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Good day for Wall Street Tuesday as stocks rebounded.

The stock market began the current bull market run on March 9, 2009 and will set a record Wednesday. Still, some analysts are concerned about the potential for a downturn amid several economic disruptions.

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Obesity, Fitness& Wellness Week– So far this year, the U.S. stock market has been a financial roller coaster that has continued into summer. Surprisingly, even with that significant increase in fluctuations, one-third of Americans characterized the financial markets during the first few months of 2018 as stable, according…
Many VA owners cannot remember why they bought the product, a new Cerulli Associates survey finds.

Thirty-four percent of variable annuity owners cannot remember why they bought them, a new survey finds. But at least one analyst says that is merely a sign that VAs are very versatile, with a number of different uses, and that advisors are trusted and doing a good job.

–August 15, 2018— There are two significant, opposing financial challenges in today’ s workforce: saving for retirement and paying off student loan debt. Employees often have a hard time planning for future retirement when they are focused on paying off their student loans. It is estimated that American employees are leaving approximately $24 billion in…
Annuity sellers often find themselves staring down a rabbit hole of regulation. Where does it end?

There is no limit to the number of agencies, bureaus, departments, commissioners and deputies standing ready to improve the lives of each person in ways they think they should be improved. Where does that leave annuities and the promise of guaranteed income?
More employees are boosting their own benefits with voluntary options.

Falling unemployment, fatter payrolls, tax reform, rising interest rates and the unsettled future of the Affordable Care Act are boosting benefit lines. More consumers are relying on voluntary benefits to fill in the gaps with medical and retirement needs.
Exclusive

Are your clients dreaming of handing in their notices at work and joining the ranks of the retired? Retirement can be wonderful– if you’re prepared for it. So before a client puts an end to his or her career, it’s essential to make sure they’re 100% ready.
Young people are super-pumped about their financial future, a new survey finds.

Women represent the ideal client for advisors for many reasons. Women contribute more to retirement plans, are more conservative with investments and prefer to work with an advisor, a MassMutual survey found.
A strong seller of fixed annuities, American Equity would be an asset to many companies, analysts say.

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.
Younger advisors are more likely to want face-to-face contact with wholesalers, a new study finds.

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.
As advisors compete for clients, the best of the best are doing things differently, a new Harris Poll finds.

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.
Less than one-third of advisor firms have proper succession planning in place, an alarming figure, analysts say.

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.
Exclusive

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.

July 29– Though there’s no magic savings number that guarantees financial security in retirement, $1 million is generally regarded as a good target to aim for. Not only is it a nice round number and impressive-sounding milestone, but if you were to withdraw from a $1 million nest egg at a rate of 4% per year, you’d get $40,000 of annual income to work with.
Artists such as Shania Twain are popular with Spotify users.

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.
A new Guardian study reveals that millennials want access to an advisor and are interested in financial planning.

Millennials are open to learning about financial strategies more so than predicted, as nearly 75 percent say they would attend an in-person financial seminar, compared to 69 percent of generation X and 62 percent of baby boomers.
Calculating the value of lifetime income riders against expenses is something advisors need to pay attention to in the new regulatory environment.

Advisors seeking to match clients with the best annuity benefits need accurate expense-to-benefit ratio tools to help protect them in an era of regulatory pressure. For example, lifetime withdrawal riders allow retirees to receive income for the rest of their lives, but cost extra.