MILWAUKEE, Oct. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Retirement planning is cited as a top reason individuals 18 and older obtain life insurance as part of an overall financial security strategy, according to new research from Northwestern Mutual. The research found that one in four Americans is incorporating life insurance into their retirement planning efforts.

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Marriage stood out as the most common driver (32 percent) for purchasing life insurance, while other factors included the birth of a child (22 percent) and home ownership (19 percent).

"Individuals have long recognized the importance of life insurance in terms of providing financial protection to loved ones in the event of their death. However, these new study results show that people of all ages are also leveraging the flexibility of permanent life insurance to help meet long-term financial goals," said David Simbro, senior vice president of life and annuity products at Northwestern Mutual.

Simbro notes that life insurance plays a crucial role in planning, particularly as people grapple with the challenges of managing longevity in retirement.

The poll also found that:

Northwestern Mutual has a range of resources available to individuals seeking to learn more about longevity risk, life insurance and retirement planning, including:

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Northwestern Mutual from August 10-14, 2012, among 2,097 American adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. Contact Northwestern Mutual for complete survey methodology, including weighting variables.

About Northwestern Mutual The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company Milwaukee, WI (Northwestern Mutual) among the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2012 according to FORTUNE magazine has helped clients achieve financial security for more than 155 years. As a mutual company with $1.2 trillion of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual has no shareholders. The company focuses solely and directly on its clients and seeks to deliver consistent and dependable value to them over time. Northwestern Mutual and its subsidiaries offer a holistic approach to financial security solutions including: life insurance, long-term care insurance, disability insurance, annuities, investment products, and advisory products and services. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC, broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company, limited purpose federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company; and Russell Investments.

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Retirement Planning Reported as a Top Reason for Obtaining Life Insurance

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Global asset manager Russell Investments has launched the Russell Retirement Lifestyle Solution, a planning and investment program designed to help build a portfolio specifically for retirement goals. Available only through financial advisors, the program features an adaptive investment model strategy that aims to maintain a suitable clients funded status above 100% in retirement. The three-pronged framework easily leveraged and scalable for the advisor targets the primary concerns of many of their clients, that is, consistent income (reliability), not running out of money (sustainability) and maintaining control of their assets (flexibility).

The new program is initially available through two established partners Cambridge Investment Research and Lincoln Investment Planning and some of Russells largest clients in the Registered Investment Advisor channel.

Advisors are preparing for a sea change in their practices. Clients need more from them more time, more advice, more reassurance they are on track with their savings, and more personalized portfolios, said Sandy Cavanaugh, CEO for Russells advisor-sold business. Advisors know there isnt a magic bullet, but arent completely satisfied with the retirement income options available to them currently. They want to be sure they have the right tools to meet clients needs, while also managing their own practices efficiently and productively. Given this, we think advisors are going to find the Russell Retirement Lifestyle Solution to be a unique and valuable program that will help them navigate the retirement process, deliver a customized solution and provide ongoing support to their clients.

The three-pronged approach

The Retirement Lifestyle Solution consists of:

"Many of our independent advisors strive to provide their clients with financial plans and solutions that lead up to and through retirement, and this is important as clients consider how to plan their retirement spending and make their assets last, said Bobbi Martin, First VP, Marketing, at Cambridge Investment Research. Russells solution serves that effort well and provides advisors with a comprehensive support program to help them engage clients in meaningful, productive conversations on these vital questions.

In developing the Russell Retirement Lifestyle Solution, Russell leveraged proprietary research focused on advisors and their clients, in addition to leveraging its more than 40 years experience applying strategic market insights, global money manager research and rigorous investment processes to create and implement multi-asset portfolios for some of the largest institutional investors.

Investors need and want help managing their retirement assets. Our new offering and related resources aim to help advisors be more relevant, realistic and responsive to their clients, said Tim Noonan, director, Capital Markets Insights for Russells advisor-sold business. Reengaging investors around retirement planning is key in helping individuals avoid the scenario they fear most: running out of money before running out of life. The Russell Retirement Lifestyle Solution is an important element of Russells efforts to help advisors reengage their clients.

Central to the planning process is Russells Adaptive Investing approach to help manage the risk of an investor outliving their assets, which starts by evaluating whether the investor is sufficiently funded to meet their desired lifestyle in retirement. By measuring and managing the clients funded ratio (or ratio of assets to liabilities), an advisor can help answer their clients three key questions: How much can I spend? Will my money last? Am I on track?

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Russell Launches Retirement Lifestyle Solution

By HENRY C. JACKSON Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Short on time and tempers, House and Senate candidates in tight races are turning snarky and personal in their attacks on their opponents.

The stakes, and the unpleasantness, are highest in the race for control of the Senate, where Republicans need to gain four seats to win the majority - only three if Republican Paul Ryan becomes vice president and, in his role as Senate president, breaks any tie votes.

In Massachusetts, GOP Sen. Scott Brown witheringly mocks Democrat Elizabeth Warren's claims of Native American heritage. In Montana, Democratic Sen. Jon Tester pummels Rep. Denny Rehberg for suing a local fire department. Nevada's Sen. Dean Heller calls his opponent, Democratic Rep. Shelly Berkley, "the most corrupt" person he's ever met.

Across the land, candidates are launching incendiary attacks on each other in the final, fretful days of an election year colored by margin-of-error races that have refused to budge.

In the battle for control of the Senate, neither Republicans nor Democrats have put away enough seats to tip the balance of power. Republicans are favored to hold onto the House, where Democrats need to net 25 seats to regain control, but both parties want to win as many seats as possible.

Many candidates have maximized the support they can get by selling their own records and accomplishments and are now going negative, seeking to damage an opponent's credentials and depress his or her support. That point arrived long ago in the presidential contest. Down-ballot, things seem to just now be coming to a boil.

The closer the contest, the harsher the attacks.

Take Montana, home to 1 of the nation's closest and most bitter Senate races.

Sniping between Tester and Rehberg over who's the real Montanan and who's beholden to lobbyists turned harsher in the past week after Democrats launched a trio of ads searing Rehberg for suing a local fire company for damage on his land during a blaze. Tester personally took the matter to Rehberg in a face-to-face debate this week.

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Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, SportsTight Senate, House races turn snarky and personal

Austin, Texas, Oct. 10, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Trigger Point Performance is honored to be included in the 2012 Inc. 5000 List of America's Fastest Growing Companies. This latest achievement is a testament to the years of hard work by CEO and Founder Cassidy Phillips and his personal mission to create innovative products that empower people to accomplish feats they never thought possible.

"I am proud and honored to be a part of the Inc. 5000 List of America's Fastest Growing Companies. It's an amazing feeling to realize this personal goal and be in a position to lead a company that continues to grow year after year", says Phillips.

Austin based company Trigger Point Performance is number 898 on the overall list and comes in at number 66 for consumer goods. "It just goes to show you that a team of dedicated individuals, working together to create innovative and life changing products, can pave the way for the American dream," said Phillips.

About Trigger Point Performance: Trigger Point Performance is a life-enhancing brand concentrating on empowering people with revolutionary methodologies and patented products that maintain, regulate, and stimulate the muscular movement of the human body. Our mission is to provide the most practical style of products, education, and therapy to be used by anyone in need of a lifestyle change, performance enhancement or general wellness. Trigger Point Performance has successfully become the leader in personal performance care by marketing its sustainable human energy and in-home massage products to consumers in the athletic, healthcare and personal wellness markets. For more information, visit http://www.tptherapy.com.

About Inc.com: Inc. 500 celebrates the fastest growing, privately held companies in the United States. It was expanded to create Inc. 5000 to help readers get a broader and deeper understanding of the entrepreneurial landscape, as well as recognize a larger percentage of this important and growing market segment.

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Trigger Point Performance Named One of America's Fastest Growing Companies

Short on time and tempers, House and Senate candidates in tight races are turning snarky and personal in their attacks on their opponents.

The stakes, and the unpleasantness, are highest in the race for control of the Senate, where Republicans need to gain four seats to win the majority only three if Republican Paul Ryan becomes vice president and, in his role as Senate president, breaks any tie votes.

In Massachusetts, GOP Sen. Scott Brown witheringly mocks Democrat Elizabeth Warren's claims of Native American heritage. In Montana, Democratic Sen. Jon Tester pummels Rep. Denny Rehberg for suing a local fire department. Nevada's Sen. Dean Heller calls his opponent, Democratic Rep. Shelly Berkley, "the most corrupt" person he's ever met.

Across the land, candidates are launching incendiary attacks on each other in the final, fretful days of an election year colored by margin-of-error races that have refused to budge.

In the battle for control of the Senate, neither Republicans nor Democrats have put away enough seats to tip the balance of power. Republicans are favored to hold onto the House, where Democrats need to net 25 seats to regain control, but both parties want to win as many seats as possible.

Many candidates have maximized the support they can get by selling their own records and accomplishments and are now going negative, seeking to damage an opponent's credentials and depress his or her support. That point arrived long ago in the presidential contest. Down-ballot, things seem to just now be coming to a boil.

The closer the contest, the harsher the attacks.

Take Montana, home to one of the nation's closest and most bitter Senate races.

Sniping between Tester and Rehberg over who's the real Montanan and who's beholden to lobbyists turned harsher in the past week after Democrats launched a trio of ads searing Rehberg for suing a local fire company for damage on his land during a blaze. Tester personally took the matter to Rehberg in a face-to-face debate this week.

Firefighters "put their butt on the line. You don't turn around and respond by filing a lawsuit with monetary damages," Tester told Rehberg. "That is what you did."

See the article here:
Tight Senate, House Races Turn Snarky and Personal

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Farren Drury MBE, one of the UKs foremost transformational leadership and high performance coaches, has launched the unique Make it Yours Visual Success Map (VSM), a web and iPad-based goal mapping App designed to help people achieve their individual and joint goals and reach their maximum potential.

The Make It Yours App, is available through the Apple App store, was inspired by the wealth of experience Farren has built both in his distinguished military career and as a transformational leadership coach working with elite athletes, government departments and blue chip businesses globally.

The App can be adapted to achieving any kind of goal - from increasing business turnover to helping students pass exams, and from helping sportsmen achieve their goals to helping people lose weight - works by helping people to map out their routes to success. It promotes a high level of self-belief and enables people to gain support by sharing their goals with others.

The App allows the user to completely personalise their maps, incorporating pictures, music, videos and photographs that helps to inspire them in achieving their goal. The maps can be shared with friends and colleagues via social media platforms such as Facebook. A range of templates are provided which can help to get people started. Make it Yours is unique amongst goal setting software, and its being widely acknowledged as an exciting powerful and leading tool in the goal mapping arena.

Farren Drury, creator of the Make It Yours App, commented:

Often people with huge ambition cant see the wood for the trees - we all have so much everyday pressure it is easy for our big plans to be overshadowed by the plethora of other activities in our lives. When it comes to achieving excellence in a clearly defined task, success depends on the ability to put these distractions aside and focus on the clear steps you need to take to achieve what you want.

In 2012, we saw the nation going for gold. This innovative new App is part of that Olympic legacy which can help anyone to achieve their full potential. Harnessing visual, practical and action elements, the software will appeal to virtually anyone who wants to achieve anything and improve their life for the better, be it on a personal, group or corporate level.

-ends-

Notes to Editors

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Unique Visual Success Mapping Software Launched by Farren Drury MBE

WORCESTER, Mass., Oct. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Despite the rising cost of tuition, more than 80 percent of emerging adults ages 18 to 29 agree that one of the most important keys to success in life is a college education, according to the Clark University Poll of Emerging Adults.

Regardless of the potential debt awaiting them after graduating and the dire news about the job market for their generation, emerging adults insist that college costs are well spent. Nearly 90 percent are confident that eventually they will get what they want out of life. In addition, 16 percent of those surveyed believe that finishing college is the most important factor for becoming an adult.

"Today's emerging adults are optimistic. They know they're entering an economy that rewards the ability to use information to solve problems, and that's something a college education provides," said Clark Psychology Professor Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, who directed the study. "Emerging adults also know that employers select candidates who have a college degree over those who don't. Most emerging adults are willing to invest time, effort, and money into pursuing a degree."

"The Clark University Poll of Emerging Adults helps us identify the values, beliefs and expectations of 18- to 29-year-olds, including college students and graduates," said Clark University President David Angel. "Clark launched the Liberal Education and Effective Practice (LEEP) model for liberal education to give emerging adults the opportunity to develop the skills and capabilities that are crucial to success while helping them prepare for a productive, fulfilling life after college."

Clark's pioneering LEEP program better prepares today's students for the complex challenges of a rapidly changing world by fully integrating life-changing global, workplace and personal experiences with an innovative liberal arts curriculum, partnerships with leading employers and Clark alumni, and the signature Clark outcome of effective practice.

The Clark poll also shows that 37 percent of emerging adults have not been able to find enough financial support to get the education they need. Responding to this issue, Clark focuses on cutting costs without compromising the value of its education. "As a university, we stress being responsible to our students by ensuring a valuable return on investment. This is the essence of LEEP," said Angel.

The Clark University Poll of Emerging Adults is based on 1,029 interviews of 18- to 29-year-olds nationwide. The margin of error is +/- 3.06 percent. A mixed-mode methodology was used for this project. Visit http://www.clarku.edu/clarkpoll.

Founded in 1887 in Worcester, Massachusetts, Clark University is a small, liberal arts-based research university addressing social and human imperatives on a global scale. Clark is emerging as a transformative force in higher education today. LEEP (Liberal Education and Effective Practice) is Clark's pioneering model of education combining a robust liberal arts curriculum with life-changing world and workplace experiences. http://www.clarku.edu

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Survey: College Education Is Key To Success In Life For 18- To 29-Year-Olds

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - Oct 10, 2012) - The new book "Act. Adapt. Achieve." (Bionic Publishing, October 2012, ISBN: 1478286830: $12.95 paperback, $3.99 Kindle) reveals what is missing in the pursuit of most goals: the periodic analysis of the results of one's actions and the subsequent adaptations and course corrections that can lead to success. In this book, author Dean Erickson shares the process he developed while achieving success in academics, athletics, entertainment and the business world, as an Ivy League college graduate, honored athlete, former working actor and Wall Street trader, and current CEO of Bionic Capital LLC. "Act. Adapt. Achieve." introduces Erickson's newly-created "Idea Circle," which can be used by individuals who seek greater success in business, athletics, weight loss or almost any endeavor, and by larger organizations for project management, product development and other purposes.

The book explains how to:

Packed with motivation and information, including Success Worksheets to help readers stay on track, "Act. Adapt. Achieve." is meant for anyone who wants to live their best life and attain their goals.

"Too many people hope for success more than they plan and work for it," says Erickson. "Rather than simply hoping that 'the universe will provide,' know that you already have everything you need to achieve success. You just have to accept responsibility and use what you already possess."

Erickson wrote "Act. Adapt. Achieve." as a follow-up to his first personal development book, "Choose Your Story, Choose Your Life," in which he wrote about the challenges he faced growing up in a home with an alcoholic father, and how he transformed his life by choosing to focus on and tell the best version of his personal story.

Ten percent of net proceeds from the sale of both books will benefit charities that help children achieve their dreams as well as The V. Foundation for Cancer Research.

To view the Idea Circle or for more information, visit http://www.ActAdaptAchieve.com.

Excerpt from:
Author Dean Erickson's New Book: "Act. Adapt. Achieve." Reveals Missing Step to Success and Introduces Idea Circle

Dismal market returns haven't exactly created a tailwind for 401(k) and IRA portfolios over the last decade or so, but an equally pernicious -- and more entrenched -- problem is that our brains are messing with our retirement plans.

"We are wired for financial defeat," says Rapid City, South Dakota, certified financial planner Rick Kahler. "Whatever has the most emotional juice right now is what gets our attention. Invest $5,000 in your IRA for a retirement that is 10, 20, 30 years away? Or spend the $5,000 for a vacation to the Bahamas?" All too often, the Bahamas wins out.

William Meyer, founder of Social Security Solutions, notes that our thirst for immediate gratification can easily take a six-figure toll.More than two-thirds of folks opt to claim a lower Social Security benefit starting as early as age 62. For a married couple, than can mean leaving as much as $100,000 on the table. "If you wait to claim until age 70, you're locking in a benefit that is 76 percent larger," says Meyer.

More productive planning

Forever tweaking your asset allocation probably won't get you near the retirement payoff that tweaking your brain will achieve. Consider these strategies for engaging your brain in more productive retirement planning:

Get Thee to a Calculator, Pronto: OK, you know you probably should be saving more for retirement. And when life keeps intervening -- that Bahamas vacation you and yours really really need, or the realization that the kid's orthodontia isn't covered by insurance -- you tell yourself that next year, you'll ramp up your savings rate. You've got plenty of time, right?

What you may not realize is how expensive that time is. Research conducted by Craig McKenzie, a psychology professor at the University of California, San Diego, shows that we have a tendency to "massively underestimate the cost of waiting to save. It's difficult to appreciate the difference between giving yourself 20 years to save and 40 years."

For example, a 30-year-old who is saving $10,000 a year and earning an annualized 6 percent will have $1.2 million at age 65. Care to guess what someone starting at 45 will have? About $390,000. The younger saver invests $150,000 more than the 45-year-old does, and in return has an ending balance that's $800,000 larger. Even if you're already past your 20s and 30s, you might find it eye-opening to see how extending your investment timeline by delaying retirement on the back end of the calculation can help matters. Your company retirement plan probably has an online calculator you can play with; or try this one.

Make it Personal: How you frame retirement savings decisions can help boost your ability to delay gratification. When individuals were asked if they'd prefer to have $3,400 in one month or $3,800 in two months, 57 percent chose the latter. When the same scenario was framed in terms of one's personal age -- "when you are 2 months older" -- 83 percent chose to wait for the bigger payoff.

How does that translate to better retirement planning? Yale School of Management marketing professor Shane Frederick, one of the study's authors, says a 50-year-old who frames a savings goal as "when I am 65" will likely be more patient to focus on that delayed gratification, than someone who frames it as a more generic "in 15 years."

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Retirement Planning 2.0: Retrain Your Brain for Financial Success

By Meena Krishnamsetty - October 10, 2012 | Tickers: ALEX, ASEI, GY, GEOY | 0 Comments

Meena is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited.

Marcato Capital Management is a two-year old firm managing $750 million that focuses on value investments across various sectors. The firms sweet spot is $1 billion $5 billion market cap companies. Last Monday Mick McGuire, founder of Marcato and former analyst for Bill Ackman and Pershing Square Capital, gave a presentation at the Value Investing Congress that focused on three hidden real estate value plays.

Alexander & Baldwin (NYSE: ALEX) is a real estate and agricultural company that focuses on real estate development and commercial housing in Hawaii. McGuire believes that the land on Alexanders books is held at a value much lower than its potential market value. Most of the plots are farmland, but Alexander believes the value could be unlocked through residential or industrial development.

Alexander represented over 20% of Marcatos 2Q portfolio, and was the firms second largest holding. This included a 33% increase from the first quarter. However, McGuire was topped by mentor Bill Ackman in share ownership amongst the funds we track, with Marcato owning 1.3 million shares and Ackman 3.6 million.

McGuire noted in his presentation that the net asset value on Alexanders commercial real estate should total just over $900 million, versus the book value of around $800 million. Marcato also completed a DCF on each of Alexanders development properties, calculating the aggregate of all properties to be around $300 million. Including a net asset value on joint-venture assets with the other values puts the net asset value around $30 a share, while the company currently trades around $29.

McGuire then took his analysis a step further by accounting for Alexanders current cash flow from operations, adding another $17 to the valuation. This puts the fair value of Alexanders shares at $47, compared to the companys current sub-$30 trading price.

Gencorp (NYSE: GY) is McGuires second pick. The company is a manufacturer of aerospace and defense products and systems, but also focuses on re-zoning, entitlement, sale and leasing of excess real estate assets. McGuire believes the key to GenCorps land value is in a California region that once acted as a buffer between residential areas and test sites for devices. GenCorp has permits to develop around 6,000 acres, with most estimates putting the land value at $50,000-$60,000 per acre. In addition to its California assets, McGuire also places the value of the companys excess office space at a $66 million based on net operating income of $5 million.

For 2Q, the company reported that cash from operating activities was $29.3 million, compared to $14.6 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2011. Also worth noting is the companys trailing P/E of 101 and its forward P/E of 25. However, McGuire believes that earnings are understated due to non-cash accounting treatments, and so he believes the company trades at P/E of 8x true economic earnings.

This is probably the most hidden real estate playhaving less evident ties to the real estate market when compared to McGuires other two picks. GenCorp competes with a couple other key defense product manufacturers that trade above the company on a P/S basis. GenCorp trades at a 0.6, while American Science & Engineering (NASDAQ: ASEI) trades at 2.9x and GeoEye (NASDAQ: GEOY) 1.9x.

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3 Hidden Real Estate Value Plays for Strong Long-Term Gains