Tag: Investments

Understanding the opportunities associated with 3(21) and 3(38) fiduciary services—and the key differences between them—can help ensure the best use of the retirement plan committee’s time and resources.

Data from Morningstar demonstrates variable annuity net assets fell 1.6% to $1.95 trillion during the first quarter of 2018, versus fourth quarter 2017 net assets of $1.99 trillion; still, experts anticipate sales to recover as regulatory pressure and uncertainty ease.

Asked about the major reasons they want to work beyond the traditional retirement age, Americans point to both wants and needs. The most common response is that people want to stay active and involved, or that they simply enjoy working; a fifth say they expect to need to work.

Target-date fund designs should take into account the risks retirement plan participants face—how to correlate and corral the evolving sources of market, event, longevity, inflation and interest rate risks.

“The idea that financial planning and wealth management are just for millionaires is one of the biggest misconceptions among Americans, and one of the most damaging,” warns Joe Vietri, senior vice president and head of Charles Schwab’s retail branch network.

Data from BMO GAM shows DC retirement plan fees have fallen for all sizes of plan sponsors except those with between $10 million and $50 million in assets.

One clear point of concern in the data is the increasing number of Americans who anticipate retiring at 70 years or older than in the “traditional 65 to 69 range.”

Expense ratios of target-date mutual funds averaged 0.44% in 2017; since 2008, ICI explains, the expense ratios of target-date mutual funds have fallen 34%.

Participants in the Lowe’s 401(k) plan have filed an ERISA complaint against their employer and Aon Hewitt Investment Consultants over alleged imprudent investment decisions.

PLANSPONSOR speaks with John Diehl, senior vice president of strategic markets for Hartford Funds, on the subject of equity market volatility and ways to help ease plan participant concerns amid big price swings.

BlackRock Managing Director Anne Ackerley, in conversation with PLANSPONSOR, explains new opportunities to deliver retirement income solutions to plan participants, including through the QDIA.  

Equity prices have strongly recovered since the Great Recession, bringing some benefit to corporate pension funded status, but pension plan sponsors have still faced periods of unprecedented volatility, a prolonged slowdown in global growth, and historically low interest rates.

The mixed decision comes after DOL moved for summary judgement; the defendants responded by moving to exclude key testimony from a DOL expert on the doctrine of “adequate consideration.”

A new 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.

Neuberger Berman Addresses Volatility with PutWrite Fund; PanAgora Adds ESG Alpha Factors; and Hartford Funds Expands ETF Roster.

In a new analysis, J.P. Morgan Asset Management describes how equities have not generally come under pressure until the U.S. two-year Treasury rate reaches above 3.5%.

The framework helps retirees address basic living expenses, establish a contingency reserve, account for discretionary expenses, and structure a legacy.

Despite an ongoing plan sponsor investment unbundling trend, the majority of TDF providers continue to construct their TDF portfolios using proprietary funds as the underlying investments.

Ryan Labs president Richard Familetti reflects on the increasingly prominent role of investment consultants in helping to shape LDI strategies and other pension plan behaviors.