Retirement planning

A new study from Tiburon Strategic Advisors takes a broad look at consumer wealth, the pending baby boomer savings crisis and boomers' likely liquefaction of assets. Consumer Wealth, Liquefaction and the Retirement Income Challenge addresses the financial concerns and savings goals of consumers and consumer households in the U.S. today.

In lockstep with a broadened direction by insurance firms to strip off the complex bells-and-whistles riders and bonuses of the recent past and to issue packaged retirement income solutions-and meet the demands of the new buzzword: decumulation-the other publication I edit, Annuity Market News just relaunched on Friday as Retirement Income Reporter.

The Baby Boomer generation is once again taking credit for saving the economy, according to Reuters. The enormous spending power of the 76 million citizens born between 1946 and 1964 has helped keep the last two consumer-led recessions short and shallow.

Last week's extreme volatility in the U.S. and international stock markets has many retirees and Baby Boomers approaching retirement worried that their life savings will fall short of expectations.

Way to go. Some marketing experts are beginning to get it right. The "Magical Mystery Tour" that's been the past 60 years of Baby Boomer buying power doesn't have to end with mutual fund companies instilling the dreaded fear of outliving one's retirement savings, dying impoverished and, possibly, alone.

Registered investment advisors have had a good run over the past three years. And some 28% of RIA firms have experienced growth of more than 100%, according to a new study published by Fidelity Investments.

By now, most asset management executives have seen the predictions that large-cap growth will be the way to go in 2008. But digging deeper than mere asset class predictions, MME spoke with two industry leaders to tease out nuances of what fund managers can expect this year.

As traditional pension plans are increasingly being replaced by defined contribution plans, retirement income plan providers will need to adjust their tactics in order to keep up with the ever-changing retirement landscape.

As asset managers gear up for Baby Boomers' retirement years, Richard "Mac" Hisey, chief investment officer at AARP Financial, took some time out last with to speak with MME Senior Editor Brent Shearer about how investment firms are trying to reach out to Boomers.

Target-date funds recently got government approval as the default option in 401(k) plans. On the other hand, a recent study by Compass Investors, finds fault with the structure of these funds. A recent study from the Compass Institute, a think tank affiliated with Compass Investors, criticizes the structure of target-date funds. It advocates shifting asset allocations based on market and other trends, instead of on a fixed schedule.

For all of the talk about the importance of saving for retirement through a 401(k) and other savings plans, 37% of those born in 1990 and just now entering the workforce will have no savings by the time they leave the workforce, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. As a group, those retiring in the 2050s will have only saved enough money to replace 22% of their pre-retirement income.

Asset Management Firms Hiring More Aggressively

NEW YORK-Millions of Baby Boomers in their 50s are woefully unprepared for retirement, but it's not too late to convince them to start planning.

Women who have gone through major life events, typically widows and divorcees, are often better prepared to deal with their own finances and retirement plans because they have been forced to sit down with an adviser, according to a recent study by OppenheimerFunds.

Let's hope Social Security remains a fixture on the American scene. There are too many senior citizens dependent on it, and with $1 million seeming to be the magic retirement savings goal, a vast majority are going to fall far short of that. In fact, some experts have said that even wealthy investors will be at least partially dependent on Social Security.

Chief compliance officers should make the valuation of distressed securities their No. 1 priority, Andrew J. Donohue, director of the division of investment management at the Securities and Exchange Commission advised at last week's national CCOutreach meeting, the agency's educational program for CCOs.

Let's hope Social Security remains a fixture on the American scene. There are too many senior citizens dependent on it, and with $1 million seeming to be the magic retirement savings goal, a vast majority are going to fall far short of that. In fact, some experts have said that even wealthy investors will be at least partially dependent on Social Security.

A new marketing idea we've been hearing at recent conferences for the mutual fund industry is the notion of embracing new technologies, including blogging, instant messaging, chat rooms, webcasts, podcasts, websites tailored for each individual investor and even creating communities along the lines of facebook.com and YouTube.com.

A new marketing idea we've been hearing at recent conferences for the mutual fund industry is the notion of embracing new technologies, including blogging, instant messaging, chat rooms, webcasts, podcasts, websites tailored for each individual investor and even creating communities along the lines of facebook.com and YouTube.com.

When Charles Schwab and Ariel Mutual Funds conducted their first annual Black Investor Survey at the premier Ariel-Schwab Black Investor Summit a decade ago, 57% of Blacks said they owned stocks or mutual funds. Today, that number remains the same. However, in 2002, it peaked at 74%, while in the past 10 years, the number of Whites who own stocks or mutual funds has hovered around 80%.