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Funding Level Rises for City and County Pension Plans |
“The increase in global equity values for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2017 was a primary driver of the improved funding levels,” says Ned McGuire, at Wilshire Consulting.Read more > |
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Investing |
Fixed-Income ETFs Used to Address Bond Market Issues |
Because global bond market liquidity has diminished, institutional investors are investing more in fixed income exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to Greenwich Associates. Sixty percent of all institutions surveyed say that over the past three years, it has become difficult to execute large bond trades. More than two-thirds of respondents to the survey say these challenges are impacting their investment management processes. This is why 60% of institutions have increased their usage of bond ETFs, with this asset class now comprising an average of 18% of their portfolios.Read more > |
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Sponsored message from Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc. |
Nathan Voris discusses Strategic Insights Into the Millennial WorkforceRead more > |
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Economic Events |
Privately owned housing starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,282,000, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced. This is 9.2% above the revised July estimate of 1,174,000 and is 9.4% above the August 2017 rate of 1,172,000. Single-family housing starts in August were at a rate of 876,000; this is 1.9% above the revised July figure of 860,000. The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 392,000. |
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Market Mirror |
Wednesday, the Dow closed 158.80 points (0.61%) higher at 26,405.76, the NASDAQ was down 6.07 points (0.08%) at 7,950.04, and the S&P 500 increased 3.64 points (0.13%) to 2,907.95. The Russell 2000 closed 8.04 points (0.47%) lower at 1,702.93, and the Wilshire 5000 was up 5.96 points (0.02%) at 30,232.35. The price of the 10-year Treasury note was down 5/32, increasing its yield to 3.077%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond decreased 11/32, bringing its yield up to 3.222%. |
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Compliance |
Business Owner Gets Prison for Benefit Plan Embezzlement |
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland has sentenced a Maryland business owner to one year and one day of imprisonment, and ordered him to pay $354,175 in restitution for violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). A Department of Labor (DOL) investigation found the business owner used benefit plan contributions for corporate and personal expenses.Read more > |
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Products, Deals and People |
MassMutual Paper Serves As Primer for Pension Risk Transfer Considerations |
“While PRT can be a highly effective tactic for plan sponsors to reduce risk and shift liabilities off their books,” MassMutual says, “it’s possible to increase pension costs and risks if a PRT is not executed with long-term goals in mind.”Read more > |
Principal to Launch Online Chat for Retirement Plan Administration Questions |
The new support option will connect retirement plan sponsors to Principal client service associates in real time throughout their work day.Read more > |
Lively Launches HSA Marketplace |
The marketplace connects account holders to cost-effective and convenient qualified medical expense products and services.Read more > |
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Small Talk |
ON THIS DATE: In 1881, Chester A. Arthur became the 21st president of the U.S. President James A. Garfield had died the day before. In 1946, the first Cannes Film Festival premiered. The original premier was delayed in 1939 due to World War II. In 1953, Jimmy Stewart debuted on the radio western “The Six Shooter” on NBC. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy proposed a joint U.S.-Soviet expedition to the moon in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly. In 1967, the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) was launched. In 1991, U.N. weapons inspectors left for Iraq in a renewed search for Iraqi wea.pons of mass dest.ruction. In 1995, AT&T announced that it would be splitting into three companies. The three companies were AT&T, Lucent Technologies and NCR Corp. In 1995, the House of Representatives voted to drop the national speed limit. This allowed the states to decide their own speed limits. SURVEY SAYS: Not this week. |
Share the news with a friend! Pass the NewsDash along and tell your friends/associates they can sign up for their own copy.Read more > |