A patchwork of state and federal fiduciary and best-interest investment advice regulation is emerging, according to the Eversheds Sutherland law firm. The firm has created a chart to help financial professionals keep track of them.

The Center for Economic Justice has asked the National Association of Insurance Commissioners not to change its rule on annuity illustrations to allow issuers to illustrate the performance of indexes less than 10 years old. However, Jim Poolman, executive director of the Indexed Annuity Leadership Council, argues that keeping the rule as is would exclude many newer exchange-traded funds that are innovative and efficient.

Advisors often overlook portability in estate planning, a strategy that allows a surviving spouse to inherit a deceased spouse's estate-tax exemption, essentially doubling it. To be eligible for portability, clients must file tax form 706 within nine months of the death.

Traditionally retirees have moved from the homes in which they raised their children to smaller abodes. But many boomers are now choosing not to, remaining in larger homes and contributing to the nation's housing shortage.

The North American Securities Administrators Association has made public a model cybersecurity rule for investment advisors registered with state regulators. The proposed rule would require advisors to adopt written cybersecurity and physical-security policies to safeguard clients' information.

Federal Reserve officials are discussing ways to drive inflation higher that are more effective than previous efforts, which for a decade have kept the central bank short of 2%. Strategies include letting prices rise as much as 3% or 4% in some years, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans said.

Experts weigh in on issues that can make or break an independent advisory firm's long-term viability. Among the 10 obstacles they cite are a lack of leadership skills and a failure to incorporate new technology.

Investment advisors are increasingly finding themselves in competition for clients with their own custody and clearing firms, writes Bill Capuzzi of Apex Clearing. "With massive marketing dollars, [custodians] are promoting human and digital advice relationships for mass-affluent and high-net-worth investors, with technology and pricing that grabs attention," he writes.

Retirement anxiety is growing among baby boomers, many of whom have little to no retirement savings, forcing more boomers to postpone retirement. IRI's annual survey of boomers found that 45% have zero savings for their golden years, and even those with savings are lacking in a number of retirement preparedness factors. Read the report.

Leading off this edition of IRI Insight is an article examining how to best assist women with their unique retirement-planning challenges, such as earnings lag, time pressures and a fundamentally different approach to decision-making. Also in this issue: helping clients understand options to preserve their savings; casting a new light on the value of annuities through the lens of retirement realities; and examining the effect of sequence-of-returns risk on retirement savings. The issue also includes a snapshot of government retirement plan contribution and benefit limits and Medicare income-based premiums for 2019. Get your copy here.