Annuities offer a dependable source of income in retirement, primarily provided by life insurance companies. With various annuity products available, the challenge is identifying the most reputable providers that align with your retirement needs. 

Bankrate guides this process by evaluating companies on customer satisfaction, financial strength, product diversity, and other key criteria. Their analysis includes top providers like Allianz Life, known for its wide selection of fixed index annuities, and Prudential, offering diverse annuity types with flexible options. 

Pacific Life, another strong contender, stands out for its financial stability and customer service, despite higher minimum premiums. Choosing the right annuity provider involves weighing factors like fees, accessibility, and product offerings to match individual retirement goals.

Finsum: Index annuities are an increasingly important vehicle for those nearing retirement as inflation has been such an important investment factor in recent years. 

At CES 2024, innovative tech products continued to capture attention despite Apple’s preemptive announcement of the Vision Pro headset earlier in the year. Standout devices included:

• The Rabbit R1, a compact AI assistant designed with Teenage Engineering, which can handle simple tasks, play music, and more, all for $199 starting March 2024. 

• The Audio Pro C20 emerged as a versatile wireless speaker that supports multiple streaming options, doubles as a soundbar, and connects to a turntable, available in February 2024 for $550. 

• LG unveiled its first transparent TV, the 77-inch Signature OLED T, which can transform into a 3D display or a functional visual piece when not in use. This year’s CES showcased a range of groundbreaking gadgets that highlighted new possibilities in consumer electronics. 

Finsum: CES 2024 reaffirmed its status as the world’s premier tech event, showcasing cutting-edge innovations that promise to redefine the future of consumer electronics and lifestyle technology.

Apollo Global Management Inc. is exploring the possibility of establishing a trading desk to buy and sell direct loans in the $1.7 trillion private credit market, which is typically illiquid. While the plans are still preliminary and could be abandoned, Apollo’s interest follows similar moves by other firms like Golub Capital and JPMorgan Chase. 

These firms are actively trading private loans, although such transactions remain rare due to lenders' preference to hold debt until maturity. Concerns exist that increased trading could undermine the benefits of direct lending, such as privacy, convenience, and price stability. 

However, secondary trading could be attractive to investors looking to enhance liquidity or reposition their portfolios. As the private credit market evolves, trading direct loans might become more common, especially for distressed assets.

Finsum: As a key figure in the space its important to keep an eye on the changes Apollo is making in private credit. 

Model portfolios simplify portfolio management, allowing financial advisors to deliver customized investment strategies without starting from scratch. Leveraging technology, advisors can access high-quality, ready-made models that can be adjusted to meet specific client needs. 

Customizing these portfolios provides a balance between using institutional expertise and offering personalized service. Advanced analytics tools are seamlessly integrated, enabling advisors to filter, screen, and select the best-performing assets based on millions of data points.

Tracking performance over time with precision ensures that clients see accurate, realistic outcomes. This approach gives advisors a competitive edge, allowing them to scale their practice while maintaining individualized attention.

Finsum: Having the analytics at your fingertips can really aid in distilling complex information to clients.

The financial volatility of recent years has made it clear that traditional retirement strategies may no longer suffice. The old 60/40 portfolio split between stocks and bonds has proven inadequate, as demonstrated in 2022 when both asset classes declined significantly.

 Retirees now face unique challenges such as sequence of return risk and inflation, which require a more adaptive investment strategy. Alternative investments, like private equity and venture capital, can offer opportunities for diversification and potential outperformance over traditional assets. Meanwhile, alternative strategies, such as long/short equity and merger arbitrage, provide potential protection during market downturns. 

Despite their complexity and potential downsides, incorporating alternatives can help retirees achieve a more resilient portfolio that balances growth, income, and capital preservation.

Finsum: Moreover, stocks and bonds are experiencing increasingly high correlation in returns compared to the last four decades, which should draw more inflow into alternatives.