Hello, PLANSPONSOR readers. After hearing witnesses shared the history of multiemployer plans, the newly formed Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans is calling on retirement industry experts and the public to provide information about the funding and risk management challenges plaguing the U.S. multiemployer pension system. A study suggests institutional investors are leaving money on the table by using familiar investment vehicles like bonds without first looking to see if they could obtain the same exposure efficiently with another product like an exchange-traded fund (ETF) or a future. MassMutual aims to help defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors with a new quarterly market update and commentary about economic and regulatory conditions and their impact on managing pension obligations. You’ll find all this and more DB plan-related news in this edition of PLANSPONSOR Weekend.
U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch and Sherrod Brown are seeking public and industry input on ways to improve the solvency of multiemployer pension plans and the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation.Read more >
“Portfolio managers and their trading desks primarily choose [investment] instruments based solely on personal experience rather than through an analytical process,” says Kevin McPartland, with Greenwich Associates.Read more >
A global survey of 300 pension funds explores the commonalities and differences between corporate and public-sector defined benefit (DB) plans and finds corporate plans are winding down as public plans are strengthening themselves for the long run.Read more >
Northern Trust amended its benefit formula in 2012 and provided a transitional benefit that assumed salary increases of 1.5% per year, and the court found expectations of higher salary increases was not part of an “accrued benefit.”Read more >
A new exchange-traded fund (ETF) market analysis from Greenwich Associates shows institutions continue relying on ETFs as “a liquid, fast and relatively low-cost tool in a wide range of tactical tasks,” such as managing cash flows and making nimble changes to their portfolios.Read more >
The quarterly Defined Benefit Market Update and Commentary is designed to support DB plan sponsor clients and potential clients in the ongoing management of their plans and includes data on interest rates, bond and equity markets, and commentary on economic and regulatory matters.Read more >
