Investing

Just like presidential politics, often in finance what things feel like matters just as much as how they are actually going. 

Many defined benefit plan sponsors are seeking the support of an outsourced chief investment officer to help with time-sensitive asset-allocation decisions, according to Cerulli Associates research. 

Money market fund reform is leading retirement plan sponsors to move to different cash strategies.

Institutional investors, including employer-sponsored retirement plans, are generating significant demand for inexpensive and transparent investment vehicles. 

For the fifth consecutive quarter, group pension buy-outs have surpassed the $1 billion mark, reports the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute.

Passive funds led demand with $61 billion of net commitments, while actively managed mutual funds experienced $25 billion of net redemptions in total during July, according to Strategic...

The five-year plan identifies six strategic initiatives and key performance indicators.

Experts believe managed accounts could gradually replace target-date funds as the QDIA.

Corporate ERISA plans were helped by a larger allocation to U.S. fixed income.

U.S. retirement plan participants favored fixed-income during the busy trading month of July. 

New Cerulli Associates research offers some timely thoughts on target-date fund customization.

“This was the fourth quarter in a row where the 60/40 portfolio beat the median plan return,” says Robert Waid with Wilshire Associates.

Pension plans need to adopt “spread acquisition strategies," according to a speaker for a webinar hosted by BlackRock.

On the fixed-income side, Strategic Insight finds active bond funds netted $6.1 billion of new investments during June 2016, “mainly on demand for muni-bond offerings.”

In addition to their own interest in boosting investment performance, investor demand is another top reason why investment managers are taking ESG issues into consideration, Cerulli finds.

ICI reports the cost of investing in equity mutual funds through 401(k) plans has declined 31% since 2000.

Institutional investors, such as pension plans, widely use securities lending, but a survey also found interest from DC plan sponsors.

"Pre-retirees now need to plan on having nearly 10% more in retirement savings than before, in order to buy the same level of deferred income,” BlackRock warns.

Real estate managers continue to have the largest share of pension fund assets, a survey finds.

The study, sponsored by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, found REITs outperformed other asset classes.