American Equity reported a healthy second quarter, but its late-May admission that it was negotiating with a potential buyer has distribution partners concerned. Meanwhile, the company plans to release new products during the third quarter.

Age has little to do with how retail advisors communicate with wholesalers, new research finds. Advisors gravitate either toward technology or traditional face-to-face contact based on the distribution channel in which they sell.

The Long-Term Care Insurance Task Force tabled a request to form a subgroup to study the idea of a uniform long-term care insurance rate review process.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners is attempting to come up with national annuity sales rules. Industry representatives express frustration with mixed messges and unclear rules.

Universal life products are hot and insurers are wasting no time tweaking their product offerings to take advantage of a fast-selling segment. First-quarter sales of indexed universal life rose 12 percent to $486 million compared to the year-ago period.

MetLife and Genworth had different challenges to overcome in the second quarter. Metlife dumped its remaining stake in Brighthouse Financial for a loss of $212 million, which pushed down earnings.

The number of RIA merger-and-acquisition deals collapsed compared to the first quarter, which saw a record 49 transactions, an industry tracker reported. The reasons are numerous, but an analyst said the future prospects for M&A remain strong.

Top advisors are able to utilize technology, prefer face-to-face meetings and find ways to put the client first, a new survey found. Those advisors diverge from the rest of their peers in some areas, while in other areas both groups exhibited similarities, the survey found.

Advisors looking to sell out need to pause and consider who they are selling to, say succession planning experts. Scammers are getting their foot in the door by buying books of business and defrauding clients, an outcome that can sully decades of good work.

A survey found that even though their business is a part of their retirement plans, 65 percent of advisors said they had no succession plans and 89 percent said they had no appraised value for their business.

The Department of Labor fiduciary rule is dead, but financial professionals selling products to retirement accounts need to be aware of new interpretations of the “five-part test” standard. DOL officials plan to be more strict in interpreting the test going forward, one industry expert says.

A new variable annuity from Sammons includes a rider making it possible for the client to receive payments before the account has been completely depleted. Company execs say it is an example of the creativity needed for VA sales to rebound.

Paid subscribers, which account for about 90 percent of the company’s sales, are more profitable for Spotify than free users. But Spotify reported fewer users of the advertising-supported tier than a quarter ago, which is making investors nervous.

For a client in need of life insurance coverage, permanent life insurance can help address several crucial concerns by bridging the gap between their retirement savings and their retirement income goals.

Typically, if you meet a prospect, you want the sale to close quickly. That’s human nature, and it’s understandable, but it’s also not realistic. Sometimes, the best clients are won through hard work and persistence.

A federal appeals court upheld a ruling that the illustrations of the policy charges and interest rates were not deceptive, but left open the question of whether the challenged practices were unlawful or unfair.

Your clients may be relaxing this summer but their retirement funds should be working hard.