Women are more likely than men to trust a financial advisor, and are also more open to changing their savings and spending habits after receiving advice than men are, according to the pension fund giant Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF)…
Employees who set aside retirement funds through their 401(k) are not planning to increase their contributions in 2014 compared to this year, a sign that many workers are not benefiting financially from an improving economy, Mercer said…
Whether it’s responding to urgent phone calls over Thanksgiving, or flying six hours cross-country to be with clients who have lost a spouse, there are few things a dedicated advisor would not do for a long-time customer. The extra hours cement strong relationships…
Four years after an IRS ruling regarding 403(b) plan sponsors and their responsibility for selecting and monitoring investment options, a “dichotomy” has opened among colleges and universities using financial advisors, according to Transamerica Retirement Services…
With all the criticism surrounding 401(k) plan retirement fees and regulators looking more closely at licensing requirements, it hasn’t been the easiest of years for financial advisors. So the time has come to show them a little love…
A major new study by Merrill Lynch finds the majority of Americans age 50 or older unprepared for big family events, a situation made worse by family members’ reluctance to discuss financial topics…
The nation has emerged from the traditional long Thanksgiving weekend, the eight days of Hanukkah are winding to a close and Christmas decorations are going up. But all life insurance policies get is the equivalent of a big, fat “no, thanks.”…
With 2014 shaping up to be an active year in corporate pension risk transfer, institutional advisors may want to think about the factors affecting the cost for annuities that are used to guarantee pension obligations…
It’s not often that insurance industry organizations endorse regulatory proposals for inquiry into business practices, but this is an exception…
What a difference a quarter makes in annuity sales results. In third quarter, total fixed sales were up 31 percent over third quarter last year, according to LIMRA’s new estimated results…
Colleges and universities are streamlining their 403(b) and Roth 403(b) retirement plans, and higher education institutions are about evenly split between institutions using a single retirement plan provider and those using multiple providers…
A new report by Transamerica Retirement Solutions finds that over the next four years, retirement plan advisors will face an era of consolidation…
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced fraud charges against two Tampa, Fla.-area retail financial advisors who reaped more than $4 million by investing the assets of retirees and self-directed individual retirement account (IRA) holders with risky offshore hedge funds…
If financial advisors look at Las Vegas-based insurance agent Kent Larson’s Facebook page with a hint of envy, it’s easy to see why. His page resembles that of a socially connected 20-something…
A survey of financial advisors by Natixis Global Asset Management finds that, in many cases, clients are pulling them in opposite directions. Advisors also say they spend twice as much time on administrative tasks as they do looking for new or younger clients…
Securian Financial Group’s recent announcement to sell individual whole life insurance through the college savings service Upromise represents a new channel through which Securian hopes to sell simple-issue protection products to the middle market…
Sales of fixed annuities reached $23.5 billion in the third quarter, a 31 percent increase over the year-ago period, as interest rates edged up over the summer and fixed annuities gained broader acceptance in the market, according to LIMRA…
Financial advisors who worry that investors pay too much attention to the accumulation phase of wealth creation to the detriment of the payout phase, ought to consider their own shortcomings when it comes time for professional “drawdown.”…
Call it the battle of the Minnesota-based life insurance giants…
