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Our experts frequently write blog posts about the findings of the research we are conducting.

Displaying 11-20 out of 41 results for "Equity Indexed Annuities".

Exchange Traded Interest Rate Swap Futures

(Oct 2012)

We've talked briefly about interest rate swaps in the past, but I wanted to write about a recent development in the securities industry that relates to these conventionally over-the-counter (OTC) instruments.

Back in the summer of 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (PDF) was signed into law and as a result many OTC products have began the process of standardization in preparation for exchange trading. The idea is essentially that exchange traded products offer...

Two New Exotic Products from the CBOE

(Oct 2012)

The CBOE has begun the offering process on two new and highly innovative volatility-related products that could have broad implications for the exchange traded products market and index investing in general.

The new S&P 500 Variance Futures are futures contracts on the realized variance of the S&P 500 index. This is in contrast with VIX futures, which trade on the impliedvolatility of the S&P 500; however, according to a CBOE press release, the ability to combine the two may have motivated...

Holding an ETF During the Day vs. Holding Overnight

(Oct 2012)

Lately we've been reading the interesting new book by Eric Falkenstein on risk premia and low volatility investing. We are long time followers of Eric's blog, which has a variety of interesting analyses of equity markets.

Following one of the figures in his book, we decided to look at two different strategies of investing in a given ETF where the holding period is on average one trading day. In particular, we looked at the pricing data of SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) since inception and constructed two...

The JOBS Act and Private Placements

(Aug 2012)

The Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act (PDF) that was enacted this past April was ostensibly designed to increase investment opportunities by relaxing certain regulatory requirements on small businesses. There are several excellent reviews of the provisions of the JOBS Act, which not surprisingly is a lengthy and impenetrable document, and there has been considerable debate between proponents, who argue that increased investment opportunities can help support new business ventures...

Hedge Fund "Side Pockets" Explained

(Jul 2012)

Hedge funds can be extremely complicated investments, and one of the features that contributes to their lack of transparency is their so called 'side pocket' accounts. Side pockets have drawn scrutiny from the SEC and have been the subject of high profile investigations (see also) due to their potential for abuse from hedge fund managers eager to hide losses from investors.

Side pockets are essentially separate accounts that a hedge fund may use to separate illiquid or thinly traded assets...

FDIC Warns Investors about Structured CDs

(Jul 2012)

Earlier this year, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a warning about structured certificates of deposit (CDs), which are hybrid investments combining features of both traditional CDs and structured products. FINRA has also recently investigated the market for structured CDs, which has been estimated to be as large as $30 billion.

Structured CDs are essentially bank deposits whose interest payments depend on the value of a reference index instead of a predefined fixed or...

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Report on Reverse Mortgages

(Jul 2012)

Most American investors are likely aware of the SEC, and may also be aware of FINRA as an important regulatory institution (certainly, readers of this blog should be). But they may be less aware of the relatively new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which also has a mandate to protect consumers from financial malpractice. The CFPB was created out of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, and President Obama appointed its first director in January...

Variable Annuity Regulation: Speech by Susan Nash

(Jul 2012)

Last Tuesday, Susan Nash, Associate Director of the Division of Investment Management at the SEC, gave an interesting speech at the URI 2012 Government, Legal & Regulatory Conference regarding variable annuities. Variable annuities continue to grow in sales -- according to Ms. Nash's comments, sales of variable annuities grew by approximately 12% in 2011 -- but have been the subject of numerous FINRA Investor Alerts and Regulatory Notices due to their high costs and complex risks.

Ms. Nash...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - June 29th, 2012

(Jun 2012)

SEC Shuts Down Mortgage Fund Ponzi-like Scheme
June 28, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22406)
According to the complaint (opens to PDF), Small Business Capital Corp. ("SB Capital") and Mark Feathers ("Feathers"), its principal, are operating an "alleged Ponzi-like scheme." $42 million have been raised by SB Capital and Feathers through selling securities issued by their mortgage investment funds, Investors Prime Fund, LLC and SBC Portfolio Fund, LLC ("Funds"). The Funds attracted more than 400...

401(k) Fees Can Drastically Reduce Nest Egg

(Jun 2012)

A recent report conducted by Demos -- a New York City-based public policy organization -- points out that the high fees charged by 401(k)'s can cut nest eggs by 30% for median-income two-wage family.

Company-sponsored 401(k) plans often include a list of mutual funds in which employees can invest. Although these fees are disclosed on the individual fund prospectuses, the account statements from 401(k)'s generally do not include such fees (only the result of the fund performance net of fees)....

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