The Markets

Real estate continues to be the top alternatives pick for pension funds.

Transfers continued to favor fixed income investments.

If the pension plans included in the study, sponsored by NAREIT, had reversed their REIT and hedge fund allocations over the 1998 through 2014 period, at the end...

Retirement plan advisers will need to help DC plan sponsors communicate to participants and help DB plan sponsors review their investment strategies.

Asset classes with the most inflows were Bond funds, GIC/Stable Value funds, and Money Market funds.

Plan sponsors are coming to appreciate that a smaller investment menu does not necessarily imply a less sophisticated menu. 

In addition, International/Global Equity funds experienced $7.8 billion of net outflows during the month, Strategic Insight data shows.

The use of stable value funds within defined contribution plans has evolved substantially in recent years and decades, with more changes right around the corner. 

The pension plan de-risking conversation plays out on a spectrum and often takes years—if not decades—to run from start to finish. 

Among other things, Greenwich Associates says liquidity needs of institutional investors will fuel demand for ETFs in fixed income, driving $68 billion in new annual flows.

At year-end 2015, about half of all Vanguard participants were solely invested in an automatic investment program—compared with just 29% at the end of 2010.

Each firm will be given a core fixed income mandate because “research indicates that smaller asset managers are likely to add value relative to the benchmark with these...

Advisers to DB plans should consider how the market and funding relief have affected the attractiveness of de-risking.

Most retirement plan sponsors simply rely on what their recordkeeper offers, Morningstar Investment Management says.

DB plan sponsors need help assessing whether they are in the right vehicle structures or funds offering the right liquidity terms. 

The roles assumed by investment managers, consultants and index providers in the evaluation of smart beta vary depending on AUM tiers of asset owners.

Many DC retirement plan participants have saved large sums without ever actually picking a stock, but that doesn’t mean their advisers can afford to lose touch with the...

Among those who did trade, fixed income was the favored asset class.

The latest mutual fund flow numbers put out by Strategic Insight show healthy inflows for a variety of bond fund types. 

Stronger bond returns could not match weaker U.S. and falling developed market equity returns, according to the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service, dragging down institutional investor performance.