Articles

The annuity puzzle refers to the fact that few people choose to annuitize even a portion of their accumulated savings even though they have many good and rational reasons to do so.  Psychological and behavioral barriers are key factors that affect decisions involving annuities, retirement finances,…

Putnam CEO Robert Reynolds spoke on the retirement income challenge in the United States at the Spring 2011 RIIA Conference. Reynolds believes the country should be in a golden age with respect to guaranteed income solutions.

Glenn Daily is one of the top financial advisors in the country.

If gold prices and Warren Buffett’s investing activities are any indication, the near-term could prove difficult for investors. Warren Buffett was selling more stocks than he was buying earlier this summer, and Berkshire Hathaway’s stock purchases fell to the lowest level in five years.  Buffett…

Bloomberg reports that GM workers and retirees face the prospect of more than $16 billion in pension losses if bankruptcy is the eventual result of GM's financial distress.The Federal Government in the form of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

Sheryl Garrett is the founder of the Garrett Planning Network. The Garrett Network consists of approximately 300 financial advisors who provide services on a fee-only basis and act as fiduciaries. Read on to understand how and why the Garrett Network seeks to make objective, competent…

Francois Gadenne is the Chairman and Executive Director of the Retirement Income Industry Association (RIIA).

The GAO retirement income report advocates inflation-adjusted annuities for middle income households that do not have access to a defined benefit pension plan.

There is in fact a study from Professor David Babbel that compares the performance of fixed indexed annuities to portfolios of stocks and bonds and it is fascinating.

Bloomberg reports that there is continued strength in fixed and immediate annuity sales.  Overall fixed annuity sales increased 50% in 2008, with immediate annuity sales increasing 15% in 2008.  As indicated earlier, variable annuity sales decreased 15% in 2008.Much of the fixed annuity sales…

Don MaNay is a financial columnist, a Huffington Post contributor and an expert in the field of structured settlements. We had an opportunity to speak to Don about his financial practice and his most recent book.

There was clearly a ton of time and effort invested into the 36 demos at the recent Finovate conference in San Francisco. Not easy to get up on stage and speak for 7 minutes in front of a crowd of 500 people.

Finovate is a popular conference series featuring young technology companies that are focused on financial services.

Is there a financial equivalent to the maxim “first do no harm?” What if one of the guiding principles of medicine was applied to the world of financial advice? What would the financial services landscape look like if product manufacturers and advisors were required to play by rules similar to…

Professor James Galbraith provided a keynote address at a recent industry conference sponsored by NAVA—the Association for Insured Retirement Solutions.  Professor Galbraith comes from the Economics department at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.  A Keynesian…