Longevity

Mark Hulbert is the author of the Hulbert Financial Digest, a popular monthly newsletter that tracks the investment performance of roughly 180 different investing -related newsletters. Hulbert wrote an article on fixed annuities in the business section of the New York Times. In a balanced and informative piece, Hulbert touches on topics that include the following: Annuities and the financial crisis. Annuities in the current interest rate environment. How effective fixed annuities are in...

Harvard Medical School recently hosted a conference on aging. The conference attracted longevity-focused companies such as Sitris Pharmaceuticals. Sitris is a leader in the development of drugs that mimic the effects of resveratrol , a chemical found is red wines that longevity-related proteins called sirtuins. According to Sitris co-founder Dr. Christoph Westphal: “In five or six or seven years,” said Christoph Westphal, Sirtris’s other co-founder, “there will be drugs...

In a Bloomberg report scientists predict that half of the babies born today in rich or developed countries will live until age 100. Life expectancy has increased by 30 years over the past century in the same developed countries, and researchers do not see longevity limits on the immediate horizon. The increasing longevity carries some potential downsides as countries struggle to finance the increasingly long duration of retirement: The aging of society has left nations struggling with how to...

"In-Plan" annuities refer to the use of annuities within defined contribution pension programs such as 401k plans. The concept is relatively new, but the timing should be a perfect the concept to gain traction: The financial crisis has devastated the portfolios of many retirees and near-retirees. Millions of baby boomers will add to the 70 million or so U.S. residents over the age of 55. People are starving for stable, guaranteed sources of income in light of market volatility and increasing...

Putnam Investments CEO Robert Reynolds spoke about the notion of "lifetime financial product allocation" at a recent industry conference. Reynolds supports the notion of a range of products over the course of one's lifetime that include: Lifetime income options to hedge against longevity risk . Relative return strategies to hedge inflation risk . Absolute return strategies to deal with both inflation and volatility risk ( sequence of returns risk ). Reynolds offered comments on the over-...