Estate planning is about more than just estate taxes. Estate plans involve a variety of non-estate tax issues, making thoughtful estate planning a critical component of a comprehensive financial plan…
In 1994, financial advisor William P. Bengen published data on what he deemed the “safe withdrawal” amount that would ensure investors had enough money to last them until they died…
Regulators in Iowa and New York approved the closely watched acquisition of fixed annuity insurer Aviva Life and Annuity Co. and its subsidiaries by Athene Holding…
There’s a big opportunity opening up for financial advisors as employers turn to voluntary benefits and services, and as younger generations of employees gravitate toward customized benefits packages, a new study finds…
Although still expected to remain dominant, the largest financial advisor firms will continuing losing out in the wealth management segment to independent and boutique registered investment advisor (RIA) firms, according to new research..
Farm Bureau Financial Services, a long-time provider of insurance and financial services to agricultural and rural markets, is revamping its exclusive agency distribution network to focus on agent retention and training, the company said…
Life insurance carriers are providing more choices for buyers of voluntary term life products as the industry seeks to deepen their penetration of the most popular product bought at the worksite, according to a new report…
Gabe Smith, a 38-year-old financial advisor with Ohio National Financial Services, has some advice for all the young advisors following in his footsteps: step up, get involved in any way you can, and don’t look back…
At least two stock carriers — Allstate and Phoenix Companies — have debuted whole life insurance policies in recent months…
Lincoln Financial Group has updated its survivorship variable universal life (SVUL) insurance product line to offer more competitive pricing for single insured pay premiums, as well as an estate protection rider, the company has announced…
The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) has come out in favor of a proposal to list information about lifetime income in retirement statements to help workers link the contribution and distribution phases of their retirement saving…
Here come the good times for life and annuity insurers. After years of declining interest rates, market forces are moving into alignment with equities roaring ahead and interest rates rising…
For Northwestern Mutual, the venerable life and retirement giant, the era of the hard sell is out. This is the era of holistic planning, in which the client relationship trumps the bewildering array of features and a phalanx of products…
Twice as many families with more than $5 million in investable assets say they make financial decisions more democratically than do less-well-off families in the mass affluent segment, in the wake of the financial crisis, according to new research…
Clients take an average of 4.8 years with a financial advisor before they feel comfortable recommending the advisor to someone else. This is more than twice as long as advisors seem to think it takes, according to new research…
Prospecting is the lifeblood of financial advisors and there’s no more talked-about Internet tool for turning leads into hot prospects right now than social media…
The stand-alone long-term care insurance market may be dormant as buyers shy away from high premiums and the relative inefficiency of long-term care coverage, but the combination insurance product market is hot…
Financial advisors’ overall optimism about the current and future state of the U.S. economy and the stock market rose in July, according to a benchmark confidence index survey…
If there is any doubt that variable annuity providers are taking the alternative subaccount movement seriously, some figures from Morningstar should set the record straight…
