ETFs Can Help DB Plans With Risk and Liquidity
Justin Sibears, with Newfound Research, also cites their proliferation into so many specific areas of the market as a benefit of ETFs.
The Markets
A Passionate Defense of ESG Investing from Connecticut Treasurer
While the investing rules controlling the Connecticut public pension fund are different from those governing corporate retirement plans, the argumentation as to why gun manufacturer divestment may be...
Institutional Investors Had Diversified in Anticipation of Volatility
Turning to opportunistic allocations and alternative investments, they expect average returns of 7.2% this year, Natixis found in a survey.
Institutional ESG Investing Can Bring Tough Reporting Questions
Highlights from a new Natixis survey suggest reporting challenges continue to rank as top hurdle for institutions implementing ESG programs; this includes the concern that public companies may...
LPL Researchers Perspectives on Managing Interest Rate Risks
According to the researchers, sector diversification and yield curve positioning can help investors during rising-rate periods.
P-Solve Report Questions Some Common TDF Manager Practices
“While appropriate for some participants, heavy reliance on equities is almost certainly not suitable for as many 401(k) participants as the allocation of the largest TDF managers suggests,”...
Fee and Industry Shifts Mean Retirement Plan Providers Can Play Hardball
A look back at how Fidelity will charge new plan sponsor clients on its platform who choose Vanguard products makes visible the hard-nosed competition that defines the retirement...
Strategic Perspective Is a Key Commodity During Bouts of Volatility
As recently as mid-2016 it was common to hear advisers describe significant market volatility as the new normal, but since then the global equity markets have been remarkably...
Careful Consideration of Client Age Groups Behooves Advisers
When working with Millennials, Generation Xers or Baby Boomers, it is crucial for advisers and sponsors to reach them with targeted communications; however, there are also some fundamentals...
Retirement Income, Managed Accounts and ‘Shadow Fiduciaries’
New Cerulli research shows the most common reason for which 401(k) plan sponsors offer participants a managed account service is that it can be positioned as a retirement...
Institutional Investors See Ninth Consecutive Positive Quarter
The Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service (Wilshire TUCS) saw a median return of 3.59% for all plan types in the fourth quarter, the longest string of positive quarterly...
Rising Rates Bring Bond Duration and Supply Questions to the Fore
Vanguard’s lead actuary for the OCIO pension support business sounds a clear note of caution about attempting to “beat the rush” into long corporate bonds that could come...
Voya Financial Steps Straight Into ESG Investing Debate
Voya Investment Management has become the latest signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment pledge, stepping right into a hot debate about the role of environmental and societal...
Small Adjustment Between Fidelity and Vanguard Speaks of Fee Sea Change
News emerged Tuesday of a shift in the way Fidelity and Vanguard, two of the largest-volume providers of recordkeeping and investment products for retirement plans, work with and...
Evidence Mounts To Show Automated Plans Do Better
More than 82% of those from the Millennial generation, defined here as those born between 1977 and 1993, are now invested in a diversified portfolio.
Embrace of Passive Funds Is Not What It Appears To Be
In conversation with Jeff Kletti, head of investments at Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust, PLANADVISER gets an inside view of some emerging—and some familiar—defined contribution plan trends.
Advisers Warming Up to Smart Beta
However, while 79% of U.S. advisers are aware of smart beta, only 36% are very familiar.
Alight Solutions 401(k) Index Measures Slowest Trading Year Ever for 2017
In total, 1.45% of total plan balances were traded during the year, down from 2.13% in 2016, as participants chased performance within their own portfolios.
NYC Public Pension ESG Investing Debate Renews a Fight Familiar to Some
Recent criticism of public pensions’ sizable push into ESG investing echoes valid concerns voiced in the past—but the ecosystem of environmental, social and governance investing has matured in...
Number of Institutional Investors Using ESG Factors in Decisions Holds Steady
Only 39% of institutional investors surveyed by Callan that do not include ESG factors in investment decision-making said the value proposition for ESG remains unclear, down from 63%...