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Investment

Checking & Savings, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Services, Investment, IRA, Money, Personal Finance, Retirement

Prudential Reveals More than a Third are Delaying Retirement

Prudential has revealed that more than a third of people are delaying their retirement and putting their dreams on hold.

More than a third (38 per cent) of people due to retire in 2011 are cancelling their plans and delaying retirement and working longer, and a significant proportion (22 per cent) of these are doing so because they can’t afford to stop working.

The findings, from Prudential’s Class of 2011 study, revealed that those delaying retirement this year for financial reasons, had, on average, hoped to stop working at age 62 but now expect to be 68 years old before they can finally take up their state pension. The study, now in its fifth year, questioned people who had planned to retire during 2011.

Two fifths (40 per cent) of those delaying retirement in 2011 due to the financial strain that it will create, believe that they will have to keep working until they are 70 years old, or older, in order to retire with a comfortable income.

Prudential’s study shows that of all those planning to retire in 2011, 22 per cent now say they can’t afford to – a figure that has increased since 2010 when it was 15 per cent. In addition, 16 per cent of those planning to retire in 2011 do not want to quit working.

Vince Smith-Hughes, head of business development at Prudential said: “The only realistic option for those who want to avoid having to delay their planned retirement is to start saving as much as they can as early as they can.

“However, as inflation reaches 5.5 per cent and disposable incomes are reduced, Prudential’s research shows that people are postponing retirement to either build up their pension pots further or simply to continue in a job that they enjoy. When economic factors are combined with changes in legislation, such as the abolition of the Default Retirement age and an increasing trend of choosing to continue at work, it is easy to understand why more people are postponing their retirement plans.

Via EPR Network
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Saxo Bank First To Offer Direct Online Trading In Brazilian Market

Saxo Bank, the specialist in online trading and investment, has launched four futures that will, for the first time, offer investors who are not residents in Brazil direct access to the Brazilian market. The products include the Bovespa Index and USD/BRL cross and enable investors to gain exposure to one of the currently most buoyant economies and hedge risks in their portfolios.

With this launch, Saxo Bank provides investors with four futures investment instruments – the BOVESPA Index, IBOVSPA Index Mini, BMF US Dollar Future and Mini BMF US Dollar – that are available on all of the bank’s platforms (SaxoTrader, SaxoWebTrader and SaxoMobileTrader).

Moreover, Saxo Bank expands its coverage to over 20 futures markets and more than 80 trading venues which can be accessed via a product range comprising more than 22,000 financial instruments.

In a statement, Pedro Brigham, director of the Latin region for Saxo Bank, said: “The rise in commodity prices has put Brazil on investors’ radars. Its excellent economic growth, political stability and a liquid market where over 3.5 billion US dollars are traded on a daily basis have made the country the clear leader in Latin America at a time when investors increasingly demand greater access to emerging markets”.

Claus Nielsen, executive vice president and head of markets at Saxo Bank, added: “The launch of futures trading in Brazil marks a significant milestone for Saxo Bank, and we are proud to be able to offer our global client base access to this vibrant economy. We look forward to expanding the list of available instruments in Brazil and to further add trading venues in emerging countries to our platform.”

Via EPR Network
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Business Monitor International Releases Japan Earthquake Implications Report

Business Monitor International has released a new special report which covers the probable economic and market implications of the Japan earthquake to the world economy.

Since the devastating Tohoku earthquake in Japan on March 11 and its terrible aftermath, there has been much speculation on the scale and scope of a potential nuclear disaster and the implications the disaster will have on the world financial markets. The special report seeks to provide some insight into some of the main economic repercussions ranging from the disruption to Japanese economic growth and markets through to the impact on commodity prices and the infrastructure sector.

Currently at least 6,000 people are known to have died and many thousands are still missing, with local authorities reporting that the final toll could exceed 10,000, which would be greater than the 6,400 killed in the Kobe (Hanshin) quake of 1995. However, while the human toll is disastrous, the infrastructure analysis provides the relatively positive news, if there is any, that Japan is better placed than many other disaster prone countries to respond to the crisis and Japan’s social cohesion should help it withstand a disaster of this magnitude better than many other countries. The participation of China and South Korea in the rescue efforts could also boost the previously strained relations between Japan and its neighbours.

Figures in the report show that there will be severe disruption to economic activity and that recession risks have returned to the fore, although at this stage the full impact is difficult to estimate. This comes at a time when it looked like export growth would boost overall GDP in 2011 following a 1.2% annualised contraction in Q410. While Tohoku is not a major economic centre, it still accounts for 8% of GDP and has numerous factories. Meanwhile, power outages across large parts of Japan, including Greater Tokyo, and supply chain concerns mean that major exporting companies such as Sony and Toyota have halted some operations indefinitely. Assuming that net exports place a sizeable drag on headline growth as exports cool and capital imports surge (as following the Hanshin earthquake in 1995), Japan may continue to suffer negative sequential growth in H111.

Other insights from the Japan analysis indicate that the Japanese government will need to spend heavily to rebuild the damage in the Tohoku region, around the city of Sendai, which will generate economic activity, but the costs will worsen Japan’s already dire fiscal deficit and debt burdens, and could put gross government debt through the JPY1,000trn level this year (an estimated 204% of GDP). Additionally, while markets will remain volatile in the short term, indications are that the authorities’ response to the crisis means that the medium-term view of a weaker yen (to JPY85.00/US$ in the first instance) remains on track, and the longer-term view of an eventual fiscal crisis is reinforced.

Other major areas looked at by the report include the risks for oil & gas prices, shipping, agriculture, automotive manufacture and the base metals industry, as well as important regional economic outlooks.

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Checking & Savings, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Services, Investment, IRA, Money, Personal Finance, Retirement

Prudential Reveals Number Of Poverty Line Pensioners On The Rise

Prudential has revealed that more than a third (35 per cent) of people planning to retire in the UK this year will do so with incomes below the poverty line.

To meet its minimum income standard the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the charity that funds a large, UK-wide research and development programme, estimates that a single person in the UK needs at least £14,400 a year, yet 35 per cent of those retiring in 2011 will have a retirement income below this level, up from 32 per cent in 2010.

Prudential’s Class of 2011 study surveyed people intending to retire this year and also revealed that nearly one in five (19 per cent) will retire on an annual income of less than £10,000 a year.

Women planning to retire this year are even more likely to have incomes below the poverty line. 40 per cent of women retiring in 2011 will have a pension income of less than £14,400 compared with 30 per cent of men. Prudential’s research also found that a quarter (26 per cent) of women compared with 12 per cent of men will retire this year with less than £10,000 a year to live on.

Vince Smith-Hughes, Head of Business Development at Prudential said: “Although our research shows that increasing numbers of those planning to retire will face tough financial decisions, there are many options available to boost retirement income.

“People approaching retirement should seek professional financial advice as a prerequisite to maximising their income. We would recommend that you review your finances with an adviser annually in the years immediately before your planned retirement.

“Following the simple advice to start saving as much as you can as early as you can should help to secure the retirement income you want and need. Making voluntary National Insurance contributions should also help to boost retirement income for people who have had breaks in National Insurance payment during their working lives.”

Via EPR Network
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Business Monitor International Launches Special Report On MENA Crisis

Business Monitor International has revealed a special report recently launched on its website that looks at the key risks to global recovery and stability following the crisis in the Middle East and North Africa.

The report states that the wave of popular protests that have swept across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) since January 2011 constitutes the biggest shake-up to the region for at least a generation, and its impact will be felt for many years to come. The unrest also poses the biggest risk to the global economic recovery this year, not least because of its effects on the oil and gas industry with the price of oil continuing to increase.

Although rising inflation has fuelled discontent, the protests are being driven by more fundamental issues, such as a lack of democracy, high unemployment and poor opportunities for social advancement.

Business Monitor International deemed Algeria, Bahrain, Iran, and Yemen to be most at risk of further unrest, although the company emphasises that virtually no state will be completely immune to public protests.

Egypt will remain in a delicate transition to democracy, and if the people’s hopes are dashed, further protests could erupt. In Bahrain, the growing demands of the Shi’a majority could transform the polity, with major implications for Saudi Arabia, which fears unrest among its own Shi’a minority in the oil-rich Eastern Province.

Libya’s descent into civil war represents the most immediate risk to the region and Europe. The country’s oil supplies are of key significance to the EU, but southern European countries also fear a massive influx of refugees from the country. In addition, chaos and lawlessness in Libya could allow Islamist extremists to establish a greater presence in the country.

More broadly, the crisis in MENA has served notice to authoritarian regimes around the world that they are not immune from popular uprisings. Governments in Venezuela, Belarus, several African countries, Central Asia, North Korea, Myanmar, and even China will become ever more vigilant to the possibility of public unrest.

As far as global financial markets are concerned, the combination of supply-side risks to oil and massive political uncertainty in a strategically important region is bad news for risk trades. Business Monitor International’s global macro team has modelled a ‘worst-case scenario’ in which oil prices spike to US$200/bbl. The company’s special report also reveals that Asia’s economic growth is particularly vulnerable to high oil prices, because most countries in the region import more than 90% of their oil needs.

European economies are also likely to be hit by high oil prices the company reveals, and policymakers in the continent will also be wary of the security risks of Libya’s descent into chaos. However, one relative beneficiary is likely to be Russia. Although there are several Russian oil firms with stakes in the Libyan oil market, high oil prices are generally positive for the Russian economy, provided that any price surge does not tip the global economy back into recession.

Via EPR Network
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Vebnet and Standard Life Launch Box of Benefits

Vebnet and Standard Life announce the launch of their Box of Benefits (BOB). BOB is an off-the-shelf employee benefits solution designed specifically for UK-based SME companies.

This new proposition has been built using technology from Vebnet, a market-leading provider of technology and services for reward and benefit strategies, and is based on insight from employers looking for a packaged solution.

The business of selecting and managing benefits can take a lot of time, administration and money, however BOB makes it easier for employers to offer their employees great staff benefits packages including a pension, because it is simple to manage and affordable. This is achieved through a single online portal that helps with employee benefits management, the administration of the benefits and reporting requirements.

BOB can be personalised for every company and implemented quickly. Employees receive access to BOB’s user-friendly online technology, with the option to choose from a range of employee benefits, including childcare vouchers, money off bicycles, dental insurance, private medical insurance, pension and travel insurance.

Gerry O’Neill, managing director of corporate solutions said: “Most employers now realise the value of a good benefits package. But for some there is still the concern that it is going to be too costly, or that the administration will take up too much time. Box of Benefits can solve these problems through a boxed up solution that makes flex cost-effective.”

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Stockpair.com Launches Pair Options, the First Trading Product to Enable Direct Trading Based on the Relative Performance of Stocks

Stockpair ( www.stockpair.com ) has announced the launch of the first ever Pair Options trading platform. Pair Options are a new category of market-neutral online trading products that are based on the relative performance of stocks. Pair Options trading is based on picking the best performing stock within a given stock pair (such as Apple/Google, Vodafone/BT etc.) therefore limiting the exposure to general market direction. Stockpair has taken elements from the professional Pair Trading strategy and turned it into a compelling, intuitive and trader-friendly product.

“What’s extremely valuable is that since you trade on the relative performance of two stocks, you’re essentially using a market neutral instrument,” commented Yoel Mann, Stockpair’s VP of Marketing. “What really matters is how one stock has performed against another, and not necessarily how it performs in absolute terms, so even if the market goes down, there is no affect on profits.”

The platform services the global community of traders, professionals and beginners. Within the fairly conservative financial industry, stockpair’s launch is a rare occasion on which a completely new product is to be introduced to the market, not to mention a product that simplifies a proven trading technique and makes a new effective trading paradigm accessible to traders of all levels of experience.

Stockpair is built upon a patent-pending pricing engine and an innovative visual interface which offers a unique, interactive trading experience. The platform offers Pair Options on more than 70 stocks from exchanges around the world, based on real time market data. The system enables taking decisions and making trades within seconds, allowing traders to quickly capture market opportunities.

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Saxo Bank Video Looks at Post-quake Japanese Investment Opportunities

Saxo Bank has released a new Equity Focus video featuring the company’s Equity Strategist Peter Garnry. The video looks at what the possible implications for investors interested in the Japanese stock market are in the short and long-term, with the total impact and cost of the massive earthquake in Japan, related tsunamis and nuclear crisis still unclear. The Bank of Japan has introduced a series of policy easing measures but there is still doubt that this will be enough to create market stability in the Japanese stock market.

Comparing Japan’s current situation to the state of the country’s market following the huge earthquake which occurred in the city of Kobe in 1995, Peter Garnry commented that the stock market remained steady in the days following that disaster but people underestimated its effects and within four months the market had fallen by 25%. When asked whether this was due to the Kobe earthquake hitting a large industrial area of Japan rather than the coastal areas devastated by the recent quake (although some car manufacturing and electronics plants were forced to stop production) Garnry replied that the effect on the market will only be known in the coming months. He also stated that the aftermath of the earthquake could be a great opportunity for many investors to be exposed to Japanese stocks and subsequently invest in them.

With the current disaster coming on top of an already exorbitant national debt status there are increased concerns that the Japanese economy could be pushed back into recession. Meanwhile, major Japanese exporters are being hurt by forced shutdowns due to power shortages, while the yen, at least for now, is supported by the Bank of Japan’s massive liquidity injection into the banking system. As it’s still early days there’s a chance that just a few months down the road the impact on Japan’s economy and currency might be somewhat different and this could result in some interesting investment opportunities in large Japanese export driven stocks.

About Saxo Bank:
Saxo Bank is an online trading and investment specialist, enabling clients to trade Forex, CFDs, Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives, as well as providing portfolio management via SaxoWebTrader and SaxoTrader, the leading online forex trading platforms. The three specialised and fully integrated trading platforms; the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader application are available in over 20 languages. The Saxo Bank website features a wealth of investment advice, trading products, market news and analysis, including forex videos.

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Risk and Insurance Article Archive Announced at ClaudePenland.com/multimedia by Actuary

Claude Penland, Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society with twenty years of insurance industry experience, announces his new article archive at ClaudePenland.com/multimedia.

All pieces are written by Claude Penland, with many additional risk and insurance articles planned. Informative pieces in the archive include:

-10 Prominent Influenza Pandemic Models: Death, Disease and Economic Loss Modeling

-20 Insurance Trends to Watch

-More Insurance Trends to Watch for Actuaries, Underwriters and Claims Personnel, Part 2

-2011 Web Trends, Including Social Networking and Venture Capital

-An Exciting Time to Consider the Microinsurance Market

-Annual Property and Casualty Reinsurance Salary Survey

-Handy Executive Recruitment and Job Hunting Tools

-Health Insurance Compensation Survey at Top 10 United States Insurers

-Life Insurance Salaries at the Top Among CEO’s, Chairmen and Others

-Pension Risk Trends: Companies, Governments, Accounting, Oh My

-Predictive Modeling for Actuaries: Eight Great PowerPoint Presentations and Articles

-Property and Casualty Insurance Salaries in the C-Suite

-Recent Activity Among Insurance Company Startups and Branch Operations

-Recent Activity in the Global Reinsurance Market

-Recent Activity in the Takaful (Islamic Insurance) Market

-So Why Do Job Hunters Use Executive Recruiters?

-Social Networking for Insurance Professionals on LinkedIn, Parts One, Two, Three, Four and Five

-Ten International Emerging Risks for Insurers and Reinsurers

At ClaudePenland.com, Claude Penland, casualty actuary and webmaster, writes at least six times daily about international risk, insurance, financial and web trends. To subscribe to Claude’s daily digest, visit ClaudePenland.com/subscribe.

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Insurance Social Networking, Predictive Modeling and Microinsurance Presentations Available

Three insurance-related presentations and videos have been released for immediate viewing at ClaudePenland.com/multimedia. All presentations are free to download and share.

The first presentation is called “LinkedIn Social Networking for Insurance Professionals”. LinkedIn is the most active professional social network in the world.. According to their press materials, they have over 90 million international members, with roughly half of those members residing in the United States. If you work in insurance or reinsurance as an underwriter, attorney, accountant, actuary, actuarial analyst, risk manager, claims professional, financial analyst, agent or other insurance role, this presentation will list for you some of the more active insurance-related jobs and discussion groups on LinkedIn.

“Microinsurance is Exciting” is the second presentation. Microinsurance is generally designed for low-income businesses and individuals who aren’t typically covered by traditional insurance. It is usually sold at low premiums and low coverage limits / caps. It has a potential eventual annual premium of $40 billion worldwide.

A third presentation is titled “Predictive Modeling for Life, Health and Property & Casualty Actuaries”. This predictive analytics presentation provides eight examples of strong industry presentations and articles where actuaries can apply predictive modeling to life insurance, property and casualty insurance and health insurance / actuarial data.

These presentations were authored by Claude Penland, a casualty actuary and webmaster with twenty years of insurance industry experience. On ClaudePenland.com, Claude writes at least six times a day on the international insurance-related and web-related issues that he explores daily, and regularly posts interesting presentations, videos and articles at ClaudePenland.com/multimedia.

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Vebnet and Towers Watson Announce Partnership Throughout Latin America

Vebnet, a market-leading global technology provider of total rewards and flexible benefits solutions, and Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a leading global professional services company, have announced a formal partnership in Latin America.

The partnership combines Towers Watson’s expertise in benefits, investment and communication consulting with Vebnet’s market-leading technology to support organisations that need portal-based flexible employee benefit schemes. Vebnet and Towers Watson have a similar, successful partnership in Asia Pacific.

“The increasing diversity of today’s workforce makes flexibility an essential component of benefit provision and total rewards programs,” said Segundo Tascon, Latin America benefits director of Towers Watson.

“Together, Towers Watson and Vebnet will offer a fully integrated yet highly configurable solution to clients and their employees. Vebnet’s FIX&FLEX is an intuitive and highly configurable technology application that enables companies to provide education and information content through engaging communications and consistent messaging within a common employee brand.”

By combining Vebnet’s technology, bespoke communication programs delivered through multimedia channels and highly experienced consulting and implementation teams, Towers Watson can develop and deliver a differentiated employee benefit strategy and solution to leading companies. This solution can include communications plans, total rewards statements, flexible benefits and online pay slips to bring more choice, empowerment, flexibility and automation to the company’s benefit scheme. The technology can be deployed in multiple languages and currencies and be the application controlling multinational or global employee benefit scheme provision and administration.

This technology currently supports over 260 organizations, covering 400,000 employees. The technology is deployed in over 20 countries and in different languages including Chinese, Thai and Spanish.

Via EPR Network
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TradingFloor.com Releases Video On European Growth

TradingFloor.com, the home of Saxo Bank’s trading commentary, financial research and analysis, has released a video discussing the current European growth.

The European growth situation is particularly in focus, with quite a bit of key macro data being published which is expected to confirm the ‘growth story’. In the video Mads Koefoed, macro strategist at Saxo Bank’s TradingFloor.com discusses the growth in Europe and in the U.S.

Mads first discusses Eurozone industrial production in addition to the Eurozone and some individual members’ GDP reports. The industrial production numbers of -0.1% were a little below consensus expectations but above TradingFloor.com’s expectations of -0.4%. Even though the numbers had declined, the manufacturing sector is still growing strongly in the Eurozone. The declining numbers are thought to be attributed to the very strong November numbers, which saw industrial production rising 1.4% month on month, so some give back is it to be expected in December’s numbers. The very poor weather in December will also have had some affect on production numbers. Mads expects the numbers to improve for January.

The overall GDP reports were also fairly good and what was expected. Countries like Spain performed better than expected with a result of 2% up. With Germany continuing to drive the Eurozone, Mads predicts a fairly robust growth in the Eurozone in the fourth quarter.

Furthermore, also in focus is a meeting of Europe’s Finance Ministers and any indications of increasing the debt stability of southern Eurozone members. While Mads does not foresee much news coming out of the event, he does foresee them discussing the Germany and France proposal to put in place a measure against debt increase to hopefully ensure a more harmonized corporate tax system in the Eurozone, despite other leaders not being completely behind this.

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Substantial Presentations on Insurance Trends, Emerging Risks and Pandemic Modelling Released by Actuary

Claude Penland, casualty actuary and webmaster, has produced at ClaudePenland.com/multimedia three informative PowerPoint presentations and videos foractuaries, actuarial analysts, underwriters, financial analysts, accountants, consultants, claims personnel and others in the insurance and reinsurance industries.

The first presentation, “10 Influenza Pandemic Models”, profiles models from the Society of Actuaries, Milliman, VirSim, Risk Management Solutions, Military Science, INFORMS, Los Alamos, open source alternatives and others.

The second is entitled “40 Insurance Trends for 2011”. Forty insurance trends are considered, including healthcare, health plan grandfathering, asset quality, Takaful, microinsurance, emerging risks, insurance industry job losses, predictive analytics use, as well as other global insurance and reinsurance trends.

The third presentation is called “10 Emerging Risks for Insurers and Reinsurers”. These risks include infrastructure, cyber attacks, space weather, nanotechnology and municipal bankruptcies.

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TradingFloor.com Releases Video on the German Economy

TradingFloor.com, the home of Saxo Bank’s trading commentary, financial research and analysis, has released the video ‘Why the German economy continues to outperform in Eurozone’.

Despite a minor correction in industrial orders in December, the German economy continues to stand out from the rest of the Eurozone members in terms of growth. In the video Mads Koefoed, macro strategist at Saxo Bank’s Tradingfloor.com, discusses the performance of Europe’s largest economy versus the 16 other Eurozone members.

Mads Koefoed discusses two main reasons why he believes the Germany economy is continuing to outperform other countries in the Eurozone. Germany is turning part of its foreign exports away from other countries in the Eurozone and towards Asia. While Germany still continues to do a lot of trade within the Eurozone, by turning to Asia, where more solid growth is taking place, it is doing better than other Eurozone countries that have not moved some of their trade overseas.

Southern countries such as Spain, Portugal and Italy have also seen higher cuts on public spending than have happened in Germany, meaning Germany should recover much stronger.

Mads is optimistic that the economic growth of Germany will continue throughout 2011 and hopefully into 2012, because while Germany is cutting costs, it is not doing it as harshly as other countries.

Northern areas of the Eurozone such as the Netherlands and France are expected to catch up with Germany first, though it looks doubtful whether the southern countries will make real advance any time soon. Mads mentions that other countries outside of the Eurozone, such as the UK, should catch up fairly quickly as well. While the UK may see a weak first half due to the rise in VAT and the public spending cuts, the second half of 2011 should see a strong rebound.

The Eurozone economy video is available to view on the Saxo Bank TradingFloor website.

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Expanding Insurance News, Web Trends Website Announced at ClaudePenland.com

A rapidly growing insurance news and web trends website was recently created and launched at ClaudePenland.com. This six-month-old website was conceived by Claude Penland, an established casualty actuary with twenty years of industry experience.

Claude writes at least six times a day on the international business issues that he explores daily. These global topics include insurance news (4InsuranceNews.com), insurance startup companies (InsuranceStartups.com), insurance mergers and acquisitions (WhoBoughtWho.com), insurance trends (InsTrends.com), reinsurance news and trends (ReinsuranceTrends.com), web startups (1000Startups.com), web trends (WebTrendInfo.com), web development, pension risk (PensionRiskNews.com), catastrophe risk (CatRisky.com), Solvency II European insurance regulations (SolvencyDeux.com), Takaful (TakafulMe.com), predictive analytics (PredNews.com), risk management (TheRiskNews.com), odd business ideas (OddBusinessIdeas.com), plus finance and investment.

New topics are frequently added to ClaudePenland.com and there is an interesting quote posted every Friday (FridaysQuote.com). 27 separate RSS news feeds are offered.

On ClaudePenland.com/multimedia, informative PowerPoint presentations and YouTube videos authored by Claude Penland are often featured. These include diverse presentations on worldwide topics such as catastrophe risk trends, actuarial news, predictive analytics, the China/Hong Kong insurance markets, reinsurance, social networking startups trends, Solvency II European insurance regulations, Europe’s insurance markets, insurance startups, Bermuda’s insurance market, executive recruitment, the Takaful market, web trends, India’s insurance market, job hunting and technology, web development, insurance mergers and acquisitions, as well as pension risk trends.

All presentations are free to download and share. Claude’s “40 Web Trends for 2011” presentation was recommended highly recently at ClaudePenland.com/recommendations.

At ClaudePenland.com/salary-surveys, compensation surveys are provided pertaining to insurance and reinsurance C-level executives. These surveys were generated from publicly-available U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. They include property and casualty insurance (CasualtySalarySurvey.com), life insurance (LifeSalarySurvey.com), health insurance (HealthSalarySurvey.com), and also property and casualty reinsurance (ReinsuranceSalarySurvey.com).

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Singapore Options and Futures Exchange (SGOFX) Announces New Copper Contract

A new contract was released to subscribers. This contract is for copper ore and the length and investment opportunity for subscribers is unique.

Singapore Options and Futures Exchange continues to expand its offerings of pre-sold commodities contract participations with the announcement today of a Copper Ore contract that has an approximate length of 100 days from inception to payout.

“We are excited about our new Copper Ore offering, not only because we have expanded into this potentially lucrative commodity, but also because we are continuing to lengthen our contracts, allowing us to maintain attractive risk-adjusted returns while increasing profitability” said Mr. Samuel D. Brown, SGOFX press officer.

The future holds that even more contracts will be available. From Coffee and Sugar; to Iron Ore and Copper Ore, SGOFX is working hard to offer investors a variety of investment opportunities so that they can realize a more varied investment opportunity.

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SGOFX Visitors and Culture Center

Singapore Options and Futures Exchange (SGOFX), today announced its plans for the construction of its new Visitors and Cultural Center facility. The center will be located the SGOFX office and will greatly expand the footprint of the exchange space. The facility measures 1200 square meters and includes raised flooring, provides 24×7 climate control through grade air handling units and provides electrical power redundancy through a combination of Uninterruptible Power Supplies and diesel back up power generator. The SGOFX Visitors and Cultural Center will offer visitors a variety of presentations, in English, on the main aspects of the Securities, Commodities and Futures Exchange, its markets, trading systems, projects, indices and statistics.

SGOFX Visitors and Cultural Center is due for opening in April 2011 and is expected to receive 350-400 visitors a day. Here, visitors can watch 3-D institutional videos, lectures and simulations of trades carried out by a brokerage, in addition to learning about the history of the Exchange.

The space will as well provide visitors with the opportunity of enjoying works of art by renowned foreign artists and exhibitions of historic value.

“We are extremely pleased to announce the upcoming 2011 opening of our new Visitors and Cultural Center facility. This project is a major undertaking and our entire team handles the transition professionally and we now look forward to providing our customers an even better experience and understanding of the commodity markets and exchange insights”, said Mr. Samuel D. Brown, SGOFX press officer.

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Not All NAIC Suitability Training Solutions Are Created Equal

With the Iowa Suitability Requirement becoming active on January 1, 2010 there is no doubt that insurance carriers are scrambling to find the best solution. While most solutions are similar in that they will offer State Specific Training and Carrier Specific Training the means and methods in which they deliver the training will differ from provider to provider. Quest is proud to offer the industry’s most comprehensive, user friendly and cost effective solution to the NAIC Suitability Regulation.

Using proprietary technology, Quest has the ability to meet each individual carrier’s NAIC Suitability Training needs. While most carriers will opt for a Single Suitability Platform, there are some carriers with captivate agents that would prefer a private label solution. Quest has built their reputation on providing innovative solutions and advanced custom technologies. This custom technology addresses the needs of the carrier wishing to have an NAIC Training portal branded specifically for their company and their producers. A private label solution will match the carriers’ look and feel providing an effective marketing tool and sense of good will with the carrier’s producers. Custom reporting, in addition to daily PGP encrypted data feeds are standard with all of Quest’s learning platforms and will serve as an integral function in both private label solutions and the Single Source Solution.

While other NAIC Suitability Training Providers have turned to their old, outdated technologies to address the growing demand of training required of producers, Quest has specifically designed their NAIC Suitability Training Portals with the users in mind. Quest’s simple three step process allows producers to either self-register for their training or be loaded in on the front end by their carriers. The first step requires the producer to select the State Specific Training required by the NAIC. Currently the only state with a requirement in place is Iowa. The second step asks the producer to select the insurance carriers that they sell for so they can select their Carrier/Product Specific Training at step three. The process is intuitive and seamless. The producer will easily be able to create their user profile loaded with all of the training they need to continue to sell their carriers’ products.

Quest’s system puts control in the hands of the producers. The logic behind this method is that the producer knows better than anyone else which carriers they sell for and which state and product specific training they need to complete. Other vendors trust complicated and incomplete databases which rely on each carriers list of producers to be correct and constantly updated. Quest’s solution allows for flexibility and intelligence so producers are able to use the training portal as a way of updating their own records with the carriers they represent. On demand reporting and daily data feeds will ensure that producers are compliant with their requirements and able to place business with the carriers they represent as soon as possible.

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Banks, Financial, Financial Education, Financial Management, Insurance Services, Investment, Money

Quest CE Introduces the 2010 NAIC Suitability Regulation Solution

Quest Continuing Education Solutions (Quest CE) is proud to announce the solution to the 2010 NAIC Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation. Quest’s simple two-tiered approach will provide an “All-In-One” Solution for Insurers, Distributors and Producers that fall under the NAIC’s new regulation.

Quest’s 4-hour annuity course in Iowa has been approved by the state and meets the Iowa Administrative Rule 191-15.72 for a one-time, four (4) hour annuity training course requirement. In addition, this course is approved for resident CE credit. Per the new NAIC Suitability Regulation, Quest will also provide insurer-product specific training in their Industry Leading Learning Management System, Renaissance.

NAIC Suitability Regulation Training through Quest allows for automated encrypted data and completion feeds. Feeds can be sent on a daily basis or as often as the program administrator desires. Quest’s system also allows for participants in the program to be bulk loaded into the training platform. Ensure your programs compliance with Quest so beginning January 1, 2011 your producers are able to sell your annuities in Iowa.

The NAIC Suitability Regulation Training platform will provide:

• A dedicated location where a producer can complete all of their required training requirements and view the status of each requirement within the Model Regulation;
• Updated training posted to the site subsequent to initial training including additional State Specific Annuity Requirements as they become effective;
• A company specific branded web portal where insurers can comply with the new regulation and update their product-specific training courses in their student profiles;
• The ability to print completion certificates online 24/7;
• An automatic e-mail notification system allowing insurers to instantly notify producers of new or updated product specific training requirements;
• Automated and PGP encrypted customized data feeds with real-time search tools for insurers and Broker/Dealers to satisfy compliance requirements and training.

Quest’s NAIC Suitability Regulation Training Solution is available now and ready for demonstration or implementation. Contact Quest at 877-593-3366 or e-mail Quest at sales@questce.com to speak with one of our dedicated Sales Team Members about guaranteeing your 2010 NAIC Suitability Regulation Training today.

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401K, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Services, Investment, IRA, Money, Personal Finance, Retirement

Financial Planners: Three Questions To Ask For The Current Market

Especially in today’s economic climate, many people are reassessing their financial planners. A large amount of people have been losing money in the market, so clients should not be unnecessarily harsh with their planner; however, individuals must find out if their planner is using this widespread downturn to cover personal mistakes. Here are three questions clients should ask their financial planners.

1. How many personal investment have performed? Clients should find out how their own investments measure up to the Dow and use the current situation to benchmark performance. Find out how these investment compare to relevant indexes or funds with similar strategies. These should be examined over recent months and years, not day to day activity. If it is found that an advisor is doing much worse than benchmarks, they may have made bad decisions. If it is much better, examine whether they got lucky on risky investments. Clients should get detailed explanations.

2. How do the current investments meet with personal goals? One of the top advantages of working with financial planners is that they should be choosing investments that fall within an overall financial plan and time frame. This is to keep long-term funds mainly in stocks for future growth without the need to sell in order to cover expenses. An advisor should know how much in emergency funds a client should have, where it is invested and how liquid it is.

3. What adjustments are being made for the current market. The best financial planners have plans in place for such market downturns. An advisor should not make rash decisions in a market downturn. This is especially true for well-diversified and properly time framed investments. An investor should recommend caution when looking at additions to equity exposure during a downturn.

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