Thanks for Making the Fall Conference and Awards Gala
the Best Ever!

The RIIA Fall Conference and Awards Gala 2011 received accolades from the record-breaking number of attendees. With the theme of "getting ahead of the retirement income curve", this unique, intimate event focused on the future of the industry and positioning attendees for success in the retirement income arena.

RIIA members can access the presentations by loging into the member area.

Some highlights included:

The exciting results of the Awards Gala which featured the winners of the Excellence in Communications Awards as well as Richard Thaler as the winner of the Award for Applied Retirement Research. To learn more, check out the recent press release on this special event.
DTCC's announcement of its relationship with RIIA to combine forces to provide enhanced views of DTCC's new Analytic Reporting for Annuities which is a breakthrough online solution for companies in the annuity business to better track their sales, their marketing campaigns, and their position in the marketplace.
The presentation of the first Academic Thought Leadership Award by Bruce Wolfe of Allianz Global Investors to winners Duncan Williams, Doctoral Candidate at Texas Tech University and his advisor, Michael S. Finke, PhD. In addition to receiving the award and a $5,000 check, their winning paper was published in the Fall issue of the Retirement Management Journal^SM.
RIIA announced that Texas Tech is now the second university approved to teach the Retirement Management Analyst curriculum in preparation for the RMA^SM examination. This week-long intensive seminar complements Boston University''s distance learning RMA preparation course. To learn more about the seminar scheduled for February 20-25, 2012. please contact Michael Finke at michael.finke@ttu.edu.
What Research magazine calls, "among the most atypical of presentations on the financial lecture circuit, classicist, military historian and farmer Victor Davis Hanson told financial advisors and industry executives at the RIIA Fall Conference that the long-term future of the U.S. is as hopeful as its present is dismal." Among the most read articles on AdvisorOne.com, "Hanson concluded that a shift back toward a culture of respect for creation of capital and a systematic effort to capture wealth would unleash the torrent of jobs so far missing in our economic recovery and would avoid the disease of affluence that was a key cause of the erosion."
Incredibly astute comments and insights from the Gold Sponsor speakers from Putnam Investments, Merrill Lynch and New York Life. You'll find a quick summary of their remarks here.
Compelling discussions around the importance of planning for escalating healthcare costs in retirement with moderator Charlie Baker and panelists Jeffrey Cohen, MD, Sharon Carson, Vice President with Merrill Lynch, and Kevin McGarry, Director of Retirement Income Strategies for Nationwide Financial. ALINE, a leading developer of advanced insoles (called foot suspension systems) for footwear, provided attendees with a free fitting using their ALINEr laser leg alignment device as attendees contemplated the issues around healthcare costs and opportunities for Boomers to look for non-traditional, less expensive alternatives to keep them fit and on the move.
A presentation from Doug Short, Vice President of Research, d-short Advisor Perspectives, where he looked at some of the underlying dynamics of change, demographics and the undercurrents which will likely create a "New Normal" for many years come. The first in a series of articles based on his RIIA talk recently was posted in Advisor Perspectives.
Updates from RIIA Committees on new research, benchmarking efforts, and initiatives to break down business barriers in income annuity growth and creating a consumer education website.
And much more! Check out the conference brochure.
RIIA members can access the presentations by logging into the member area.

"Merrill Lynch supports RIIA because RIIA's focus is on sharing ideas and advancing the thinking in retirement income planning and management in ways that will ultimately best serve clients." Bill Hunter, CFA, Director, Retirement Income Program Management, Merrill Lynch.

The momentum and excitement about the changes, energy and direction of the retirement income industry is building. Don't miss RIIA's next key event - the 2012 Spring Conference, March 19-20, 2012 in Chicago.

Recommend Books by Victor Davis Hanson

Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power

Ripples of Battle: How Wars of the Past Still Determine How We Fight, How We Live, and How We Think

View Conference Highlights

Conference Brochure

Welcome Address and Opening Remarks

François Gadenne, Co-Founder, Executive Director and Chair of the Retirement Income Industry Association

Al Turco, Co-Founder of RIIA, Counsel to the RIIA Board, and New England Managing Partner at McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP

RIIA Education Committee — Steve Mitchell, Curriculum Director; Chuck Robinson, Chair; Dana Anspach; Sean Ciemiewicz; Ruth Ann Murray; Michael Finke

The panel shared the work of the RIIA Education Committee over the past year including the evolution of the Retirement Management Analyst designation. The Education Committee also presented its initiative on creating a new consumer information section of the RIIA website.

Gold Sponsor Keynote — Matthew Grove, Vice President, Retirement Income Security, New York Life Target Date Funds,

Modern Portfolio Theory and the Illustion of Precision

RIIA Research Committee — Moderator Greg Cherry, Chair; Matt Greenwald; Adam
Bryan; Andrew Blumberg; Dennis Gallant; Howard Schneider

The panel provided an update on the initiatives underway through the Research Committee.

Matt Greenwald presented the latest finding on the 2011 version of the RIIA Benchmarking Survey.

Adam Bryan from DTCC detailed the features of a cutting-edge competitive analysis
database for annuity products.

Dennis Gallant and Howard Schneider reviewed the research that they published in a
RIIA-sponsored report on advisor practices in the retirement income space.

RIIA Committee Updates — Moderator Elvin Turner, Research Committee Chair; Gary Baker; Sri Reddy; Anand Rao;

Gary Baker

Committee shared the latest news on the group's initiative to break down the business barriers to income annuity growth especially as it relates to the valuation of annuitized assets.

Tom Cochrane; Bret Benham, Anand Rao

Committee members discussed the next steps on content creation and website development.

Luncheon Keynote — William Hunter, CFA, Director, Retirement Income Program Management, Merrill Lynch

Retirement Income: A Client’s Point of View

Thought Leadership Award:

Duncan Williams and Michael Finke

Presented by:

Bruce Wolfe, Allianz Global;
Bob Powell, Editor, Retirement Income Journal
Wade Pfau, Associate Professor of Exonomics, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies

Health Care Panel — Moderator Charlie Baker, Director at HealthView Services and Entrpreneur in Residence at General Catalyst Partners

Jeff Cohen; Sharon Carson, Merrill Lynch; Kevin McGarry, Nationwide

Charlie Baker, Former Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare CEO and Mass. Gubernatorial Candidate, brought his inside knowledge to this special Healthcare Panel, and added a health insurance perspective on how insurers view the future as it relates to health care costs for retirees.

Organized by Ron Mastrogiovanni, CEO of HealthView, the group discussed trends in healthcare, rising healthcare costs, and the impact on retirement income planning.

Professional Services Panel