It's not just our industry and the markets that are changing. Indeed, the entire economy appears to be in the midst of a millennial shift.

Some people will think that's hyperbole. But after spending time with a group of industry leaders recently, I'm confident it's not an overstatement. Put simply: The world has changed. And the central issue being examined is risk and what it means to investors and to our business.

In hindsight, many investment strategies over the past several years seem to have failed. As an organization, the Managed Money Institute (MMI) is tackling the definition of risk to better educate investors and advisors, and to assist them in making informed and prudent choices. [The writer is a committee chair at the MMI.]

Most of this rumination on risk tends to center on the wealth accumulation phase leading to retirement. But the industry needs to put as much effort into managing risk on the decumulation side as well. The studies I've seen indicate that the number-one reason that consumers invest is to build a nest egg for retirement-not just to have a nest egg as an end in itself, but to produce an income stream that will support a dignified retirement.

Income management is a critical part of the risk management equation. In fact, as more research is being done and increasing general understanding, managing income risk is developing its own dynamics.

At the recent MMI Sales & Marketing Leadership summit, a panel of industry leaders suggested ways to assist advisors and investors in addressing retirement income risk. Those suggestions provide models for the rest of the industry.

John Curry, a managing director at Alliance Bernstein, shared some of the work his firm is doing to provide income guarantees in defined contribution plans. Working in partnership with insurance companies that will provide guarantees similar to the popular "guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit" feature on variable annuities, AllianceBernstein has built the capability to provide something akin to a personal pension plan using target-date funds with income guarantees at a very reasonable cost.

Another unique approach was presented by Tom Johnson, a senior vice president at MassMutual. His firm's Retirement Management Account provides a Turnkey Asset Management Program that combines, in a single account, investment products andan immediate annuity as a bond alternative. To provide a stable foundation for sustainable withdrawals from the account, MassMutual managesthe product allocation betweeninvestmentsfor growth opportunities together with the immediate annuity. Its immediate annuity is unique in that the design is more flexible andcan more easily facilitate a variety of fixed-income strategies including annuity laddering, which has the potential to provide higher levels of income from an entire portfolioover a retirement lifetime.

Ken Yarbrough, a senior vice president of retirement strategies at SunTrust, described what his firm is offering to its retail investors. Besides a full suite of retirement products such as funds, annuities and more, his company offers tax optimization with its overlay management capability for accumulation on its unified managed accounts. SunTrust is also starting a new program that offers clients up to 30% more income over a retirement lifetime as a result of a sophisticated tax-optimization program on a unified managed household. He believes the completeness of his firm's offering gives it an advantage over the competition.

Risk management for accumulation and income are key issues to be dealt with going forward.

Jack Sharry is a consultant who works with asset managers to develop and market retirement income products. He also chairs the Retirement Solutions Committee at the Money Management Institute.