Bank Investment Consultant

NEWS

• BofA Merrill Lynch Sees Positive 401(k) Savings Trends In Q1

  May 21, 2012

  In the first quarter of this year, more than 297,000 employees started or increased their 401(k) savings versus 291,000 in the first quarter of 2011.

• Morningstar Debuts Web-Based Variable Annuity Research Tool

  May 21, 2012

  Morningstar has launched Annuity Intelligence, a web-based research and evaluation tool for advisors and broker-dealers charged with finding the best variable annuity products for their clients.

• MassMutual's Retirement Arm Reports Record 1Q

  May 21, 2012

  The company, which reported record sales last year, said retirement plan sales from Jan. 1 through March 31 were $1.8 billion, 40% higher than a year earlier and net cash flows reached $1.2 billion, marking the quarterly results in the Springfield, Mass., based company's 65 years in the retirement plan business, according to a press release issued Monday.

• Lincoln Financial Names Stuber Managing Principal in Houston

  May 21, 2012

  Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. has named Bob Stuber managing principal where he’ll be responsible for growing and servicing the firm’s client base in the Houston area.

• LPL Looks to Expand Bank Presence

  May 21, 2012

  LPL has relationships with 680 banks and credit unions. Robert Comfort said in an interview that he expects to significantly increase LPL’s presence in the channel.

• Consumers Eager For Life Insurance Coverage

  May 21, 2012

  New survey puts the onus on life insurers to work more proactively with the agency force to provide the tools, marketing and advertising support to better educate consumers about life insurance.

• Nasdaq’s Handling of Facebook: 'Not Our Finest Hour'

  May 21, 2012

  Trading opened a half hour late Friday. Orders placed on its IPO Cross system did not get delivered to the market. For about two hours, Nasdaq could not issue quotes on Facebook shares. And, yet, it continued trading in Facebook shares, a possible violation of Regulation National Market System.

• Hartford Unveils New CIO

  May 21, 2012

  The Hartford has promoted Brion Johnson to chief investment officer and president of Hartford Investment Management Company

• Mutual Funds (Really) Like Facebook

  May 21, 2012

  Over the past year, nearly 70 mutual funds have snapped up pre-IPO shares of Facebook on private markets ahead of its IPO today, CNNMoney reports.

• Financial-Reform Group: JPM Clearly Was Not Hedging

  May 21, 2012

  The big question following JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s now-notorious derivative trade is whether it would have been permitted under the so-called 'Volcker Rule.' But the answer is clear cut to an advocacy group that has led calls for regulatory restrictions after the 2008 crisis.

• Annuity Sales Slide in the First Quarter of 2012

  May 18, 2012

  Indexed annuities were one bright spot in the market, hitting $8.1 billion in sales, up 14% from the year-ago period.

• Cantor Fitzgerald Hires Five; Targets Latin America

  May 18, 2012

  Cantor Fitzgerald has hired five investment professionals to expand its presence in emerging markets in Latin American, with a particular emphasis on Brazil.

• SunTrust Debuts New Retirement Planning Tool

  May 18, 2012

  The new Retirement Income Navigator is a three-step process designed to help investors withdraw money from retirement accounts in a more tax-efficient way.