Consumer Interest Groups Back Proposed New Fiduciary Standards
Proposed new fiduciary rules from the U.S. Department of Labor have drawn mixed reviews from the retirement industry, but consumer watchdog groups are fans. In April 2015, the DOL proposed expanding the definition of a fiduciary to effectively require anyone offering advice on or managing retirement accounts to act in the best interests of their […]
Millennials’ Financial Outlook Better than Advertised—At Least for Some
Conventional wisdom holds that young adults today face a dimmer financial future than their parents and grandparents. It’s a sentiment exacerbated, certainly, by the financial crisis of 2008, the great recession that accompanied it, and the slow pace of economic recovery since then. In a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, the vast majority […]
Fixed-Income Managers See Opportunities Despite Low Interest Rates
Despite extraordinarily low interest rates that would seem to have nowhere to go but up, some investment managers contend that fixed-income markets were offering some solid opportunities heading into 2016. A key variable in that outlook is U.S. monetary policy. Ever since the Federal Reserve set the target for its benchmark federal funds rate near […]
Advisor to Global Leaders Sees U.S. in Throes of Political and Social Revolution
The deep partisan divide in Washington, D.C., may suggest to some that the country’s future is not as bright as its past. Best-selling author and polling advisor Stanley Greenberg isn’t among them. He contends the U.S. is poised for further greatness. But he does see the country being transformed by a series of revolutions whose […]
Making Government Work: A Former Congressman’s Plan to Revive American Democracy
To watch American elections is to watch democracy in action. Or maybe not. As former U.S. Congressman Mickey Edwards sees it, the United States has devolved to a point where the most extreme members of the two major political parties—not the public at large—control who can get elected. That’s not democracy, he argues, and he […]
Advisors, Consultants, Sponsors and Defined Contribution Plans
If there’s a relevant rallying cry for the retirement plan industry right now, it might be this: embrace change. That, at least, was the underlying message from Greg Jenkins, senior director with Invesco Advisors, Inc., in a talk at the SVIA’s 2015 Fall Forum in October. Jenkins, also chair of Invesco’s Defined Contribution Institute, painted […]
Simplifying—and Selling—Stable Value
It’s hard to maximize sales and market share when consumers don’t fully understand or appreciate your brand— Imagine that automobile buyers didn’t know that Ferraris are fast, that Jeeps are designed to take on rugged terrain or that a Lexus is likely to deliver above-average reliability. This is something anyone in the stable value business […]
Sequence of Returns Risk: Worse Than You Thought
The stock market downturn that stretched from late 2007 through early 2009 gave recent and soon-to-be retirees a harsh lesson in the dangers of sequence of returns risk. That’s the risk that poor investment returns at or near retirement age will devastate your portfolio and result in you outliving your savings. It makes a strong […]
Stable Value: Overlooked Solution to Generating Retirement Income
Figuring out how best to convert retirement savings to a lifetime of retirement income has become the new holy grail of the retirement industry. Not coincidentally, it’s also of vital interest to the tens of millions of baby boomers who have retired over the past few years or will likely do so in the next […]
