Bad VA switches were supposed to be a thing of the past, but the independent broker-dealer industry should take heed of this fine.
Tight restrictions are placed on investment options in VAs with guaranteed income to reduce their risk. Returns have lagged as a result, frustrating advisers and investors.
The insurer's variable annuities dipped 39% year-over-year in the second quarter, offering a glimpse into the power of big distributors like Fidelity.
The laws create the possibility that clients' their long-term-care expenses may be shouldered by their children
Low interest rates and demographic trends continue to bolster indexed annuity sales. These dynamics also pushed deferred income annuities to their best all-time sales quarter.
Some insurers are turning away from L-share variable annuities as appetite wanes among broker-dealers.
The adviser allegedly hid improper annuity exchanges from his clients and broker-dealers in part by falsifying documents and misrepresenting some of the annuity features.
Life insurance and annuity carriers are focused on growing distribution through brokers. Direct-to-consumer sales, though, reign king.
Following record MetLife fine, regulator says VAs are now at the core of their focus: complex products marketed to seniors.
The insurer is trying to expand outside the affluent market with the purchase of a tech platform.
MetLife is the second major insurer to exit the brokerage business, in the sale of its adviser unit to MassMutual. Mergers may be on the rise due to the Labor Department's proposed fiduciary rule.
The move would allow insurers to sidestep additional risk in distributing through independent agents.
New offerings for the younger market have made the life insurance industry ripe for disruption.
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Sudden withdrawal of DOL's Timothy Hauser from a panel at the Insured Retirement Institute conference was a blunder.
Today's complaints against the Labor Department regulation raising retirement advice standards, bringing the total to five, say it will make it harder for Americans to purchase fixed annuities.
Finding a policy that works in the best interests of your clients not as hard as you think
Four states introduce accounts that help families save for special needs children
The DOL fiduciary rule will forever change financial advice, and the industry now faces the challenge of adapting to the new regulation.
The Labor Department's fiduciary rule and market volatility were the primary contributors.
