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Stock market volatility has caused some advisers to shy away from the sexiest life insurance policies and#8212; variable universal life and variable life and#8212; and to steer clients to a tamer cousin, universal life. Read More »
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Polarized attitudes toward annuities remain; more focus on riskA new survey further confirms the growth opportunity for advisors from focusing on retirement income products and strategies. However, the report also notes heightened concern among brokers and RIAs with managing investment risk for investors.The Continued Evolution of Retirement Income Delivery: An Analysis of Leading Practices in Ad Read More »
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At the beginning of August 2010, we used our model of the S&P 500 to make three predictions of where stock prices would go during the month. We predicted: The level the S&P 500 would average in the early part of the month (1123-1175).The average level of stock prices to which the S&P 500 would go next (1074-1127).The change in the year-over-year growth rate of stock prices that woul Read More »
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Raise your hand if you can explain why anyone still believes in credit ratings.One of the enduring questions of the financial crisis is how the credit ratings establishment got so much so wrong for so very long. How could century-old institutions like the Moody’s Investors Service give their triple-A blessings to subprime junk?It is time — in fact, past time — for Washington to get some answers. Read More »
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The annuity contracts that were first offered by insurance carriers over a century ago were relatively simple instruments. They were designed to insure the risk of superannuation, or outliving one's income, and provided a guaranteed income stream to annuitants in return for either a lump-sum or periodic investment. But annuity contracts have become increasingly complex over the years... SF Gate: Read More »
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Investment advisers' confidence in the financial health of the insurance industry and#8212; though still underwhelming and#8212; is on the rebound, according to the InvestmentNews 2010 Insurance Product Survey. Read More »
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