Alert, Equifax Hack: Tell Your Clients to Do This

Credit agency Equifax announced yesterday that it suffered a data breach affecting 143 million U.S. consumers. The hack exposed names, Social Security numbers, addresses, birth dates, and driver’s license numbers—all critical pieces of information used by identity thieves to impersonate people and conduct fraud. This is probably the most consequential data breach in history, considering…

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IAMS Corporate Office

IAMS Wealth Management: A Strategy for your Client’s Nest Egg

Helping clients determine the best way to fund their retirement nest egg with the goal of having it convert into a sustainable source of retirement income is one of the most vital and sophisticated services agents provide.  During both the accumulation and distribution phase of a client’s portfolio, agents must balance diversification, rates of return,…

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DOL’s Unintended Consequence

As broker-dealers adjust to the new Department of Labor fiduciary rule by instituting uniform commissions on a wide swath of investments, investors could be faced with higher prices on some investment products. LPL Financial, the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer, is instituting new uniform pricing rules for alternative investments such an nontraded real estate investment trusts…

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Millennials & Life Insurance

Millennials are a unique generation with a new approach to life,which includes the way they secure information, collect insights and make purchasing decisions. This is especially true when it comes to benefits and financial products — particularly life insurance. In this under-served segment, only 16% own individual life insurance and about a third are likely…

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Variable Out Fixed In

Variable annuity sales continued on a downward trend during the first quarter, declining 18.5 percent from $31.8 billion to $26 billion, according to new sales figures from the Washington, D.C.-based Insured Retirement Institute. Variable annuity sales were $30.9 billion during the fourth quarter of 2015. Anticipation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule may…

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House Blocks DOL Ruling

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution of disapproval blocking the U.S. Department of Labor’s controversial fiduciary rule. The DOL released its final rule last month. The rule, sometimes referred to as the conflicts of interest rule, mandates financial professionals who service individual retirement accounts, including IRAs and 401(k) plans, to serve…

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DOL Fiduciary Ruling

Insurance Agency Marketing Services has been following the Department of Labor fiduciary ruling very closely. We are monitoring how it will affect fixed annuities and other retirement strategies. The Department of Labor dealt a bit of a surprise blow to fixed indexed annuities in the final iteration of its rule, issued Wednesday, by lumping the…

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