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Lincoln National (LNC), Stadion Tie Up to Unveil QDIA Solution

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Lincoln National Corporation (LNC - Free Report) recently introduced a Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA) program called Stadion’s StoryLine Dynamic to effectively address the needs of plan participants evolving during their retirement.

Shares of Lincoln National gained 1.5% on Aug 16.

For rolling out the QDIA solution, LNC joined forces with the managed account provider Stadion Money Management. Lincoln National seems prudent in picking Stadion, as it boasts a sound history of extending personalized retirement services to plan sponsors and their participants.

The new launch will evoke a customized retirement solution to convert the investments of plan participants into customized and personalized allocation strategies when they approach a retiree’s age. It is Stadion’s innovation to enable Lincoln National to build an effective QDIA program. Backed by Stadion’s novel technology, StoryLine Dynamic integrates a target date fund (TDF) for younger individuals with Stadion's StoryLine managed account service meant for participants aged 50 or above.

Subsequently, the plan participants will be provided with the advantage of professional asset allocation and benefits from improved retirement outcomes. The new program seems a blessing in disguise for those plan participants who lack the capability of making sound investment decisions. Per a Lincoln National research, more than one-third of plan participants express inadequacy in opting for the right investment type or confidently managing the same as they turn old. Thus, the unveiling of such a program seems aptly timed.

The latest move also seems commendable on LNC’s part keeping in mind the aging U.S. population, which implies an increased number of persons attaining the retirement age. Per the leading market and consumer data provider Statista, around 16.9% of the American population was aged 65 years or above in 2020 and the percentage is anticipated to reach 22% by 2050.

Lincoln National remained committed to introducing solutions to provide a comprehensive retirement plan for individuals. LNC leverages its retirement, insurance and wealth protection expertise to address the varied financial goals of around 16 million customers. In May 2022, LNC unveiled MoneyGuardFixed Advantage, backed by a Benefit Transfer Rider (BTR), to meet the long-term care expenses of clients and fulfill their plans for a better financial future.

Shares of Lincoln National have lost 23.4% in a year compared with the industry’s decline of 11.5%. LNC currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

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Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the insurance space are Unum Group (UNM - Free Report) , The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (HIG - Free Report) and Radian Group Inc. (RDN - Free Report) . While Unum and Radian Group sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Hartford Financial carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The bottom line of Unum outpaced estimates in three of the last four quarters and missed the mark once, the average surprise being 30.13%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UNM’s 2022 earnings suggests an improvement of 30.8%, while the same for revenues indicates growth of 0.9% from the corresponding year-ago reported figures. The consensus mark for UNM’s 2022 earnings has moved 10.3% north in the past 30 days.

Hartford Financial’s bottom line outpaced estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 34.08%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HIG’s 2022 earnings indicates a 16.9% rise, while the same for revenues suggests 4.2% growth from the respective prior-year reported figures. The consensus mark for HIG’s 2022 earnings has moved 6.5% north in the past 30 days.

The bottom line of Radian Group outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark once, the average surprise being 29.51%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RDN’s 2022 earnings suggests a 32.7% improvement from the prior-year reported figure. The consensus mark for RDN’s 2022 earnings has moved 16.1% north in the past 30 days.

Shares of Unum and Hartford Financial have gained 51.1% and 4.5%, respectively, in a year. The Radian Group stock has lost 1.2% in the same time frame.

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