We would love to hear from you. Click on the ‘Contact Us’ link to the right and choose your favorite way to reach-out!

wscdsdc

media/speaking contact

Jamie Johnson

business contact

Victoria Peterson

Contact Us

855.ask.wink

Close [x]
pattern

Industry News

Categories

  • Industry Articles (21,225)
  • Industry Conferences (2)
  • Industry Job Openings (35)
  • Moore on the Market (420)
  • Negative Media (144)
  • Positive Media (73)
  • Sheryl's Articles (803)
  • Wink's Articles (354)
  • Wink's Inside Story (275)
  • Wink's Press Releases (123)
  • Blog Archives

  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • August 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • November 2008
  • September 2008
  • May 2008
  • February 2008
  • August 2006
  • The Highs And Lows Of 4Q Earnings

    February 17, 2015 by Cyril Tuohy, cyril.tuohy@innfeedback.com

    Front row seats to Genworth Financial’s earnings call was the hot ticket in this batch of earnings releases as the company announced that the completion of its active life margin review was “substantially complete.”

    The findings “positive in the aggregate,” in the words of president and CEO Thomas McInerney, were good and bad, but not quite as bad as many had feared and the stock rallied 3.2 percent $8.06 in late morning trading Wednesday.

    A block of long-term care policies owned by the company was found to have a “positive margins,” but other blocks of long-term care policies acquired by the Richmond, Va.-based company’s New York subsidiary were found to have “negative margins,” due to higher claims severity and lower interest rates.

    As a result, the company took an after-tax charge of $478 million, the company said.

    The company, which operates in the international mortgage insurance and life insurance arenas, also said it had boosted claim reserves by $24 million.

    In the end, the financials weren’t pretty.

    The company reported a fourth quarter net loss of $760 million on revenue of $2.32 billion compared with net income of $208 million on revenue of $2.41 billion in the year-ago quarter.

    The company also reported a full-year 2014 net loss of $1.24 billion on revenue of $9.56 billion, compared with 2013 net income of $560 million on revenue of $9.40 billion.

    McInerney said the troubles affecting company’s older blocks of long-term business had overshadowed strong performances in other parts of the business.

    He also said the company had implemented a restructuring plan — read layoffs — to save the company $100 million a year by 2016.

    Several years ago, many long-term care companies left the business. With people living longer, many carriers discovered that they had underpriced their policies, which made it difficult for insurers to turn a profit.

    McInerney, however, said Genworth remained committed to the long-term care insurance business, and that the company would ask state regulators to raise prices and reduce benefits on in-force blocks of long-term care policies.

    “In addition to securing future premium increases or benefit reductions, we will continue to develop higher return, lower risk new long-term care and combo products to address the growing long-term care needs and increasing size of the aging U.S. population,” McInerney said.

    If Genworth Financial and its long-term care business offered one of the dramatic highlights of this season’s quarterly earnings dramas brought on in part by the volatility of interest rates, Ameriprise Financial reminded that market that the life and retirement business is filled with stories of the “slow and steady.”

    The Minneapolis-based planning and wealth management company turned in a robust fourth quarter in part on the strength of its advice and wealth management segment.

    The company reported fourth quarter 2014 net income of $426 million, an increase of 43 percent over the year-ago period, and also reported full-year 2014 net income of $1.66 billion, an increase of 14 percent over 2013.

    Fourth quarter earnings per share of $2.23, jumped 42 percent over the year-ago quarter, the company also reported.

    James M. Cracchiolo, chairman and CEO, said the company had brought in another 73 financial advisors in the fourth quarter.

    “The productivity of the advisors we’re attracting continues to grow and our recruiting pipeline for 2015 looks good,” Cracchiolo said in an earnings conference call with analysts last month.

    Productivity was $496,000 per advisor, an increase of 13 percent compared to a year ago, the company also reported.

    Ameriprise is active in the retail financial advice, asset management, annuities and life insurance business.

    Chief financial officer and executive vice president Walter S. Berman said the company expects to generate as much as 70 percent of pretax operating earnings from its Advice & Wealth Management and Asset Management segments.

    “As we bring in experienced advisors and help transfer their books, their productivity ramps up over time,” Berman said.

    That, in turn, is helping to expand the company’s profit margins.

    “Margins in the employee channel were approximately 10 percent in the quarter and were almost 19 percent in the franchise channel,” he said. “We feel good about the improvement we’re seeing across this business to dive profitability even higher.”

    Retail client asset values in the fourth quarter rose to $444 billion, a jump of 9 percent from the year-ago quarter, the company also said.

    Company executives also said that the company’s “Confident Retirement” marketing campaign strategy, which targets baby boomers, is being expanded to a younger demographic, people in the accumulation stage of their financial lives.

    Members of Generation X and Generation Y “fit within our sweet spot,” Cracchiolo said.

    Originally Posted at InsuranceNewsNet on February 12, 2015 by Cyril Tuohy, cyril.tuohy@innfeedback.com.

    Categories: Industry Articles
    currency