A recent lawsuit concerning a failed investment in a life settlement has exposed a new area of regulatory uncertainty and potential liability for registered representatives and their firms.
Amid growing scrutiny of life settlements securitization, the Securities and Exchange Commission has created a task force to examine financial products, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Buzz is building among financial firms about arranging life settlement securitizations, but experts question the structured products' viability as an investment amid a lengthy list of risks and a limited track record of successful transactions.
MetLife Inc. on Monday projected fourth-quarter and 2010 operating earnings mostly above analyst estimates.
Three months after he joined the company, Andrew Sieg, head of retirement and philanthropic services at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, has reorganized its retirement services group
The Labor Department is likely to issue new rules governing investment advice given to 401(k) plan participants by the end of this month, Assistant Labor Secretary Phyllis Borzi said today.
The SPARK Institute's option would limit contributions to $10,000, higher than the typical IRA, would “simplify” investment option selection, among other things.
The life settlements and life insurance industries are criticizing President Barack Obama's 2011 budget proposal, which includes provisions that would require additional reporting to the IRS for life settlements and would impose taxes on corporate-owned life insurance.
By now, most financial advisers know that when you have after-tax money in an individual retirement account, you can't just convert those funds and pay no tax on the conversion.
The Obama administration last week announced plans to require employers to give employees the option of enrolling in direct-deposit individual retirement accounts.
More than 1,000 financial planners contacted members of the House to oppose a provision in financial-reform legislation that could put many advisory firms under the jurisdiction of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.
Financial planners are worried about being regulated by the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency when it comes to dishing out advice about mortgages, taxes and estate planning.
A Wells Fargo Securities analyst has speculated that Prudential Financial Inc. may target ING's U.S. retirement business as an acquisition.
Sources claim Northwestern Mutual -- 'the quiet company' -- is quietly discussing selling the asset manager. The insurer, however, says Russell is not for sale.
Insurance brokerage fee income at banks hit $3.05 billion for the third quarter of 2009, up 11.7% from the year-ago period, according to the Michael White-Prudential Bank Insurance Fee Income Report.
Putnam Investments has joined the slew of fund companies launching online tools to help financial advisers talk to their clients about whether or not they should convert to a Roth Individual Retirement Account.
With the Senate set to reconvene this week, the insurance industry is stepping up its efforts to encourage members of the Banking Committee to support a comprehensive study into whether brokers should be forced to adhere to a fiduciary standard.
A California couple has filed suit against The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Co., an American International Group Inc. subsidiary, claiming that the company's sales agents misled investors about the tax advantages of using variable annuities in qualified retirement plans.
