Tag: public DB plans

Institutional assets tracked by Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service (Wilshire TUCS) posted an all-plan median return of 0.88% for second quarter.

Alternative investments charge higher fees than traditional asset classes such as public equities and fixed income, and according to a study, these fees, in particular, may play a meaningful role in public plan underperformance.

“A cap-weighted strategy skews its way toward the largest stocks, but if plan sponsors own equities in a much more balanced way, it will help with stability,” says Bryan Belton, director, multi asset, at PanAgora Asset Management.

However, the Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College found portfolio allocation did account for about one-quarter of the total 16-year underperformance for bottom quartile plans.

Wilshire TUCS first quarter returns were weighed down by losses across all major asset classes.

“A primary driver of the improvement in the funding ratio was the increase in global equity values for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2017,” notes Ned McGuire, managing director and a member of the Pension Risk Solutions Group of Wilshire Consulting.

Corporate plans are winding down as public plans are strengthening themselves for the long run.

State pensions have a history of “talking with their feet” in a show of activism against undesirable products or actions.

Under the proposed legislation, any employer or public official who willfully fails to make contributions to public pension plans can face a sentence as low as a $100 fine or as high as 10 years in prison.

The NIRS studied the case of Palm Beach, Florida, which it says offers “an important cautionary tale on the detrimental impacts of switching public employees from DB pensions to DC accounts.”

The Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service (Wilshire TUCS) saw a median one-year gain for all plan types of 14.72%.