices
March 1, 2016
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. has accused a former MetLife Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc. broker of harmful and deceptive sales practices relating to variable annuities. Winston Wade Turner, formerly a registered representative...
MassMutual enters long-term distribution deal for MetLife fixed indexed annuities
February 29, 2016
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has entered a long-term distribution deal with MetLife Inc. whereby it will exclusively sell fixed indexed annuities manufactured by MetLife. The deal is part of a broader deal announced Feb. 29 between...
Commonwealth ceases sale of some variable annuities
February 25, 2016
Commonwealth Financial Network is restricting the sale of “L share” variable annuities, due to mounting concern from regulators and the broader insurance market for characteristics associated with these specific types of annuity contracts....
Fixed indexed annuities continue their surge with record sales year
February 23, 2016
Fixed indexed annuities inked their best-ever sales year in 2015, closing the year with a record sales quarter and continuing a steady rise in popularity in the last several years that's occurred as variable annuity sales have floundered. Indexed...
Why indexed annuities eventually could outsell the variable variety
February 21, 2016
Toward the end of January, the Raymond James fixed and indexed annuity team met with one of our insurance partners to discuss possible future product designs and the indexed annuity market overall. I opined at the time that it would not surprise...
DOL fiduciary rule will transform the annuity industry
February 21, 2016
If the Labor Department has its way, say goodbye to the variable annuity industry as we know it. The department's pending fiduciary rule, if finalized in its proposed form, would have profound effects on variable annuities sold in retail retirement...
The largest variable annuity providers
February 19, 2016
VA sales have been in a slump the last several years. In 2014, the last full year for which figures are available, industry sales dropped to $138 billion, an 11.5% decline from 2011. This interactive graphic looks at the top variable annuity...
LPL eyes more fee-based variable annuities as fiduciary rule looms
February 12, 2016
LPL Financial anticipates more variable-annuity distribution on an advisory basis as one potential outcome of the Labor Department's proposed fiduciary rule. The independent broker-dealer has had a fee-based VA platform for several years, but...
Elder financial abuse grows more prevalent in annuity, life insurance products
February 11, 2016
Financial fraudsters have been turning their attention more regularly to insurance products as a way to take advantage of the U.S. senior population. Products such as annuities and life insurance have generally been viewed as less frequent targets...
Solid risk management system should include insurance planning to protect assets
January 24, 2016
As a financial service professional, you take upon yourself the role of helping your clients build their financial futures. Undoubtedly, during your years of training for this demanding profession, you have come across one of the many versions...
Advisers should pay attention when regulators lay out exam priorities
January 17, 2016
Nobody wants to get caught in the crosshairs of a securities regulator, but by exercising forethought and due diligence, a brokerage or advisory firm should be able to maintain a clean track record — or at least increase their odds of staying...
SEC adds ETFs, variable annuities to exam priorities
January 11, 2016
The Securities and Exchange Commission will zero in on exchange traded funds and variable annuities in its examinations this year, adding those two categories to the priorities list it announced on Monday. The SEC Office of Compliance Inspections...
Fixed indexed annuities notch record sales quarter
December 15, 2015
Fixed indexed annuities posted their highest quarterly sales on record in the third quarter, building on a recent surge in popularity for the annuity products that's largely due to market volatility and persistently low interest rates. Fixed...
Variable annuity products get more variable
December 14, 2015
Variable annuity providers have been introducing products with a little more variability built in as a move to mitigate risk. Some insurers have built products allowing them to change certain aspects of in-force contracts, by altering payout...
Broker-dealer settles variable annuity allegations for $475,000
December 10, 2015
Comprehensive Asset Management and Servicing Inc. has agreed to pay $475,000 to settle allegations that the firm failed to reasonably supervise representatives' sales of variable annuities, among other complaints. Between February 2008 and 2012,...
Insurers and their clients will reap benefits when rate rise picks up steam
December 10, 2015
A move by the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, which could come as soon as next week, would be a boon for the insurance industry and its customers by way of better benefits offered through annuity and life insurance products. But that...
Fixed-indexed annuities soar in popularity
November 29, 2015
Adviser Jo-Ann Holst's client, a woman in her mid-60s with $440,000 in savings, didn't want to sink her entire retirement nest egg into the stock market. And because she doesn't have a pension, she was looking for a predictable monthly income...
MassMutual jumps into a hot investment-only variable annuity market
November 12, 2015
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. breaks into the investment-only variable annuities market just as the products bolster an otherwise lackluster VA market. MassMutual Capital Vantage, launched Friday, is the firm's first IOVA. These annuity...
