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| Americans’ Appreciation for Guaranteed Retirement Income on the Rise |
| Seventy-three percent of people surveyed for the Guaranteed Lifetime Income Study from Greenwald & Associates and CANNEX said they view guaranteed income as a valuable addition to Social Security. Two primary reasons why people value guaranteed income are to cover health care costs (cited by 54%) and to prevent running out of money (46%). Fifty-two percent said they view guaranteed income as a hedge against a market downturn.Read more > |
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| Products, Deals and People |
| BlackRock Unveils Retirement Income Planning Solution |
| Rather than rely on a simple 4% withdrawal rule, the new BlackRock model seeks to sustain the consumption pattern once labor income ceases.Read more > |
| Firms Partner to Provide Health Care Cost Transparency |
| The partnership between Alegeus and ZendyHealth aims to help employees make smarter decisions to manage health care costs.Read more > |
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| Economic Events |
| Despite consistently low inventory levels and faster price growth, existing-home sales bounced back in February after two straight months of declines, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sizeable sales increases in the South and West offset declines in the Northeast and Midwest. Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, grew 3.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.54 million in February from 5.38 million in January. After last month’s increase, sales are now 1.1% above a year ago. |
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| Market Mirror |
Wednesday, the Dow closed 44.96 points (0.18%) lower at 24,682.31, the NASDAQ lost 19.02 points (0.26%) to finish at 7,345.28, and the S&P 500 decreased 5.01 points (0.18%) to 2,711.93. The Russell 2000 increased 8.90 points (0.57%) to 1,579.30, and the Wilshire 5000 was down 24.15 points (0.09%) at 28,165.65. The price of the 10-year Treasury note was up 4/32, decreasing its yield to 2.883%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond increased 14/32, bringing its yield down to 3.110%. |
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| Compliance |
| District Court Rejects Racketeering Claims Against Prudential, Morningstar |
| A district court has ruled that the complaint “does not sufficiently plead that the defendants were engaged in the conduct of an association-in-fact enterprise or that each defendant engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity.”Read more > |
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| Investing |
| Institutional Investors See Chance for Alpha in Focused Strategies |
| In the past 12 to 18 months, 56% of institutional investors have increased their exposure to focused strategies, defined as 50 or fewer holdings, a survey finds.Read more > |
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| Small Talk |
| ON THIS DATE: In 1457, Gutenberg Bible became the first printed book. In 1765, the Stamp Act was passed. It was the first direct British tax on the American colonists. In 1767, Joseph Priestley invented carbonated water (seltzer). In 1894, the first playoff competition for the Stanley Cup began. Montreal played Ottawa. In 1903, Niagara Falls ran out of water due to a drought. In 1919, the first international airline service was inaugurated on a weekly schedule between Paris and Brussels. In 1934, the first Masters golf championship began in Augusta, Georgia. In 1948, the United States announced a land reform plan for Korea. In 1954, the first shopping mall opened in Southfield, Michigan. In 1974, the Viet Cong proposed a new truce with the U.S. and South Vietnam. The truce included general elections. In 1980, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was founded by Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco. In 1993, Intel introduced the Pentium-processor. In 1997, Tara Lipinski, at 14 years and 10 months, became the youngest women’s world figure skating champion. |
| SURVEY SAYS: The Department of Labor (DOL) has paved the ways for inclusion of environmental, social and governance (ESG)-screened investments to be included in defined contribution (DC) plan menus. This week, I’d like to know, do you invest in socially responsible investments in your DC plan, and do you think the returns on these investments are on par with non-screened investments? You may respond to this week’s survey by 6 p.m. Pacific time today.Read more > |
| Share the news with a friend! Pass the NewsDash along and tell your friends/associates they can sign up for their own copy.Read more > |
