Deals & People October 5, 2011

MIRA and SFS Form Partnership to Pool Resources

Millennium Investment and Retirement Advisors (MIRA) and Southeastern Fiduciary Services (SFS) have formed a partnership. 
Reported by

As part of the partnership, the resources of the two firms will be pooled to provide more technical expertise and enhanced services to their retirement plan clients.

SFS, founded by Bert M. Carmody, CPA, CIMC, AIF, provides independent fiduciary, operations, and governance support to retirement plan sponsors.  MIRA, founded by Rick Canipe, EA, provides investment consulting and fiduciary services to retirement plans. 

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SFS will continue to offer its ERISA fiduciary services and become a technical resource to MIRA on ERSIA retirement plan operational, compliance, and governance issues. Carmody will serve as a MIRA principal in the Atlanta area and direct ERISA consulting activities in the Southeast. 

Canipe stated, “This is an exciting time for two strong niche players to partner in solving the complex fiduciary and ERISA issues that confront retirement plan sponsors. The retirement plan industry benefits not from mergers where identities and skills disappear in the guise of efficiency or consolidation, but by partnerships of focused, niche firms where strengths are leveraged. The bar has been raised and these two firms will help our clients get over that bar and run their plans successfully.” 

Products October 5, 2011

Liberty Mutual Develops Partially Customizable Annuity

Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston is introducing its Freedom Series Builder Annuity.
Reported by

In addition to offering the benefits of fixed deferred annuities – including the opportunity to guarantee a stream of annuitized income for life – the Builder Series also offers users a degree of control, says Liberty Mutual. After paying a single premium, purchasers may choose from a menu of three modules that give Builder owners extra safeguards and access to their money, in exchange for a reduction in the interest rate they earn. Moreover, the modules’ features and pricing are fully transparent to the purchaser.

“Boomers researching safe options for their nest eggs should note that, at its core, the Builder is a fixed deferred annuity, a form of annuity that protects retirement funds from principal loss, while growing the funds tax-deferred,” said Mark McVeigh, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Distribution for Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston.

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The three modules that the Builder annuity is available in are: 

Extra Access2: lets customers withdraw a larger percentage of their account (10% annually), free of withdrawal charges, than the base version of the Builder allows. In addition, should the need arise to surrender the entire policy, Extra Access owners are guaranteed a return of their original premium.

Extra Care and Protection3: lets customers make withdrawals or surrender their policies, free of withdrawal charge, should they or their spouses become ill and require a qualifying medical stay; are diagnosed as terminally ill; or become unable to perform two of six daily living activities.

Extra Assurance:owners can withdraw any or all of their account value, free of withdrawal charge, should the annuity’s declared interest rate drop below the minimum threshold determined at the time of purchase.

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