Practice

In a panel discussion at the Insured Retirement Institute’s (IRI) regulatory conference on Tuesday officials from the Departments of Labor and Treasury discussed increasing access to guaranteed lifetime income products and the proposed rule on the definition of a fiduciary that would regulate retirement savings programs and professionals.

The new cost basis reporting rules, which got under way in January, remind this blogger of her big water excursions -- scanty as they were -- mainly because of the potentially heart-racing chops that lie ahead for advisors and clients. There are several new reporting forms to help investors and their brokers conform to the new cost-basis reporting rules, but they are complex and did not come with instructions.

Brinker Capital this week became the latest independent investment management firm to add a suite of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to its defined contribution retirement plan offering, adding seven new ETFs that range from defensive fixed-income funds to aggressive equity-based funds.

Most consumers don’t read the prospectus they receive when they purchase a variable annuity and a new report released by the Insured Retirement Institute on Monday found that 94% of consumers would prefer to receive a shorter, printed summary prospectus online or upon request.

Data giant Thomson Reuters has teamed up with real-time systems monitoring provider ITRS to allow financial firms to keep track of the performance and speed of Thomson Reuters’ market data platforms.

For every answer international regulators give on a requirement for a large bank capital surcharge, it just feels like more questions pop up.

The majority of Americans say they want and need income replacement projections for their retirement but most have neither access to that data nor an understanding of how to translate their 401(k) savings into a stream of retirement income, according to an online survey of more than 1,000 401(k) investors by J.P. Morgan.

Zsa Zsa Gabor, who appeared in dozens of movies and television shows throughout a career that spanned five decades, is approaching the end. Sadly, her final days are surrounding by fighting between her husband of 25 years and her only daughter.

Dalbar has introduced a registered fiduciary designation for 401(k) advisers, the 401(k) RF Designation, who have obtained the skills and training to perform at that level of care. Training for the designation is provided by qualified training organizations or through a self-study program.

CFPs can go bankrupt without losing their CFP license. But they can be punished for failing to promptly notify FINRA and the CFP Board.