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Financial Planning October 1, 2005 Frank O'Connor |
Proliferating Benefits Guaranteed living benefits continue to drive variable annuity sales and morph into new options. Financial planners, take note.  |
Financial Planning February 1, 2006 Donald Jay Korn |
Annuities Special: The Right Rider Boomers want guaranteed lifetime income, but don't want to buy an immediate annuity. Variable annuity issuers think they have a solution.  |
Registered Rep. October 1, 2002 Pamela J. Black |
Not So Easy Riders The bear market has created interest in annuities that offer guarantees on returns. A look at riders being offered to protect value, improve liquidity, etc.  |
Financial Advisor September 2006 Frank O'Connor |
An Expensive Guarantee? Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit (GMWB) features in variable annuities have grown steadily in popularity since first introduced in 2002. But financial advisors need to know if this feature is really worth the cost.  |
Financial Planning May 1, 2008 Jay Korn |
Withdrawal Methods Issuers of variable annuities usually include language such as "regular income for life" or "annuity payment stream" when describing these products to clients. The promise of income is a big attraction. So why do so few VA owners put it into action?  |
Financial Planning July 1, 2013 Frank O'Connor |
More Fine Tuning for Variable Annuities Issuers kept busy in the first part of the year, but mainly by changing existing products.  |
Financial Planning October 1, 2013 Frank O'Connor |
Annuity Changes Speed Up Issuers have been busy changing fees, adjusting payout levels and consolidating age bands.  |
On Wall Street November 1, 2008 Elizabeth Wine |
Seeking Unsexy Annuities Annuities have received a bad rap of late for their high fees and confusing contracts. But as other investments tank, clients are once again looking for guaranteed income streams from their portfolios.  |
Investment Advisor March 2008 Melanie Waddell |
Sweetening the Pot A new report has found that adding a variable annuity with a lifetime guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit rider to a traditional stock and bond retirement portfolio can increase income while decreasing income risk.  |
Registered Rep. August 15, 2011 Alan Lavine |
Investors Flock to Variable Annuities With Guaranteed Benefits, But Beware Retiring baby boomers are pouring their money into variable annuities with guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits.  |
Financial Advisor February 2005 Tracey Longo |
Guarantees Spur Income Variable Annuities Sales Burgeoning investor interest in guaranteeing some part of their retirement income, especially in this era of diminishing pensions, is spurring more companies to develop a host of new variable products and features.  |
On Wall Street January 1, 2012 John Diehl |
Lifting The Cloud Over Annuities Anyone who sells annuities knows two things to be true: annuities can deliver significant value to clients and they are also one of the most misunderstood financial products on the market.  |
BusinessWeek June 23, 2011 Margaret Collins |
Variable Annuities: Lifelong Income, High Cost Guarantees make annuities more appealing - and more complex.  |
Financial Advisor May 2010 Alan Lavine |
Sizing Up Annuities In the wake of the recent financial meltdown, the income guarantees offered by annuities have become quite attractive. The payouts are appealing, but do your homework.  |
Financial Advisor February 2008 Jay Kabad |
Something To Live With? Billions of dollars are now being invested in variable annuities. Part of the attraction are the guarantees, the so-called living benefits.  |
Registered Rep. September 17, 2012 Alan Lavine |
Insuring Income You'd like to insure at least part of your client's income for life. But do you choose a variable annuity with a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit? Or an immediate annuity?  |
Financial Advisor July 2011 Gail Liberm |
Aiming For Advisors New annuity products and platforms are being designed to appeal to fee-only advisors.  |
Financial Advisor February 2006 Tracey Longo |
A Push For Lifetime Income Variable annuity providers hope to jump-start their business by selling security to worried baby boomers.  |
The Motley Fool February 24, 2004 J. Graham |
Beware of Brokers Bearing Annuities Annuities may sound good, but their costs overwhelm their benefits. Stockbrokers and financial advisors love to sell annuities because of the high commissions they reap. My ex-broker sold one to me, and it has proven to be the most restrictive, highest-cost, least-liquid, and poorest-performing investment in my portfolio.  |
Financial Advisor June 2012 Alan Lavine |
Tough Business Major players exit variable annuities, but VA sales are up overall.  |
Financial Planning May 1, 2011 Joseph A. Tomlinson |
Income Choices Retirement income is a growth industry, and the menu of products is expanding fast. Immediate annuities and variable annuities with living benefits are established products, while longevity insurance and standalone living benefits are more recent additions.  |
Registered Rep. December 18, 2012 Alan Lavine |
Uh, Sorry...Can We Have That Back? Several insurance companies are following in the footsteps of The Hartford and offering to buyback variable annuities with guaranteed lifetime income. Should your clients take the cash?  |
CFO March 1, 2007 Marie Leone |
Beware the Fine Print Despite some welcome improvements, variable annuities still scream ''caveat emptor.''  |
Financial Advisor February 2007 Tracey Longo |
Variable Annuities Get Sales Boost Do you really want to get your clients' attention as they prepare for retirement? Talk to them about variable annuities.  |
Financial Planning September 1, 2012 Frank O'Connor |
Variable Annuity Issuers Go Back to Basics After the Financial Crisis After the economic crisis, VA issuers go back to the basics, designing new products intended to avoid volatility and basis risk.  |
Financial Advisor June 2007 Thomas Scott |
What An Airline Crash Taught Me About Retirement Planning It doesn't take a catastrophic crash to cause significant injuries, in an airliner or in a retirement plan. As advisors, how can we best assure our clients will have an adequate income stream for their lifetimes?  |
On Wall Street October 1, 2012 Dave Lindorff |
Indexed Annuities Grab the Spotlight Indexed annuities have gained popularity while variable annuities have softened, as the players on the buy and sell side change.  |
Financial Advisor November 2011 Alan Lavine |
Finding A Floor Annuities gain traction in a world of low returns.  |
Registered Rep. May 1, 2012 Diana Britton |
Annuities: Growing Pains Since the beginning of 2011, three insurance carriers -- Sun Life Financial, Genworth Financial and, most recently, The Hartford -- have exited the annuity business altogether.  |
Registered Rep. September 1, 2005 Chris O'Leary |
The Trouble With Annuities For registered reps, annuities, one of the most lucrative and complex items in an advisor's repertoire, can appear to be a cure-all for clients. Clients seem to love them, because of the guaranteed income -- even if they don't understand them.  |
Financial Planning December 1, 2012 Frank O'Connor |
Acting to Reduce Risk for Variable Annuities Sector Many variable annuity issuers made changes to older products or introduced new ones.  |
Financial Advisor September 2007 Alan Lavine |
Looking For Certainty Sponsors of 401(k) and 403(b) plans want employees to draw a stable source of retirement income from them. But it's a daunting task to manage a portfolio of mutual funds while withdrawing money, based on government-mandated minimum distribution rules. A few plan sponsors already have begun adding income replacement funds to solve this problem.  |
Registered Rep. November 15, 2011 Alan Lavine |
A Good Marriage: Life Insurance and Annuities What do you get when you splice together a life insurance policy and an immediate annuity? A reversionary annuity. Yes, that's a mouthful, but it carries some of the advantages of each and is ideal for certain kinds of clients.  |
Financial Planning February 1, 2007 Donald Jay Korn |
New-Wave Annuities From reduced-risk participation in the stock market to longevity insurance, financial planners have an expanding array of annuities to meet client needs.  |
The Motley Fool July 25, 2007 Buz Livingston |
Beware of Brokers Bearing Annuities Be careful, be very careful, when listening to sales pitches from insurance agents promoting retirement planning. Big commissions and poor performance can cost you.  |
Registered Rep. October 1, 2002 Pamela J. Black |
The Pros and Cons of Annuities With retirement accounts battered by the bear market, guaranteed income from a fixed annuity now has more appeal, especially for clients who may be too close to retirement to count on a rebound from equity markets alone. This article surveys types of annuities, tax implications, and fees.  |
Financial Planning March 1, 2006 Frank O'Connor |
Holding Steady Variable annuity sales remained high for the traditionally weak third quarter.  |
Financial Planning February 1, 2006 Patrick Ferrer |
Annuities Special: Fee Factor When your clients buy annuities, do you really know what they're paying for?  |
Financial Planning May 1, 2008 Bob Veres |
Cheerleaders in Lab Coats Every few years, it seems like the marketplace produces a "study" of variable annuities that makes the product look too good to be true. The latest is from Ibbotson Associates.  |
Registered Rep. April 7, 2009 Christina Mucciolo |
Big Changes to Variable Annuities Here and More on the Way Advisors who use VAs are already scrambling to get acquainted with the new products and are ramping up due diligence to greet a new era in the "living benefit" product space.  |
Financial Advisor August 2010 Alan Lavine |
A Good Fit Immediate annuities fit well in retirement income plans.  |
Financial Planning June 1, 2006 Frank O'Connor |
A Slow Ascent Variable annuity sales for 2005 managed to beat sales for 2004, but not by much.  |
The Motley Fool October 9, 2009 Dan Caplinger |
This Much-Hated Investment Could Actually Help You Few investments inspire such devotion and scorn as annuities.  |
Registered Rep. May 18, 2010 Alan Lavine |
No-Load Annuities Gain Momentum As more wirehouse registered reps join RIAs or start their own, as income tax rates rise, and as Baby Boomers continue their march into retirement, expect investments in no-load variable annuities to grow.  |
| Financial Planning |
Letters to the Editor Response to "Cheerleaders in Lab Coats."  |
Financial Planning December 1, 2007 Ilana Polyak |
Annuities, Revisited Financial advisors who once sneered at annuities are now realizing that they could be a magic bullet.  |
The Motley Fool May 27, 2009 Dan Caplinger |
Don't Pay Too Much for This Investment When it comes to guaranteed variable annuities, buyers are paying more for protection than they did in recent years -- even though the market has already dropped substantially.  |
Financial Advisor May 2012 Alan Lavine |
Sudden Impact How can advisors minimize the effect of large losses in a retirement portfolio just when clients want to begin withdrawals?  |
The Motley Fool March 10, 2011 Dan Caplinger |
How Skittish Investors Can Protect Their Money You can lock in a sure thing with just two investments.  |
Financial Planning April 1, 2005 Rick Carey |
Going for GMWB Guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits for life drove variable annuities in 2004--and will again.  |