The Markets October 6, 2016

Latest Trends in Nonqualified Deferred Compensation

A growing number of NQDC plan sponsors offer participants the opportunity to make “in-service” distribution elections.
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The most common reason employers offer a nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plan is to offer a competitive benefit package to key employees (58%), followed by retaining eligible employees (38%), according to the Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA) 2016 Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan Survey.

Nearly half of plans (48%) allow both employee and employer contributions, while 29% allow only employee contributions, and 23% allow only employer contributions. Half allow their participants to “re-defer” distribution elections as permitted by Section 409A. Seventy-one percent of plans allowing employer contributions make a match, the most common being a fixed match.

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The survey found 42% of NQDC plan sponsors offer participants the opportunity to make “in-service” distribution elections. Two in three allow participants to choose installment payments in addition to lump-sum distributions.

Most plans offer participants a menu of investment options, with more than half (57%) offering the same menu as offered in their qualified defined contribution (DC) plan.

The survey of non-qualified deferred compensation plan sponsors, conducted earlier this year, generated 303 responses from employers who either offer a non-qualified plan now or intend to do so within the next year. Respondents were employers of all sizes and industries (ex. manufacturing, services, distribution, retail, technology, financial services and health care).

The full survey is available for purchase at www.psca.org/research.

Products October 6, 2016

J.P. Morgan Opens Virtual Education Hub for Institutional Investors

The growing platform will offer podcasts, publications, and other materials designed to help institutional investors generate the best outcomes.
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J.P. Morgan Asset Management has announced the opening of its Center for Investment Excellence, a virtual education hub offering an expanding collection of podcasts, publications, and other resources designed to give institutional investors the insight they need to make better investment decisions.

“We’ve always been committed to applying our intellectual capital to help investors deliver superior outcomes and the Center is an extension of that philosophy,” says Ken Poliziani, managing director of J.P. Morgan Asset Management. “The podcasts, publications and events available through this new initiative are designed to connect institutional investors across the globe with our team of tenured research and portfolio managers as they explore the increasingly complex dynamics of investing in today’s ever-evolving marketplace.”

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Because J.P. Morgan Asset Management is a participant in the CFA Institute Approved-Provider Program, CFA Institute members may also receive continuing education credits after accessing select materials offered by the Center for Investment Excellence.

CFA Institute members may earn three CE credits for listening to the Center’s inaugural podcast series, “The Future of Fixed Income,” presented by J.P. Morgan Asset Management investment experts and portfolio managers in Columbus, London. The series will explore how investors can potentially achieve greater total return in an unconstrained fixed income portfolio, the risk and return considerations of private credit, the most attractive prospects for emerging markets and debt, as well as other topics. 

The podcasts are currently available free of charge on the Center for Investment Excellence’s homepage and through the iTunes store. Additional podcasts based on timely market activity are currently being developed to address multi-asset solutions, retirement, and alternative views specific to the opportunities and challenges facing institutional investors today.

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